Exodus 15 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Exodus 15

The Song of Moses

15:1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,

  “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    the horse and his rider¹ 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 man of war;
    the LORD is his name.
4   “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
    and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5   The floods covered them;
    they went down into the depths like a stone.
6   Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power,
    your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.
7   In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
    you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
8   At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
    the floods stood up in a heap;
    the deeps 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 have its fill of 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 LORD, among the gods?
    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
    awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
12   You stretched out your right hand;
    the earth swallowed them.
13   “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;
    you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
14   The peoples have heard; they tremble;
    pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15   Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;
    trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;
    all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16   Terror and dread fall upon them;
    because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,
  till your people, O LORD, pass by,
    till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
17   You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,
    the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode,
    the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
18   The LORD will reign forever and ever.”

19 For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Bitter Water Made Sweet

22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.² 24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log,³ and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the LORD⁴ made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, 26 saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.”

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.

Footnotes

[1] 15:1 Or its chariot; also verse 21
[2] 15:23 Marah means bitterness
[3] 15:25 Or tree
[4] 15:25 Hebrew he

Commentary

The final part of the story of the Exodus is the journey from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai, chapters 15-18.

v1-2: The new song. This is the first reference to the people of God singing in praise to God. This later became an important part of their worship, particularly under David. The people were utterly grateful to God, and rightly so. The Lord is exalted for He has defeated the army of Egypt, pictured by "the horse and its rider". Poetry, including song, uses poetic words and phrases. The Lord is now "my God", He is my strength, my song, and my salvation.

v3: The Lord is a warrior, fighting on behalf of His people. We should expect that He will continue to work on behalf of His people.

v4-5: Pharaoh had his chariots, and his best officers, but they were no match for the Lord, who is the great warrior; see also Ps 20.7; 118.8-9. There is an enduring lesson for Israel, and for us, that we put no trust in man.

v6: The "right hand" of God was the weapon for the people of God.

v7: The Egyptians had attacked the Israelites, but the reality was that they had opposed Almighty God.

v8: The moving of the waters, first to provide salvation for Israel, and then second to destroy the Egyptians, was at God's initiative.

v9: Pharaoh was confident of victory, and of restoring his slaves, and gaining the spoil, yet that confidence was misplaced.

v10: "But" God intervened on behalf of His people. The seas that had piled up (v8) were then released, and destroyed the army. Here He blew with His breath; earlier it was the blast of His nostrils (v8). Here is poetic language, yet describing the mighty power of God.

v11: "Who is like you?" is the question. The answer is that there is only one true God, working wonders in the earth. No "god" can do what He does. This question applies also to the Lord Jesus Christ (John 7.46; 15.24), who is utterly unique.

Majestic (or glorious) in holiness; the most glorious of all God’s attributes His perfect love of righteousness and abhorrence of evil.

v12: "Your right hand", also in v6, refers to the power and authority of God.

v13: Salvation is God's work; "you will lead; you have redeemed; you will guide". He is totally committed to the preservation of His people. Our confidence here is based on His unfailing love and on His strength.

The theme here moves from the celebration of the past, to the confidence on the future (v13-18). The whole world will hear of the power of the God of Israel.

v14-16: The testimony to Gentile nations. They will hear and be afraid, see Num 22.3; Josh 2.10-11.

v17: The verse refers to the "mountain of your inheritance", the land of Canaan, where God would plant His people. They would dwell there, and so would He. There was no doubt that God would give them this land. The tragedy is that those who first sang these words missed out on this blessing, through their own unbelief and disobedience.

v18: Behind all things is that God will reign eternally.

v19: This song was sung because of the Lord's victory over the army of Egypt.

v20-21: Miriam, Moses' sister, led the women of Israel in singing and dancing to the Lord.

v22-27: The Lord tested the people. Such is His love for His own. The journey in the desert, which began in 13.20, would now continue for a generation. There are lessons to be learned, of having faith in God for our days.

v22: Three days without water. Real life brings us into trials, but none are unknown to God.

v23: The further discouragement of bitter water. Marah was the name taken by Naomi when she returned to Bethlehem from Moab (Ruth 1.20).

v24: What would our reaction be? The children of Israel began to grumble at this hardship. They had to learn to face such things by trusting on God.

v25: Moses simply cried out to the Lord. He took his difficulty to the God of Israel. The answer was again related to faith; the Lord could have just changed the water, just as Christ changed water into wine. But Moses had to throw in a branch, to turn the bitter water to sweet. The picture here is of the bitterness of the law (Rom 7.8-9) changed into something sweet (Rom 7.22) by the cross of Christ (branch of wood).

v26: The promise given to the people, that by obedience they would avoid the diseases which God had brought on Egypt. This promise was guaranteed by the Lord; "I am the Lord".

v27: Following the trial, the abundant provision of Elim, with springs of water and palm trees.