[Exodus 15] The Song of Moses. In this chapter Moses brings a song, or a poem of commemorating the great victory of God over Pharaoh at the Red Sea. Not only thankful for past conquest the song also looks forward to the overthrow of Canaan and the entry of the children of God into the land of Promise.
[Exo 15:1-27 KJV] 1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD [is] my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he [is] my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD [is] a man of war: the LORD [is] his name. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. 5 The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. 6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, [which] consumed them as stubble. 8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, [and] the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. 10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. 11 Who [is] like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who [is] like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful [in] praises, doing wonders? 12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. 13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people [which] thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided [them] in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. 14 The people shall hear, [and] be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. 15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. 16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be [as] still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, [which] thou hast purchased. 17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, [in] the place, O LORD, [which] thou hast made for thee to dwell in, [in] the Sanctuary, O Lord, [which] thy hands have established. 18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever. 19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry [land] in the midst of the sea. 20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they [were] bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, [which] when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, 26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I [am] the LORD that healeth thee. 27 And they came to Elim, where [were] twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
The Israelites are camped on the eastern shore of the Red Sea near a place known in later centuries as the “Fountains of Moses.” Here at this place Moses pens for us a song or poem recorded in vs. 1-18, that is older than any poem recorded or known to exist by over 100 years. It is called the Song of Moses but also called by the Jews the Song of the Sea. Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church and others use this song in their liturgies and honor it in their canons.
The literary characteristics of this song point up to us the fact that it is written in one of the oldest variants of the Hebrew language, predating by far the Hebrew style in which the remainder of the book of Exodus is written. Scholars consider this passage (1-18) to be the oldest surviving texts that describe from pre-Monarchial times the Exodus from Egypt by Moses and the Israelites. The oldest dating given for this text reaches back to 1,300 years before the time of Christ.
Isaac Levy writing in 1965 stated:
“Presumably, this text is called a ketuba (“marriage contract”) because the relationship between God and the Jewish people is traditionally described as a marriage, and the splitting of the sea is considered to be an important event leading to that marriage, which ultimately took place 42 days later, at Mt. Sinai.”
The number 42 is interesting because Matthew chapter one (as previously stated) declares 42 generations from Abraham to Jesus. There are also 42 encampments of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan. The number 40 is the number of probation and testing. It is also the product of 8 x 5. Eight is the number of new beginnings and 5 is the number grace. Thus 42 is a number speaking of God’s foreshadowing in the Exodus from Egypt a new beginning in grace He intended to bring about in Christ and the exodus led by Moses is a testimony (2=testimony) of that ultimate purpose of God in Christ.
The song begins with a song of the Lord because of His triumph to throw the horse and the rider into the sea. A horse in scripture represents human ego governed by the rider which speaks to us of the compulsion to sin driven by demonic princes and principalities. Both the sin-cursed ego and the bondage to sin are destroyed in the Red Sea which is a type of water baptism that all converts to Christ should undertake when they are born again. Thus we understand that salvation is not an augmentation of a self-directed life, but a crossing over out of self and bondage to sin into obedience to Christ in the Christian journey.
Because we have crossed over from the world and into Christ we now (v 2) understand that the Lord is our strength and our salvation and we then are responsible to prepare Him a habitation. For Moses and the children of Israel the habitation they prepared was the tent of the tabernacle where the Lord met them in Shekinah glory between the cherubim. For you and I in the New Covenant we understand what Paul declares in his first letter to the Corinthians:
[1Co 3:16 KJV] 16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
In v. 9 we see that although the children of Israel passed over the enemy (Pharaoh) still said in his heart “I will pursue…” Likewise when you become a believer, Christ has made you free indeed, but the enemy is still in pursuit to destroy you and to destroy your testimony in Christ. What happens next? You would think that God would take action next but the song says that it is Moses who acts (according to an alternate rendering of the verse), to draw his sword and then God blows with His wind to destroy the enemy in your life. What is the sword? The sword is the word of God.
In your walk with God when the enemy is in hot pursuit it is wrong to think “God must now act…” No, using Moses’ song as our example God will do nothing until we draw our sword which is the word of God. When you stand on the word, pray the word and declare the word then (v. 10) God will blow with His wind and cause the waters of your deliverance in Christ to be the waters of destruction to turn the enemy back. If you don’t act first then the enemy gains the advantage.
God stretches forth His hand (v. 12) to destroy those outside of His clemency, but in the same stroke He shows mercy for the people He has chosen to redeem and from that point He will guide those that He redeems. Here we see Jesus as our savior but also as our Lord. Having delivered us from sin He now purposes to be our guide in life, no longer leaving us to our own choices or purposes. What is to be our response?
In v. 14 standing on the other side of God’s deliverance we are to “hear and be afraid…” Not just the nations of the Heathen but the believer as well must fear because our God is a consuming fire and a jealous God. We are not free to live our lives on our own recognizance we must pass over into His hand because (v. 17) in His great act of redemption in Christ which the Exodus is a foreshadowing of, we are not His purchased possession. Just as God purchased the Israelites out of Egypt so Jesus has purchased us out of the world in the New Birth. We are not our own we are bought with a price and that should be reflected in every choice, every act, and every purpose that impacts our life from the day we are born again until now.
When then in v. 20 see that Miriam joins the act and dances with all the women (at least 600,000 women in all) and as Moses sings, they dance and answer the song of Moses in v. 21 “Sing ye to the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously…” Who are they telling to sing? They are telling Moses to sing because they are acknowledging everything Moses is singing about to be true.
In v. 22 we go from this scene three days into the wilderness. They have no water. It is said you can live 30 days without food, 3 days without water and 3 minutes without air. The people are desperate and they are looking to Moses for answers. On the third day they come to Marah but the waters are bitter and what do the people do? Those that danced and sang three days before, and witnessed the supernatural deliverance at the Red Sea now complain and murmur. This is a lesson to learn if you are a leader among God’s people. They have short memories. They will laud you and sing praise to God on your behalf one day and curse your name the next. You have to be ready for that and stay sweet in your soul and remain more greatly fixed on what God says to you in your heart than what people think at any given time.
When the people cry out in thirst at the waters of bitterness Moses takes a tree and casts it into the waters. This is interesting because here a tree is used to provide water for the people. Next Moses strikes a Rock to give water and after that (though he disobeyed) he was supposed to speak to the Rock for water to come forth. Thus we see a foreshadowing of the Cross as the tree cast into the waters of our lost humanity and we are saved, then Christ is smitten as the Rock who hung on that tree, henceforward not needing to be smitten anymore but merely spoken to in faith to see the refreshing of God come forth in our lives.
