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Exodus 16:22-30 ESV

22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.'” 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.” 27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

I. THE COMMAND TO SABBATH (22-26)
A. The Sabbath pre-dates the 10 commandments with its roots in the order of creation.
B. God’s reasons to rest:
1. We need it.
2. To help us overcome our fears and lack of faith in God.
3. To remember Him.

II. CONFUSING WORK AND WORSHIP ON THE SABBATH
A. Finding rest by skipping worship versus sabbathing from work is a grave mistake.
B. Slacking off from serving on Sundays leads to staying away from the church far too many Sundays.
C. We are to Sabbath from our work not our worship of God.

III. THE STRUGGLE TO SABBATH (27)
A. The struggle to Sabbath often comes from a failure to live within our means.
B. Time is our greatest asset and no amount of money ever bought back a second of time.

IV. THE GIFT OF SABBATH (29-30)
A. God is not a master of slaves who never get a day off from serving Him. He is a God of sons and daughters, whom He never takes a day off from serving. (Isaiah 48:21-22)

NEXT STEPS (28-30)
1. God wants us to rest and to rest well because we can rest sure that He never rests.
2. Take some time off because you have a Father who never takes His eye off of you, nor takes any time off.