With this topic I want to start off by saying, if you are reading this and already keeping the Sabbath, I am not here to change your mind on what you feel convicted to do. This whole series is going into detail of my initial walk and the things presented to me along the way.

One of the topics often brought up when it comes to Sabbath is cooking. Some say cooking is work. Some say cooking is part of the command to not light a fire on Sabbath. Most that I have run into use the instance pictured in the comic as their example. In Exodus 16, God tells Israel that they are going to rest on the Sabbath. Verse 23 that is referenced in the comic, God gives instructions on cooking the mana that is being gathered. There are several things to look at for this instance.

First, as I am pointing out in the comic, the command it bake/boil what you will and leave the rest. What is the rest? What you didn't bake/boil. If they aren't supposed to be cooking on the Sabbath, wouldn't have God said bake/boil all of it, eat it, then whatever you didn't eat, leave until morning? Coming from a perspective of someone who cooks a lot, if I was given a bunch of raw flour and was told to bake what I want and leave the rest, I wouldn't bake all the flour. I would save the rest of it in a jar.

Second goes with the flour aspect. I use flour as an example because of how they are using the mana. In Numbers 11:8 it tells us the cooked this mana into loaves or flat cakes, depending on your translation. Bread and pancakes. Something you make with flour. There is also the aspect of when the mana went bad. In Exodus 16:20, before any mention of cooking, some of the Israelites tried to keep the mana for more than a day and it was filled with maggots. If comparing this to flour, raw flour is usually kept in air-tight containers or the freezer to keep bugs out of it. Bread, on the other hand, can be left on the counter unprotected for several days. The concern with bread isn't bugs, but mold.

The last point here is the overall chapter. Exodus 16 is all about gathering. God commands Israel to not gather on the Sabbath, but every other morning. When we get an example of someone breaking God's command here, it isn't because someone is cooking on the Sabbath. It is because someone went out to gather on the Sabbath. Verses 27 and 28: "Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?"

Outside of this instance, there are a few other things about sacrifices to consider. On the feast days, God never says to not cook, but they are rest days (Sabbaths) just like the weekly. There is also the aspect that all the feast days have some type of sacrifice happening specifically for that feast day. Sacrifices are cooking. Even in Numbers 28:2, the sacrifice is called "food" for God. These feast days do not have an exception to the command if they fall onto a weekly Sabbath. Also, looking at Numbers 28, there are daily sacrifices that don't stop just because it is the Sabbath and sacrifices specifically for the Sabbath.

So, to cook or not to cook on the Sabbath? That is the question you will need to seek and pray about for you and yours.

https://thestraightandnarrow.cfw.me/comics/557

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