EXODUS 15 - THE SONG OF MOSES
This Chapter is one of three songs written by Moses which appear in the Old Testament as part of the inspired Word of God. The other two are found in Deuteronomy Chapter 32 and in Psalm 90. Besides being the one through whom God led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, as well as the one who wrote the first five books of the Bible, Moses was also a gifted songwriter. In addition to three songs in the Old Testament, there is even a song of Moses in Rev. 15:3-4, which will be sung in Heaven.
The song of Moses that we have in Exodus 15 is characterized by praise and celebration for God’s delivery of His people from the army of Pharoah which God caused to be swallowed up in the Red Sea. The first verse tells us that it was sung by Moses and all of the people of Israel. The women of Israel also join in the singing and praise in Vs. 20-21, and even offer up dances of praise. Yet, as Vs. 1 goes on, we see that Moses makes it very personal for he declares “I will sing to the Lord”, and then he speaks in Vs. 2 of the Lord as his strength, his song, his salvation, and his God.
God’s people are to corporately praise Him, but the praise must flow individually from each of our hearts.
We also see in Vs. 1 that the first thing Moses praises God for is that He has triumphed gloriously. At this time, the glorious triumph was over Pharoah and his army, but it prefigures the praise in the Rev. 15:3-4 for the victory of the Lamb (Jesus) over all that is evil.
After Moses recounts the specifics of what God did in triumphing over the Egyptians, he declares in Vs. 11 “Who is like you O LORD, among the gods.” This is a great declaration of the uniqueness and unequaled power and majestic holiness of the One True God. There is none like Him. No wonder that Jesus is called the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Just as the waters of the Red Sea swallowed up the Egyptian army, the Bible proclaims in 1 Cor. 15:54 that the resurrection of Jesus has caused death to be swallowed up in victory.
In Vs. 13, Moses proclaims that God has led His people in love to their redemption, and that He has guided them by His strength. This is so true of our own salvation, for Rom. 2:4 tells us that it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance, and Jesus tells us over and over again in John Chapters 14-16 that God will send us the Holy Spirit to be our guide, comforter, strength and power.
In Vs. 18, Moses declares that the Lord will reign forever and ever. This speaks of God’s eternal nature and sovereign power. This reminds us that there is no end to God’s existence, power, or sovereignty.
Then, after all of this praise of God, the song ends, and the people start grumbling in Vs. 22-25 because of the lack of water in the wilderness, and because the only water they had been able to find was too bitter to drink. It seems ironic that after seeing God use water to drown the Egyptians, they could not trust God to provide them with enough water to drink in the wilderness. However, God directed Moses to a log, which Moses threw in the water, and it turned the water from bitter to sweet.
What a beautiful reminder this is of how Jesus can take the most bitter experiences in our lives, and make them sweet when we cast our troubles and burdens upon Him. What a beautiful reminder it also is of how, when the Holy Spirit indwells us, He will cause rivers of living water to flow out of us.
As the Chapter closes, Moses instructs the people to diligently listen to God and obey Him. In this way, their hearts can be turned back to praise for Him. And indeed, they end up having great reason to praise God again as He safely brings them to a place with 12 springs of water and with shade from 70 palm trees, which must have been a true oasis to them in the middle of the desert.
We see throughout this Chapter that true praise of God is centered upon who He is and what He has done, or in other words, His character and His deeds. We also see that praise for God flows out of a grateful heart, but we need to be on guard, because our praise can easily and quickly turn to grumbling. And when that happens, we need to quickly repent and turn back to Him and praise Him again.
We will never run out of reasons to praise Him, and there is never a time when He is not worthy and deserving of our praise.
We also see how when we praise God, it puts Him in His proper place, while at the same time putting us in our proper place. It causes us to exalt Him, and to bow down in humble adoration of Him. It causes us to remember His goodness, and to have a grateful heart. It causes us to take our focus off of ourselves, and to direct it toward God. Praise and worship of God is a powerful force which can be used by God to mature us as believers and to make us more Christlike. So, it should be a regular part of our lives.