Exodus 15

Exodus 15:1-27

¹ Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

² The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

³ The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

Exodus: Israel becomes a nation

The *Israelites leave Egypt

Exodus Chapter s 1 to 18

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 15 Moses and Miriam sing a song – verses 1-18

v1 Then Moses and the *Israelites sang this song to the *LORD. They sang because he had defeated their enemy in a wonderful way.

I will *praise the *LORD as I sing.

I will *praise him because he is great!

The horses and their riders,

he threw them into the sea.

v2 The *LORD is my strength.

He is the reason for my song.

He has saved me!

He is my God and I will *praise him.

He is my fathers’ God.

And I will sing about how great he is.

v3 The *LORD fights wars,

The *LORD is his name.

v4 He threw *Pharaoh’s *chariots

and *Pharaoh’s army into the sea.

He has drowned *Pharaoh’s best officers

in the Red Sea.

v5 The deep waters covered them

and they sank down like a stone.

v6 Your right hand, *LORD, has wonderful power.

And with your right hand,

you broke the enemy into pieces.

v7 With your great, royal power,

you defeated those who opposed you.

Your anger is as fierce as fire.

So it burned them completely, like a fire burns straw.

v8 You were so angry that your powerful breath

caused the water to stand in a pile.

The waves stood up like a wall.

The deepest part of the sea became solid.

v9 Your enemy was very proud.

‘I will pursue them.

‘I will catch them.

I will divide their goods with my people.

I will take everything that I want from them.

Then we will use our swords

to kill them’, the enemy said.

v10 But you blew with your powerful wind

and the sea covered them.

They sank in the water like heavy metal.

v11 *LORD, no false gods compare with you.

You are the great King and you are holy.

People are afraid of you.

And they respect you

as you shine in wonderful light.

You do wonderful acts.

v12 You reached out your right hand,

and the earth swallowed the *Egyptians.

v13 Your great love never fails.

So you will lead the people whom you have freed.

You will guide them with your strength

to the holy place where you live.

v14 The nations will hear about this,

and they will tremble.

The *Philistines will shake

with fear and with great mental pain.

v15 The chiefs in the country called Edom will be very afraid.

The leaders in the country called Moab will tremble with fear.

The people in the country called *Canaan will run away,

v16 because terrible fear will seize them.

Your great power will cause them

to be as still as a stone.

Then your people can pass by, *LORD.

The people, whom you saved, will pass by.

v17 You will bring your people to live

on the mountain that you gave to them.

*LORD, you have made that place your home,

and you, *LORD, have established your holy place.

v18 Our *LORD will rule for all time.

Verses 1-3 God rescued the *Israelites from the *Egyptians. The song *praises God because of that powerful act. A king would lead his army to the battle. And the *LORD is king. The*Old Testament sometimes describes him as the ‘*LORD over hosts’. That means he was the *Lord ‘over great armies’.

Verse 4 The *LORD ‘threw’ *Pharaoh’s armies into the sea with force. In those days, a soldier would throw a stone with that kind of force.

Verse 5 Sank ‘like a stone’. That emphasises that the *Egyptians could not escape. So they drowned. (Verse 10 repeats that idea. It says that the *Egyptians sank ‘like heavy metal’.)

Verses 6-7 The *LORD’s ‘right hand’ is a way to speak about God’s power. There are three different descriptions here. They show how God’s great power killed the *Egyptians. He ‘broke them in pieces’. He ‘defeated them’. He ‘burned them completely like a fire burns straw’.

Verse 8 The song talks about God’s ‘powerful breath’ when he sent the east wind. God controls the wind. So the waves went back until the water seemed like a wall.

Verse 9 The enemy was too proud about what he could achieve. Those brief sentences show the enemies thoughts. They show that he was greedy. They are like the rapid orders that an officer would shout to his soldiers.

Verse 10 God made the wind blow the opposite way. So the water returned and covered the enemy. The *Egyptians drowned quickly. They sank like a piece of heavy metal that sinks in water.

Verse 11 The *Israelites had left a country where people *worshipped many false gods. But the *LORD had defeated all the *Egyptian false gods. ‘All who *worship images will be ashamed’ (Psalms 97:7). The *LORD is ‘holy’ and he is completely different from false gods. Only the *LORD can do wonderful things. He rescued his people and he killed their enemies in a wonderful way. People want to *praise him for his great power and impressive beauty.

Verse 12 The ‘earth’ may refer to the grave. The ‘earth swallowed the *Egyptians’ when they sank in the sea. And they all died.

Verses 13-18 These verses describe future events as the *Israelites travel to *Canaan. These verses mention the places on the route that the *Israelites would travel.

Verse 13 ‘The holy place where you live.’ That may refer to the whole of *Canaan. God was guiding the *Israelites there. But when people sang that song later, probably they thought about Shiloh. Shiloh was a special place in *Canaan where they *worshipped God (1 Samuel 1:3). Or after that time, probably they thought about the *temple in Jerusalem (Psalms 76:2).

Verses 14-15 All the nations would hear what had happened in Egypt. So they would tremble with fear as the *Israelites approached them. ‘Chiefs’ was a special name for the rulers in the country called Edom (Genesis 36:15-19). The country called Moab was famous for the great many sheep that the people owned (2 Kings 3:4). Its leaders were strong. But these leaders would all be afraid.The people who lived in *Canaan would lose their courage very quickly.

Verses 16-17 God’s power would prevent these nations so that they would not act against *Israel. The *Israelites passed by the territories called Edom and Moab (Deuteronomy chapter 2). It may also refer to when they crossed over the River Jordan into *Canaan (Joshua chapter 3). The *LORD had promised that country to Abraham and to his children in the future (Genesis 17:8). It was a place where God would make his home. Your ‘holy place’ may refer to the *temple. God would choose his ‘holy place’. He wanted to make it the central place where people would *worship him (for example, Deuteronomy 12:11).

Verse 18 The *LORD is the king whose rule will never end. Those words are in Psalms 10:16 also.

A brief record and Miriam’s song – verses 19-21

v19 *Pharaoh’s horses and his *chariots went into the sea. And his soldiers, who were riding on horses, went into the sea. Then the *LORD brought back the water of the sea to cover them. But the *Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. v20 Sometimes Aaron’s sister, Miriam, told messages from God. Now she took a little drum in her hand, and all the women followed her. They played little drums and they danced.

v21 And Miriam sang to them.

‘Sing and *praise the *LORD!

He deserves great *praise

because he has defeated his enemy.

The horses and their riders,

he threw them into the sea.’

Verse 20 The account that tells about Moses as a baby does not name Moses’ sister. But she was a responsible girl when the princess rescued Moses from the river (Exodus 2:7). When Moses was at *Pharaoh’s court, they probably referred to her as Aaron’s sister. Moses was a *prophet greater than all other *prophets (Deuteronomy 34:10). But Miriam said that she had spoken God’s message too (Numbers 12:2).

People also call these small drums ‘tambourines’. Women usually sang and danced. They did that when they were happy. They gave honour to that special occasion because God had defeated their enemies.

Verse 21 Miriam repeated the beginning of Moses’ song. Moses and the *Israelites said that they would sing. And Miriam told the women to sing as well. Later women sang in the *temple too (Ezra 2:65 and Nehemiah 7:67).

Bitter water – verses 22-27

v22 Then Moses led the *Israelites away from the Red Sea. They went into the *desert called Shur. They travelled for three days in this *desert before they found any water. v23 Then they came to the place called Marah. But they could not drink the water there because the water was bitter. (That was why they called the place Marah.) v24 So the people complained against Moses. ‘What can we drink?’ they said.

v25 Then Moses asked the *LORD to help them. And the *LORD showed him a piece of wood. So Moses threw the wood into the water. Then the water was not bitter and the people could drink it.

The *LORD tested the people there and he gave a rule and a law to them. v26 He said to them, ‘Listen carefully to me. I am the *LORD, your God. And I am the *LORD who cures you. Do what I tell you. Do the right things. Listen to my *commandments and obey all my rules. Then I will not punish you with any of the diseases that I sent on the *Egyptians.’

v27 Later the people came to a place called Elim. There were 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees there. So the people camped near to the water.

Verses 22-25 The *Israelites would have brought water with them. But after three days in the *desert, they would have finished that water. Both they and their animals needed water. The word ‘Marah’ means ‘bitter’. The water tasted unpleasant because it had various salts in it. God had appointed Moses as the *Israelites’ leader. So the people were complaining against God when they complained against Moses (Exodus 16:8). Moses cried out to the *LORD. Then God showed him some wood to throw into the water. It changed the bitter taste. Then the people could drink the water. God had tested the *Israelites at Marah. Their attitude to Moses shows also their attitude to God. It showed that they did not trust God.

Verse 26 The word ‘diseases’ probably refers to all the *plagues. In particular, it may refer to the water that changed to blood. So then, the people could not drink that water.

The *LORD taught the *Israelites that they must obey his rules. Then he would know that they trusted him. God changed the water because Moses obeyed him. Then they were able to drink the water. That was a *sign that God can free his people from evil things.

Verse 27 ‘12’ and ‘70’ are probably the actual numbers. Both suggest a perfect place where the *Israelites found food and water. A palm tree has a tall stem and it has big leaves at the top. It grows near to water.