And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. Then he said to them, “This is what YHWH has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to YHWH. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.'” So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to YHWH; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”

Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. And YHWH said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? See! For YHWH has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exo. 16:22–30, NKJV)

Gathering the manna (a symbol of God’s Word) was the day’s priority, for its white resin pearls melted away like dew when the sun became hot. The manna’s shiny bdellium color takes us back to Eden’s precious bdellium fragrance (Num. 11:7; Gen 2:12). And gathering twice as much on the sixth day provided for the Sabbath, recalling creation’s seven-day cycle. Following YHWH’s instruction (Torah), ingesting the manna, nourished and strengthened His people. Testing Israel’s obedience to the Sabbath command, gathering, measuring, and preparing twice as much manna on the sixth day, the extra Sabbath omer left until the morning did not spoil. Some took God’s Word lightly and went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found no manna. Their food of doing their own will and not God’s will indicated a “famine of hearing of the Word of God” in their tents.

The fifth Sabbath warned against having anything to do with the spirit of lawlessness, not entertaining “doing what is right in one’s own eyes,” but serving only God in single-mindedness. Daily gathering manna trained Israel to live by faith, be obedient, and depend upon Him. Attending to His words identified and protected Israel’s relationship with Him. Putting an omer of manna before YHWH as a witness for the generations reminded Israel never to forget to live daily by every word of God that they might dwell in Eden’s shalom as at the beginning before the fall.

The poetic narrative of Genesis 1 says that the Creator’s purpose for humans was for us to dwell in the beautiful land He had prepared. The Garden provided safety, rest, and abundant food in the presence of YHWH. Adam and Eve were to tend to and guard YHWH’s instructions (Torah) so their Sabbath oneness would not be broken. Treasuring and keeping holy YHWH’s words ensured their continuance in His Presence. The choice between life and death was before them as a choice between obedience and disobedience, between worshiping YHWH or themselves. YHWH set this exact scenario before Israel in the Wilderness of Sin, commanding them to choose life over death by keeping the Sabbath holy and worshiping only Him.  Years later, God exiled Israel from the land for idolatry and Sabbath-breaking, the same reasons why He expelled Adam and Eve from Eden.

After traversing the Wilderness of Sin, Israel “journeyed in stages,” meaning “to go forward” by being “removed from their place,” stopping from place to place (Exo. 17:1, TWOT OT 5265, 4550). The two stops before the next Sabbath, one at Dophkah (189, 7·27), meaning “to knock,” “to press severely” (Jones, p. 97, OT 1849), and one at Alush (337, 68^th prime), meaning “to knead together as dough,” “to be strong, firm,” (Jones, p. 24, OT 442) alluded to what YHWH was working in them on the way to Rephidim (Num. 33:12–13, Jones, p. 24, 97). These names show that YHWH’s hand pressed and kneaded Israel as dough (Psa. 32:4-5), removing the air of pride and autonomy, as He moved Israel in measure forward on the path of life toward a goal, to open to Him fully. Israel’s Warrior Prince urged His people toward their destination by securely enjoining them, a consuming fire against sin and its corruption.

YHWH’s discipline would produce the results He greatly desired. “YHWH your God is with, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love, He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zep. 3:17). The depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, the way the Creator works in His people, is far from our understanding. His judgments are unsearchable, and His paths are beyond tracing out. Our trust in His Word manifests itself in daily walking in belief and resting in the light of His face on the Sabbath because our Covenant God is the God who creates by speaking.

Takeaway:
The Israelites had to be actively engaged each day in gathering the manna that YHWH provided. Their survival depended upon a trusting relationship with their Creator. Being in fellowship with YHWH is life; exile from that fellowship is death. Living by every Word of God harnesses our will to submit to His will. Our whole life duty is to love His ways and walk humbly with Him. In the wisdom of Genesis 1:1, He knows how to lovingly return each of us to Himself, opening the door to the Sabbath without end. He is the tabernacle door to Eden’s Holy of Holies, the Author and Finisher of our faith. YHWH has given us the Sabbath, a weekly reminder that real life happens only in His Presence, eating the words that proceed from our Creator’s mouth.

Fun Factors: Numbers 11:7-9’s description of manna has 127 letters (31st prime) in 33 words, totaling 6269, the 815th prime and 399th Pythagorean prime, the sum of two squares, 70² + 37², numerically connecting YHWH’s name constant (37) to Israel (70) by the Word of God and His work. 

Exodus 16:22-30 of the fifth Sabbath contains 457 letters (88^th prime, 43^rd Pythagorean prime, 441 + 16 = 21² + 4²) in 123 words (3 × 41, 18 +…+ 23, life to living, chi to chiah), totaling 31816, 8 × 41 × 97, 170² + 54²;  41 is the number for the mishkan, dwelling of YHWH; 54 is 2 × 27, the number of the Holy of Holies; 170 is 17 × 10, His victory in the generations of humanity. The sum of 31816’s digits, 3 + 1 + 8 + 1 + 6 = 19; the product of 31816’s digits, 3 × 1 × 8 × 1 × 6 = 144.

Exodus 16 has 2067 letters (39 × 53) in 548 words (4 × 137, 22² + 8²), totaling 138437, 13 × 23 × 463; digit product 1 × 3 × 8 × 4 × 3
× 7 = 2016, debiyr (216) is the innermost sanctuary of God’s Word (216), where He provides (216, Strong’s H1687), digit sum 1 + 3 + 8 + 4 + 3 + 7  = 26, the sum of YHWH; the factor 463 is the 90^th prime (90 = 81 + 9, 9² + 3²) and the 12^th centered heptagonal number; divided, 46 + 3 = 49 = 7². Dividing 138437 into two parts, 138 is 6 × 23, and 437 is 19 × 23 when multiplied = 60306, 6 × 19 × 23², 6 × 3 × 6 = 108 (2160 and 1080 are values of the moon’s diameter and radius).