Keep one day of the week as a holy day to honor God

Background:

The fourth of the Ten Commandments is: “Keep one day of the week as a holy day to honor
God.” The event in today’s story occurs during the time Moses was leading the Israelites
from Egypt to the Promised Land.

The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. God sent Moses to lead them out of bondage to a land
that God would give to them. This place that they were going to became known as the
“Promised Land.” Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and on a journey to the Promised
Land. This story from the Bible occurred during their journey after they had crossed the
Sea.

This story is a review of same story form a few weeks ago. Listen to the story again and
identify how it relates to the fourth of Ten Commandments.

Story from the Bible: Exodus 16

Keep one day of the week as a holy day to honor God

Manna Provided by God - Exodus 16

Moses, and Aaron as his spokesman, led the Israelites on a journey to the Promised Land.
They were in the middle of the second month since they had left Egypt.

The whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron and complained about their lack
of food in the desert. The Israelites said that they wish they had died is Egypt. Because in
Egypt they had food to eat, but here in the desert they are about to starve to death.

God spoke to Moses and told him he was going to rain down bread from heaven for the
people. He gave specific instructions about what he was providing. He said the people were
to go out each day and gather only enough for that day for the five days of the week. On the
sixth day they were to gather enough for two days. This way they would have enough for
the seventh day or Sabbath day. God told Moses that this was his way of testing the people
to see if they would obey his instructions.

So Moses and Aaron told the people that in the evening they would know that it was God
who brought them up out of Egypt and in the morning they would see the glory of the God,
because he has heard their grumbling against him. They would know that it was God when
he gives them meat to eat in the evening and all the bread they wanted in the morning.
“Who are we (Moses and Aaron)? You are not grumbling against us, but against God.”

Then Moses told Aaron to speak to the entire Israelite community and say, “Come before
God, for he has heard your grumbling.” While Aaron was speaking to the people, they
looked toward the desert, and there they saw the glory of the Lord appearing in a cloud.

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God spoke to Moses and said, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At
twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will
know that I am the Lord your God.’”

That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of
dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, there were thin flakes like frost on the
ground. They did not know what if was.

Moses told them it was the bread that God had promised to give them. They were to gather
what only what they needed for those who lived in their tent. There were not to save any.

Some disobeyed God’s command through Moses and they kept some until the next
morning. The part that they saved was filled with maggots the next morning and had a bad
smell. Moses was angry with the people because they disobeyed. Each morning they
gathered as much as the needed for the day and when the sun grew hot the manna melted
away.

On the sixth day they gathered twice as much and saved one day’s portion for the seventh
day or the Sabbath. They were to observe the Sabbath day as a holy day of rest. So Moses
told them to bake what they wanted to bake and boil what you want to boil for the Sabbath
day. They did and it did not get maggots in it or have a bad smell.

Some of the people did not follow God’s instructions and went out on the Sabbath day to
gather the manna but there was none to be found. Then God said to Moses, “How long will
you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?” God reminded Moses that he had
given the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gave them bread for two days. Everyone
was to stay where they were on the seventh day; no one was to go out.

So the people rested on the seventh day. They called the bread “manna.” The word “manna”
sounds like the word for “what is it” in their language. It was white like coriander seed and
tasted like wafers made with honey.

Moses was commanded to keep one measure of manna for the generations to come so he
could show them what God had provided. So Moses put a jar with one measure of manna in
it with the tablets of the covenant law so that it would be preserved.

The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they reached the Promised Land.

This concludes this story from the Bible.

Retelling the story

Let’s review this story by retelling it as a group. We want to retell it as faithfully as we can
to the story from the Bible. We do not want to add to it or leave out anything important.
Who will get us started?

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Questions:

The questions and discussion about the Ten Commandments should be focused beyond the
events that tell the story of how God gave them to Moses and address the fact that they
were given by God for his people to follow. A foundation should be laid for obedience to the
commandments.

This story describes events that demonstrate the Sabbath as the day of the week that is the
holy day to honor God. The questions should address the importance of our reverence for a
day each week that is set-aside for God.

What is the fourth of the Ten Commandments?

How does God demonstrate the importance of the fourth commandment?

What do we do to obey the fourth commandment?

Do we do anything that is a violation of the fourth commandment?

What can we do to make Sunday even more of a holy day to honor God?

Other stories:

 Observe the Sabbath – Exodus 31:12-17

 Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath – Matthew 12:1-14 or Mark 2:23-3:5 or Luke 6:1-11
 Jesus teaches about the Sabbath – Luke 14:1-5