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The day was already a [[holy]] day, sanctified by God following the [[Creation]]:

The day was already a [[holy]] day, sanctified by God following the [[Creation]]:

{{Bible quote|And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.|book=Genesis|chap=2|verses=2-3|version=KJV}}

{{Bible quote|And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.|book=Genesis|chap=2|verses=2-3|version=KJV}}

That the Sabbath was already known and observed as man's day of rest before it was "set in stone" in the Commandments is confirmed by events several weeks ''before'' God gave the Ten Commandments to the nation of [[Israel]], when they first entered the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula. Within a matter of days the Israelites' food supplies, which were limited to all they could carry with them from [[Egypt]], had been exhausted. They said to [[Moses]]: "Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger." (Exodus 16:3)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2016:3;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref> However, God promised to send [[manna]], a miraculous substance to nourish and sustain them, but He would provide it only for six days out of every seven. On the sixth day there would be twice as much as usual, but none on the seventh day. Moses explained that "Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the '''sabbath''', in it there shall be none." (Exodus 16:260<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2016:26;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref>

That the Sabbath was already known and observed as man's day of rest before it was "set in stone" in the Commandments is confirmed by events several weeks ''before'' God gave the Ten Commandments to the nation of [[Israel]], when they first entered the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula. Within a matter of days the Israelites' food supplies, which were limited to all they could carry with them from [[Egypt]], had been exhausted. They said to [[Moses]]: "Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger." (Exodus 16:3)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2016:3;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref> However, God promised to send [[manna]], a miraculous substance to nourish and sustain them, but He would provide it only for six days out of every seven. On the sixth day there would be twice as much as usual, but none on the seventh day. Moses explained that "Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the '''sabbath''', in it there shall be none." (Exodus 16:26)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2016:26;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref>

God considered that the Sabbath observance was ''already'' His law: some of the Israelites disobeyed Moses and went out looking for manna on the seventh day "but they found none" (Exodus 16:27)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2016:27;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref> God's Word regarding this disobedience, and that seventh-day Sabbath observance was ''already'' a commandment was unequivocal:

God considered that the Sabbath observance was ''already'' His law: some of the Israelites disobeyed Moses and went out looking for manna on the seventh day "but they found none" (Exodus 16:27)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2016:27;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref> God's Word regarding this disobedience, and that seventh-day Sabbath observance was ''already'' a commandment was unequivocal:

{{Bible quote|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.|book=Exodus|chap=16|verses=28-29|version=KJV}}

{{Bible quote|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.|book=Exodus|chap=16|verses=28-29|version=KJV}}