#29 – Exodus 15:1-21
Great Things He Has Done
We’ve traced Moses’ story through the phases of his life: prince, shepherd, and ambassador of the L-RD. Now we discover Moses as poet. Here we see Israel’s original “shepherd-songwriter” – a role King David will later make famous.
The Song of Moses
We don’t have the melody, but the lyrics sung by Moses and the people of Israel have been preserved in Exodus 15:
“I will sing to the L-RD, for He is highly exalted;
The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
The L-RD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my G-d, and I will praise Him;
My father’s G-d, and I will extol Him.
The L-RD is a warrior;
The L-RD is His name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
The deeps cover them;
They went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O L-RD, is majestic in power,
Your right hand, O L-RD, shatters the enemy.
And in the greatness of Your excellence
You overthrow those who rise up against You;
You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.
At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up,
The flowing waters stood up like a heap;
The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be gratified against them;
I will draw out my sword, my hand will destroy them.’
You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like You among the gods, O L-RD?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?
You stretched out Your right hand,
The earth swallowed them.
In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed;
In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation.
The peoples have heard, they tremble;
Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.
“Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
Terror and dread fall upon them;
By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone;
Until Your people pass over, O L-RD,
Until the people pass over whom You have purchased.
You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance,
The place, O L-RD, which You have made for Your dwelling,
The sanctuary, O L-RD, which Your hands have established.
The L-RD shall reign forever and ever.”
(Exodus 15:1-18)
A personal testimony
Moses begins his song in the first person singular: I will sing. (Exodus 15:1b.) Yes, others may sing along, but for Moses this is a personal testimony.
Moses is singing unto the L-RD, for He is highly exalted. (Exodus 15:1bc.) The L-RD is Moses’ strength, song, and salvation. His father’s G-d is his G-d, and Moses is bent on praising and extoling Him. (Exodus 15:2 NASB.)
The victory in poetry
Moses first references the historical event he had just witnessed by highlighting a single snapshot of what transpired. The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. (Exodus 15:1d.) Battle scenes are interspersed with praises throughout his composition. Here are his descriptions in verse of Pharaoh’s forces and their demise:
The enemy’s stated intent is to pursue, plunder, and destroy Israel with the sword. (Exodus 15:9 NASB.)
Pharaoh’s chariots and army, including his best officers, drown like stones, like lead in the depths of the sea. (Exodus 15:4-5, 10c NASB.)
Moses leaves no doubt as to the identity of the hero of his epic song: the G-d of Israel. Moses depicts Him with vivid brushstrokes:
The L-RD is a warrior. (Exodus 15:3 NASB.)
His right hand is majestic in power, overthrowing and shattering His foes in the greatness of His excellence, consuming them in His wrath. (Exodus 15:6-7 NASB.)
The gale that divided the waters is a blast from G-d’s nostrils; His wind also closed up the mighty waters (Exodus 15:8,10a NASB.)
The rhetorical question, Who is like You among the gods, O L-RD?[1] anticipates a “No one!” in response. Majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders can only describe the Creator of the Universe.
We have a shift to the prophetic future beginning in verse 13. Moses references G-d’s lovingkindness in leading His redeemed people to Your holy habitation. (Exodus 15:13 NASB.) Obviously, the other side of the Red Sea is not yet that place. Verse 17 speaks of the mountain of Your inheritance as the place G-d will plant the Jewish people, where the sanctuary for His dwelling[2] will be. (Exodus 15:17 NASB.)
There is also mention of how the neighboring nations will respond when the news reaches them of how Israel’s G-d has fought for them. Philistia, Moab, and Canaan are specifically named. They will tremble in anguish, dismay, terror, and dread, becoming “motionless like stone.” (Exodus 15:14-16b NASB.) Note that this will continue until[3] the Jewish people pass through to the place G-d is leading them: the Promised Land. Moses is not only a poet but also a prophet.
All together now
“They drowned, we didn’t even get our feet wet” is provided as a summary recap (Exodus 15:19 NASB). Then Moses’ sister Miriam[4] leads the women, dancing and playing timbrels, in the chorus:
“Sing to the L-RD, for He is highly exalted;
The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.” (Exodus 15:21.)
Fear factor/Misery index
Their fear dissipated, the misery of bondage ended, the Jewish people have reason to rejoice. Yes, there is song and dance, but it begins and ends with Sing to the L-RD. True, the enemy has been not only defeated but destroyed. But Moses ensures Israel’s focus will be vertical as he exalts the One who brought the victory.
Where is G-d?
As we close our study (with only an Epilogue to follow), we find G-d exactly where He should be: honored, extolled, and worshiped by a grateful people recounting His righteous deeds, majestic power, and excellent greatness.
A fitting conclusion
Moses ends his song of praise to the L-RD with these words: “The L-RD shall reign forever and ever.” (Exodus 15:18.) These words, evoking the stirring conclusion of Handel’s magnificent Messiah, echo Isaiah 9:6-7:
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty G-d,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the L-RD of hosts will accomplish this.
(Isaiah 9:6-7)
The reminder of G-d’s eternal dominion and Messiah’s “forevermore rule” should be an energizing encouragement to us today. No matter how difficult our present circumstances, our powerlessness to control them, or our uncertainty about tomorrow, we can take comfort in the reality that our “know for certain” G-d[5] has written a script with a wonderful ending.
When you re-watch a favorite movie or replay a sporting event, you may get caught up in the drama. But when you’ve seen it before, you know “the good guys win in the end.”
We all experience life in real time, right now. But G-d has already written the final chapter. He wins.
And when we’re on His side, we win, too.
[1] This verse in Hebrew begins Mi kamocha. [These words have been recited as a traditional Sabbath prayer in synagogues around the world for centuries, acknowledging the uniqueness and superiority of the G-d of Israel.] Moses later will underscore this to the children of the exodus generation in these words from Deuteronomy 4:
32 “Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that G-d created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? 33 Has any people heard the voice of G-d speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? 34 Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the L-RD your G-d did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown that you might know that the L-RD, He is G-d; there is no other besides Him…. 39 Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the L-RD, He is G-d in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.
[2] Moses is speaking of Jerusalem: compare Deuteronomy 12:5 (the place which the L-RD your G-d will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling) with the L-RD’s statement in 2 Chronicles 6:6 (but I have chosen Jerusalem that My name might be there).
[3] At the time he composed the song, Moses had no clue that 40 years would pass before the children of Israel will enter the Land, nor that he would not accompany them across the Jordan River.
[4] This is the first time the text names Moses’ sister; Miriam is identified here as a prophetess, also the first use of the word. This is not the last we hear of Miriam. Numbers 12 records the L-RD struck her with leprosy for badmouthing Moses; Deuteronomy 24:9 NASB references this incident as a cautionary tale. Thankfully, the disease was a temporary punishment, and Scripture records her death in Numbers 20:1.
[5] G-d’s words to Abram in Genesis 15:13 telling of the 400 years of enslavement and oppression before His redemption of Abram’s descendants begin “Know for certain….”
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