Moses and all the children of Israel sang a song to The LORD the words of which are contained in this chapter and the words ‘I will sing to the LORD’ is repeated in three Psalms. It seems to be in four or five stanzas.
The song begins (v1-5) by remembrance of what The LORD had done for them, ‘The LORD who had triumphed gloriously’. It would have been fresh in their memories – ‘the horse and riders He has thrown into the sea’; ‘Pharaoh’s armies and chariots drowned in the sea’. It is considered that this song was a spontaneous outburst of praise.
‘The LORD is my strength and my song, He has become my salvation, He is my God, and I will exalt Him’. The song is all about God and He should be the theme of our worship. Nowhere does Moses take any credit for himself or anyone but God.
The second stanza (v6-10) continues in glorying in the power of God. They were amazed at His power to hold the waters back and standing upright as a heap and how God blew with His wind and the sea returned to normal and covered the Egyptians and they sank in the waters. The great event had given them hope but not long before the Red Sea parting they were wishing they had never left Egypt.
The third stanza (v11-13) asks the question, ‘Who is like You, O LORD?’ and answers, ‘glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders.’ How grateful they were for what He had done but as we shall see, they soon forgot. However, let them glory in The LORD for He had done marvellous things for them. They rejoiced in His redemption of them and looking forward to His guidance in the future. It was clear to them as to who had done all this, it was beyond man’s doing, it was all of God. No doubt, the discerning people of their enemies would also have seen it, but maybe they didn’t attribute it to God. The Egyptians had seen the numerous demonstrations of the power of God over their so-called gods.
Isaiah asked the same question (Isaiah 40:25,26) “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.”
The fourth and fifth stanzas seem to be linked together (v14-18) commencing with ‘The people will hear and be afraid’…. Fear and dread will fall upon them….’
We read of these nations later as they journeyed towards Canaan – ‘Moab was sick with dread because of the Children of Israel’ (Numbers 22:3) and Balak their king sent for Balaam to prophesy against Israel.
Edom ‘will be afraid of you’ (Deuteronomy 2:4)
All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away’. This was certainly the case when the spies entered Jericho even forty years later. Rahab told them that they had heard how The LORD had dried up the Red Sea when they came out of Egypt and were in fear of the Israelites. (Joshua 2:10)
The song concludes – “Till Your people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over whom You have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O LORD, which You have made
For Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have established.
The LORD shall reign forever and ever.” I’m sure that at the time they believed that but sadly it didn’t last, and they doubted it.
We often sing or say it today, but do we always mean it?
In Revelation 15:1-4 we read, “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvellous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.”
They sing the song of Moses and of The Lamb. I know that in Deuteronomy 32, towards the end of his earthly life, Moses sang another song before Joshua led the people into the Promised Land. I’m sure that some of my theologian friends may tell me but so far as I can see, the Apostle John does not tell us which song of Moses it was, but both songs are a testimony to the greatness and power of God and His saving grace. In this song in Exodus and in Revelation he talks about the nations fearing God and God’s name being glorified, so I think it is probably fair to say that it is this one.
I love the song written by Townend and Getty, ‘King of the ages, Almighty God’ is undoubtedly based upon these verses in Revelation.
Just as Moses and the people could sing of the power, greatness and deliverance of God, we too can sing of our deliverance from sin, through our Lord Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection and giving us the victory in this life and the next.
Miriam the sister of Moses and Aaron led the women with timbrels and dances in what seemed to be a refrain to the song of Moses – “Sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously. The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” (v19-21)
Moses brought the people from the Red Sea and into the Wilderness of Shur. No doubt they were in high spirits after what had happened a few days earlier and looking forward to their new land promised by God to their forefathers. They had travelled three days, but calamity struck, they had no water (v22). I understand that the human body can go three days maximum without water. They had seen the Egyptians drown in it and now they have none.
They did come to some water, but it wasn’t drinkable (v23-25) – “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. And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD 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.”
It was understandable, I suppose, that they complained. They were only three days into their journey, but it was probably a miracle that they came to water at all, considering it was a wilderness. Moses did the right thing, he prayed, and The LORD showed him a tree which he threw into the waters, and they became sweet and drinkable. Commentators believe that this was a reference to the cross which makes our bitterness sweet and changes our lives.
The incident at Marah was meant as a test of Israel (v25-27). Not only was it to quench their thirst for water, but it was a promise that none of the diseases which God brought on the Egyptians would come upon them on condition that they “…. diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes,” To pass the test they must be obedient. Thus, their obedience would lead to their physical health.
I recall a book written by Dr. S.I. McMillen entitled, ‘None of These Diseases’ where he stated that many of God’s laws to Israel had a direct impact of hygiene and health. Practices such as circumcision, quarantine, washing in running water, and eating kosher made a real medical difference in keeping Israel free from disease.
Sadly, many Christians have used this a guarantee that we should never be ill and if we are, we lack faith and are being disobedient. This promise was limited to Israel and probably for the exodus duration only, as almost all of them died before reaching the Promised Land. We are later told in Deuteronomy 29:5 “And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.” The proponents of no sickness don’t include this.
In this test The LORD stated (v26) “For I am the LORD who heals you.” (‘Jehovah Rapha’). They learned much from this testing. The LORD tests us to bring out the best in us, but Satan tempts us to bring out the worst. They received this wonderful promise and new name for The LORD.
“Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters” (v27).
God is faithful and after the test at Marah brought them to a wonderful place. No shortage of water there – twelve wells and seventy palm trees. It was just what they needed.
