The Praise by Moses For Deliverance
December 10, 2021
Commentary
Israel was now on the eastern shore of the Red Sea having been rescued from the clutches of her enemies by God. Moses now leads the people in a song of praise which is the first recorded song in the Bible. He is accompanied by his sister Miriam and her woman companions with instruments. The structure of the song is made up of 4 stanzas:
1. Stanza one briefly introduces God’s powerful victory (vv. 1-5).
2.Stanza two graphically repeats the victory and then inserts the arrogant and vengeful assertions of victory by the enemy to show how puny they were (vv. 6-10).
3.Stanza three summarizes the victory after asking an appropriate question (vv. 11-13). Since the victory was essential for Israel’s rescue, the stanza also introduces them.
4.Stanza four picks up and expands on God’s leading of His people to their divinely assigned home (vv. 14-17). Also, it causes other nations to fear, as they hear of Israel’s dramatic rescue. The closing line sums it all up when it says, The Lord reigns (v. 18).
The interlude that follows (vv. 19-20) reminds us of the theme behind the song and introduces the response of Miriam and her band of women (v. 21).
Application
When you sing do you think about the words you are singing and whether they are exalting men or God? It is my conviction that music where the beat is predominant and the words are hard to hear and not clearly understood doesn’t really glorify the Lord.
Exodus 15:1– 21 (NET)
1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3 The Lord is a warrior — the Lord is his name.
4 The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he has thrown into the sea, and his chosen officers were drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The depths have covered them; they went down to the bottom like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power; your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.
7 In the abundance of your majesty you have overthrown those who rise up against you. You sent forth your wrath; it consumed them like stubble.
8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters were piled up, the flowing water stood upright like a heap, and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, ‘I will chase, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, working wonders?
12 You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them.
13 By your loyal love you will lead the people whom you have redeemed; you will guide them by your strength to your holy dwelling place.
14 The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, trembling will seize the leaders of Moab, and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake.
16 Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of your arm they will be as still as stone until your people pass by, O Lord, until the people whom you have bought pass by.
17 You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, in the place you made for your residence, O Lord, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever!
19 For the horses of Pharaoh came with his chariots and his footmen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.”
20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand drums and with dances. 21 Miriam sang in response to them, “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.”
Illustration: The Satan Syndrome
To use authoritative words undiscerningly runs the risk of treating the power of God as if it were something to be conjured up at will. To use such language as a matter of routine rather than one of discernment borders on the magic mentality. For instance, occasionally it is possible to hear someone binding the devil in prayer so that the meeting will go well. This is not because there has been a moment of discernment but because it is presumed that the devil must be at work unless we bind him. Authority is being used here as a fetish. If we need the reassurance that God is in control, why not simply affirm this fact and thank him for it? (The Satan Syndrome, Nigel Wright, Zondervan, 1990, p. 195).