The New Moon, Translation Day, and Manna
We know from scripture that God sent manna only on the six working days that were continuous and never on the Sabbath day. Since we believe that there are only two categories of days—six working days and the seventh day Sabbath—the manna poses no problem to us. But since the lunar Sabbatarians believe that there are three categories of days—the six working day, Sabbath days and new moon days (and the lunar Sabbatarians are divided where to attach the translation day, the thirtieth)—the coming of the manna poses a real problem to them.
The picture is simple. Did God send manna on the translation days and on the new moon days? If they say no, then two possibilities exists:
First possibility—God sent enough manna to last for four days on the final sixth day of the week of the month (the twenty-eighth, the twenty-ninth, the thirtieth, and the first).
Second possibility—They (men, women, and children) fasted for two full days (30th and 1st).
On the first possibility, if God sent manna on the twenty-eighth (the sixth day of the week) for a four days’ provision, it means it was a bigger miracle than what happened on the Sabbath day—the manna did not stink or breed worms for four days continuously! It would show that all of those three days were equal in importance.
The very purpose of the manna not coming down only on one day was to identify and show the greatness of the Sabbath day!
For the second possibility, God making them fast for two days, including the old people and the children, would reveal an unsympathetic God. That is in contrast to what He is—the One who gives us “our daily bread.”
If they say, Yes, God sent manna on the translation day and on the new moon day, then that is the right answer, for God said, “the seventh day, which is the Sabbath in it there shall be none.” This means every day other than the Sabbath it would fall. But God also said, “Six days ye shall gather it” Exodus 16:26. There would not be at any time more than six days of God continuously sending down manna. And further, there would be only one day after the six that God would not send manna which means:
a) There are only two categories of days—six work days and Sabbath day, and,
b) Sabbaths come continuously every seventh day uninterrupted by translation or new moon days.
And that should be the end of the lunar Sabbath theory that Sabbaths are fixed on the eighth, the fifteenth, the twenty-second, and the twenty-ninth!
Manna on the New Moon: Yes or No?
The lunar Sabbatarians are not sure what happened to the manna-giving during the month-end. They give different opinions.
One group believes that manna was not given, so they fasted.
Israel apparently fasted on new moon . . . (A Quick Thought: Did Israel gather or eat Manna on New Moon days?; accessed 11–4–13 at http://www.creationcalendar.com/CalendarIssue/05-QT-Manna.pdf)
That means old people and kids, too, fasted for two continuous days when there was a translation day every second month.
On the other hand, the same author in the same article says that God could have blessed them with a four days’ portion on the last day of the last week, and he compares it with the year of the Jubilee, where God blessed them for four years in advance:
. . . the 48th year of the Jubilee cycle had to provide produce for FOUR years (the 48th, 49th, 50th and the first year of the subsequent Jubilee cycle). (Ibid.; emphasis in original)
Collecting manna for four days wasn’t a problem. The people tried to collect more than what they required for one day, and it stank and bred worms. Preserving it for four days was a problem. If God provided manna for four days and preserved it for them, as He provided extra grain during the end of the jubilee cycle, He should have mentioned it to them, as He mentioned it in the Jubilee cycle period!
Another lunar Sabbath promoter is still not sure whether or not manna was given during the translation and new moon days. They are inclining towards manna been given, though:
Since New Moons are not seventh-day Sabbaths, it is possible that they would have gathered manna on New Moon days… The jury is still out on whether the Israelites were to gather manna for any New Moon days or Feast days other than the seventh-day Sabbath. My inclination is toward their not gathering a double portion on the previous day to a New Moon day and the other feasts.” (“Three Months in a Row” accessed at www.worldslastchance.com; paragraph no longer available)
Even though the above quotation is no longer available online, this quotation is:
Since the “full [sic— no end quotation mark is supplied] New Moons are not seventh-day Sabbaths, it appears plausible that they would have gathered manna on New Moon days. . . . While the seventh-day Sabbath is a feast, all feasts are not seventh-day Sabbaths. Therefore it appears that Israel would have gathered manna on all feast days except the first day of Unleavened Bread and the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, as both of these always fall on the seventh-day Sabbath. (Kerrie L. French; accessed 11–4–13 at http://www.thecreatorscalendar.com/Articles/three_months/3_02_The_Mountain.html)
Lunar Sabbatarians triumphantly try to ask us whether the eastern gates of the temple were to be opened or shut (Ezekiel 46:1) if the new moon falls on the week day. Yet, they are not sure whether the manna fell on new moon days, translation days, feast days, etc!