Exodus 15: The Song of Moses
The Apostle Paul tells us that the delivery in the Red Sea was was a baptism: "For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ." (1 Corinthians 10:1-4) By faith, Jesus can become your salvation in your water baptism. In these waters, the inhabitants of Egypt or Philistine can become Israelites… And they can sing the song of Moses in truth.
1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to Yahweh, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to Yahweh, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!
2 Yahweh is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation (Yahweh is... become my salvation; my Yeshua- my Jesus]; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
3 Yahweh is a man of war; Yahweh is His name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The depths have covered them; they sank to the bottom like a stone.
6 “Your right hand, O Yahweh, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Yahweh, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
7 And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath;
It consumed them like stubble.
8 And with the blast of Your nostrils the waters were gathered together; the floods stood upright like a heap; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’
10 You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 “Who is like You, O Yahweh, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
12 You stretched out Your right hand; the earth swallowed them.
13 You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength
to Your holy habitation.
14 “The people will hear and be afraid; sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling will take hold of them; all the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.
16 Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of Your arm they will be as still as a stone, till Your people pass over, O Yahweh, till the people pass over whom You have purchased.
17 You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O Yahweh, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Yahweh, which Your hands have established.
18 “Yahweh shall reign forever and ever.”
19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and Yahweh brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
"Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Rom 6:3-4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NhJ16vm39M
Exodus 15: The Song of Miriam
20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
Many folks accuse the Old Testament Jewish religion of being biased against woman. They say that Jesus came to upset the status quo in this area. But it seems that indeed, He came not to abolish but to fulfill— to make manifest what should have already been practiced… and to do it. Indeed, from the beginning, it was so. Even in this the first of many deliverances of the children of Israel, both male and female played roles, as it is written: "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Gal 3:26-29)
"Miriam the prophetess — So called, either in a general sense, because she was an instructer of other women in the praise and service of God, or in a more special sense, because she had the spirit of prophecy, Numbers 12:2; Micah 6:4." (Benson Commentary) Miriam "is the first woman whom the Bible honours with the title of ‘prophetess.’” (Pulpit Commentary) She was "not merely pious and God-fearing, but exercised a quasi-ministerial office. Examples of other ‘prophetesses' will be found in Judges 4:4; 2Kings 22:14; Isaiah 8:3; Luke 2:36. In the early Christian Church there was an order of 'deaconesses (Romans 16:1…)’" (Ellicott's Commentary), as well.
"Moses led the sacred song, and gave it out for the men, and then Miriam for the women. Famous victories were wont to be applauded by the daughters of Israel, (1 Sam 18:6-7,) so was this. When God brought Israel out of Egypt, it is said, (Micah 6:4,) he sent before them Moses, Aaron, and Miriam; though we read not of any thing remarkable that Miriam did but this. But those are to be reckoned great blessings to a people, that go before them in praising God." (Benson Commentary)
The other women followed Miriam's example—> WITH TIMBRELS— The timbrel or hand-drum was a "ring of wood or metal, covered with a tightly-drawn skin, held up in one hand, and struck by the fingers of the other… used on joyous occasions, as Genesis 31:27, 2 Samuel 6:5, and with dances, as here, Jdg 11:34, 1 Samuel 18:6, Jeremiah 31:4. For women celebrating a victory, see Jdg 11:34 (Jephthah’s daughter), Psalm 68:11 (RV.), and esp. 1 Samuel 18:6-7.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) AND WITH DANCES— “Dancing… though adopted into religious worship by many nations, sanctioned by the present passage, by the example of David (2 Sam 6:16), and by expressions in the Psalms (Ps 149:3; 150:4), has never found an entrance into Christian ceremonial... The reason of this is to be found in the abuses which, through human infirmity, became by degrees connected with the practice, causing it to become unfit for a religious purpose. In the primitive times, however, solemn and stately dances were deemed appropriate to festival periods and religious rejoicings, and among the more moral tribes and nations had nothing unseemly about them."(Ellicott's Commentary)They were used by the daughters of Israel to help celebrate the deliverance of Israel.
21 And Miriam answered them: “Sing to Yahweh, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!”
"And Miriam answered them”… "The men: they sung by turns, or in parts.” (Benson)
"Miriam and her maidens at the close of each portion of the ‘Song'—i.e., at the end of Exodus 15:5; Exodus 15:10; Exodus 15:12; Exodus 15:18—sang the refrain which is here given—
“Sing to Yahweh,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!”
a refrain very slightly altered from the opening verse of the ‘Song’ itself, marking, no doubt, the time with their timbrels, and moving gracefully through a stately and solemn dance.” (Ellicott's Commentary)
"Singing is not limited to Levites, men, or a certain age group. All are to sing to their Maker.” (Earl Lewis) "When we join our own voices of ascent to truth and praise, the greater is the faith made whole.” (Bishop Jerry Ogles)
"Whether or not this ode [of Moses and Miriam] was composed beforehand in anticipation of this moment we cannot tell. It may have been; else how could it have been sung by those assembled thousands? But this in itself would be a striking token of the faith…
So does God turn our anxieties into occasions of singing... weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning. The redeemed obtain gladness and joy; God puts gladness into their hearts, and new songs into their mouths...
Long years of waiting and preparation and obedience shall be rewarded at last, as certainly as God is God. If not before, yet surely when the eternal morning is breaking on the shores of time, we shall join in shouts of victory; which shall awaken eternal echoes, as with myriads beside we sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.”
(F. B. Meyer)
Exodus 15: Bitter Waters Made Sweet in Ministry
22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
"Our joys and sorrows, like the varied products of nature, lie very close together. One moment we are singing the joyous song of victory on the shores of the Red Sea, and vow we will never again mistrust our God; and then, by a sudden transition, we find ourselves standing beside the Marsh waters of pain and disappointment, inclined to murmur at our lot.” (F. B Meyer) "When the supply fails, our faith is soon gone." (Martin Luther)
"Here we see that deliverances, however great, do not exempt from future difficulties and trials. Never was a greater deliverance, of a temporal nature, wrought out for any people than that of the Israelites from Pharaoh and from Egypt. It is the most wonderful act of God’s almighty power, next to the creation of the world, and its destruction by, and subsequent restoration from the flood, which we read of in the Old Testament… And yet the very people, thus delivered, find themselves, immediately on their deliverance… in danger of perishing with thirst!” (Benson Commentary)
23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. [Literally Bitter]
The water at the oasis later called Marah was brackish (Exodus 15:23-24)-bitter. “We may in our journey have reached the pools that promised us satisfaction, only to find them brackish. That marriage, that friendship, that new home, that partnership, that fresh avenue of pleasure, which promised so well turns out to be absolutely disappointing. Who has not muttered 'Marah' over some desert well which he strained every nerve to reach, but when reached, it disappointed him!” (F. B. Meyer)
24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 So he cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them.
"The multitude turns from God. Moses flees to Him. One looks to earth and frets. The other looks above and hopes.” (Henry Law) "It is the greatest relief of the cares of magistrates and ministers, when those under their charge make them uneasy, that they may have recourse to God by prayer. He is the guide of the church’s guides; and to the chief Shepherd the under shepherds must, on all occasions, apply themselves.” (Benson)
"The Lord then set before them the fundamental principle of implicit trust, to be shown by obedience.” (Barnes Notes) It was simple act of faith. "Throwing the wood into the water did not magically change it [nor was the change natural- by science, for it was a supernatural miracle from Yahweh]. This was a symbolic act, similar to Moses lifting his staff over the sea (Exodus 14:16).” (Dr. Thomas Constable)
"The waters of Marah tested the heart of Israel and developed their murmuring spirit; but the Lord showed them that there was no bitterness which He could not sweeten with the provision of His own grace.” (C. H. Mackintosh) "What changes bitter to sweet for us- the Cross, the remembrance of Christ’s death. ‘Consider Him that endured.’ The Cross is the true tree which, when ‘cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet.’” (Maclaren’s Exposition)
“He bare our sins in his own body on the tree.” (1 Peter 2:24)
26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of Yahweh your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am Yahweh who heals you.”
In the future: "The Israelites would not suffer the diseases God had sent on the Egyptians (i.e., experience His discipline) if they obeyed His word as they had just done. They had just cast the tree into the pool… God was teaching His people that He was responsible for their physical as well as their spiritual wellbeing. While doctors diagnose and prescribe, only God can heal.” (Dr. Thomas Constable) "But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men.’” (Acts 5:29)
"The cross means the yielding up of the will. Now, it is in proportion as we see God’s will in the various events of life, and surrender ourselves either to bear or do it, that we shall find earth’s bitter things becoming sweet, and its hard things easy. We must yield our will to God. — The secret of blessedness is in saying ‘Yes' to the will of God, as it is shown in the circumstances of our lot or the revelations of his Word. It is the will of a Father whose love and wisdom are beyond question. We must accept what He permits. — It may be that our pains emanate from the malevolence or negligence of others; still, if He has permitted them, they are his will for us. By the time they reach us they have become minted with his die, and we must patiently submit.
We must do all He bids. — The thread of obedience must always be running through our hands. At all costs to our choice and feeling we must not only have his commands, but keep them. Our Lord perpetually lays stress on obeying his words. This is the spirit of the Cross, and the properties of this tree sweeten earth’s bitterest sorrows. 'Disappointments become his appointments.’” (F. B Meyer)
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.
Relief is found in ministry. "The Lord graciously and tenderly provides green spots in the desert for His journeying people; and though they are, at best, but oases, yet are they refreshing to the spirit and encouraging to the heart... 'The twelve’ and 'the seventy' are numbers intimately associated with ministry. BUT ELIM WAS NOT CANAAN. Its wells and palm trees were but foretastes of that happy land which lay beyond the bounds of the sterile desert on which the redeemed had just entered. It furnished refreshment, no doubt, but it was wilderness refreshment. It was but for passing moment, designed, in grace, to encourage their depressed spirits, and nerve them for their onward march to Canaan. Thus it is as we know, with ministry in the Church. It is a gracious provision for our need, designed to refresh, strengthen, and encourage our hearts, 'until we all come to the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ.' (Ephesians 4:1-32)." (C H Mackintosh)