Exodus 16:22-30 "And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day."
In the beginning, God made the whole of creation in six days, and on the seventh day He rested from all His labors. God was not tired. The word rested simply meant that He had completed what He set out to do. God set before His people a design that they should gather manna for six days and on the seventh day they should rest.
This was also a command that He gave them. They were to gather manna every morning for five days and consume what was gathered. On the sixth day, they were to gather enough for two days. They were not supposed to gather on the seventh day. Not only were they not supposed to, but God did not provide for them anything to gather.
Just like we do today, some of them were not paying attention. They went out on the seventh day to gather manna. Moses had told them not to do that, and God had said He would not provide manna on the seventh day. They first disobeyed when they tried to keep the manna over during the week, then they tried to gather on the one day that God told them they should not.
Dear ones, it does not matter which ditch we stray into, it is still a ditch. Our lives would be lived much more pleasantly and be much more glorifying to God if we would labor when and how He says. We would benefit greatly in resting in the day that the LORD has reserved unto Himself.
Having the “day” of rest is not just about doing no labor on Sunday. It is about fully trusting in Him for His provision in our lives. We need to abide in our place of service when the LORD calls us into His rest. We rest when we cease from our own labors (concerns and devices – Hebrews 4:9-10) and turn our labor to the praise and honor of God (Colossians 3-23).