Song of Moses. January 17, 2016 Exodus 15:1-18

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1 January 17, 2016 Exodus 15:1-18 Song of Moses When we last left the children of Israel, they had passed through the Red Sea, all safely reaching the other shore. They then turned around to watch as the sea returned to its natural state, crushing Pharaoh and all of his army. Clearly, it was a picture of judgment. As they saw all the bodies washing up on the shore, I cannot help but think that they stood there dumbfounded, mouths agape. What we do know is that Moses reflected on that scene. We know that because his reflections are written down. Just as we saw in our Christmas series on authentic Christmas carols, the character in the narrative pauses to break out in song. Right on cue if you think of Broadway musicals, it is time for a song. So, we have before us this morning Moses reflection on the crossing of the Red Sea, or at least a particular aspect of it, what is recorded for us in Scripture. And what do we find? Well, let s read it and see for ourselves. I remind you that herein lies the verse that I have chosen as our theme verse, v.13. In other words, I see here a major emphasis of Scripture s teachings from the life of Moses. READ Exodus 15:1-18. Main point: The LORD s mighty deeds are designed to increase our faith for the journey ahead. In other words, as He has, so He will. In other words, faith builds on the experience of watching God work. Trust grows as we learn to depend on what we have seen. Well, if that is the case, what does it mean if our faith is weak or our distrust outweighs our faith? It means we have not adequately reflected on that which God has done. Let me set you up this way: God is good... All the time... Amen? If we truly believe that, we will have complete trust in God. Right? So, is that true? Do we have a faith in God that is total and all the time? Why not? Because we have not reflected on what God has done. So, as we consider Moses song, I ask you to not only reflect on his reflections of an indescribable event that took place right in front of his Page 1

2 eyes, but I ask you to also begin to contemplate what your song might look like. For if God is good all the time, then He certainly has been good to you yesterday. At least that is what you assured me. Right? (2 parts) Page 2

3 I. Only the LORD, with His mighty arm, destroys the enemies of His people. vv Notice how he takes a singular incident and makes generalized statements about it. In fact, it is more than that. He takes a singular incident and makes generalized statements about what the LORD is like. It is not just, This is what happened. It is This is what the LORD did. What a mighty and awesome God He is! Can you see the difference? This is a song declaring that the LORD is superior to all other gods, based on what He has done. Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. Pastor Brad tells me this is the first time the people are called Israelites, that they are called a nation with a homeland, like the Moabites, or Canaanites, or Hittites. For the first time, they can rightfully be called a nation! That s good. Then we notice the use of the divine name, LORD or Yahweh, or Jehovah. This is a song to Him, about Him, praising Him. It is not just to God, but to the fact that this one is God. And that has been the point all along. Moses confrontation with Pharaoh was not simply an attempt to set a group of people free. It was a battle of the gods and One won. This is a song to Him. The first lines of the hymn set the direction for all the rest. As one collective voice, the people lift up this particular God for He has shown His power by defeating His foes. He won. This horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea is repeated several times, and used as the content of Miriam s song which follows it. This is what the LORD did. He threw or tossed or vomited His enemies into the sea. They thought they were mighty. They picked on their foes. But they did not stand a Page 3

4 chance against the LORD. He could pick them up and throw them, horses, chariots and all. 2 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father s God, and I will exalt him. Then we notice where that takes Moses. Because the LORD did this, here comes the generalized statement. He is my strength, my song, my salvation, my God, my father s God. Can you see that? Because of this spectacular demonstration of His great power in judgment, Moses declares Him to be now and forever his strength, his God, his salvation. He will trust Him for these things. He will praise Him for these things. He will declare to all who would listen these things. When we contemplate what our God has done, we can t help but break out in song over it. This is the essence of praise and worship. 3 The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. 4 Pharaoh s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone. Now, there might be some who bristle at this because of the reference to war and death, but it is true and important, encouraging and empowering. Our God is not a wimp, who cannot or will not come to our defense. He is a warrior, a mighty warrior who tosses around His foes. The fiercest among us do not stand a chance against Him. They came up against Him and ended up at the bottom of the sea. They sank like rocks when He tossed them into the sea. He is Page 4

5 Yahweh, the God who is, the One true God. He has proven His name. There is none like Him. What a song! 6 Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy. 7 In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble. 8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea. The spectacular display of His great power has left a deep impression on Moses. He saw the LORD s strength and power. He saw what He did to His rivals. He not only wrestled them, He took them down, threw them down. It was no match. His enemies were like stubble, the straw that they had to gather to make bricks, useful for nothing but building a hot fire. They were burned up when the LORD struck them. Then notice the description of the wall of water. The waters piled up, stood firm, congealed. How DO you describe a scene like that? Water cannot pile up. By definition, it does not stand firm. It is water. But it did. He didn t make it into ice. He didn t build a sea wall. He simply stacked the water like wood. And remember, the people had to walk between those walls of water, completely dependent on them staying stacked up, piled up, congealed. That takes incredible faith, don t you think? They did not trust the water, but they trusted the One who exercised authority over Page 5

6 the water. Can you see why it was such a big deal that the winds and waves obeyed Jesus? 9 The enemy boasted, I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and 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. Next, Moses compares the power, the might of the enemy with that of the LORD. Both had a purpose, both acted on their purpose, but only One could bring it to pass. All the confidence in the world could not produce victory for the LORD s enemies. They had a plan to inflict harm, to revel in victory over their enemies, but they had not considered that their enemies had the LORD as their God. They had not factored in His power. They came into the sea with horses and chariots, but He had His breath. They had their swords, but their swords could do nothing to stop the waters from drowning them. They were not prepared to do battle with Yahweh. They could clearly see His hand in the piling up of the waters, but they did not factor in what it would be like when He turned it against them. 11 Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand Page 6

7 and the earth swallowed them. And so, Moses ends this section with the rhetorical question, Who is like the LORD? The answer is clear, No one. Notice that the comparison is not between Pharaoh as man and Yahweh as God, but Yahweh as God compared to any other god. Only He righteously rules, is beyond comprehension in glory, has wonder working power. There is no other god like that. Can you see how he goes from the scene to an analysis of the scene to a conclusion about what the scene proved? This is not a song of We won! We are the champions! We beat you. No, it is the opposite of that. This is a song of, What a mighty God we serve! He is holy. He is glorious. He is powerful. Look at what He has done! And, thankfully the song does not stop there. Next, Moses looks ahead based on what he has witnessed. If God did that, then what might He do next? Page 7

8 II. The LORD can be trusted to deliver His people to their destination. vv Even though it has not yet taken place, Moses and the Israelites declare their faith in their God. Notice it is not just based on His past actions, but what His past actions declared about His character. When it comes down to it, our faith is in the character of God. 13 In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling. Finally, our theme verse. I chose this verse because it encapsulates the leadership role of the LORD in our lives. It expresses faith that He can be trusted to do what He promises to do. He has both history and moral character. He has the authority to promise and the power to make it happen. He has started a process and will complete it. He has a plan in place. Notice the relationship dynamic. His promise to lead comes not from an obligation, but from His heart. The term here refers to His covenantal love, His expressed willingness to fulfill the promise even if the other party does not fulfill theirs. The closest New Testament term for this would be grace. It is a love that blesses even when undeserved. This is the foundation upon which His leadership is built. Then we see that He has redeemed, or set free at His own cost. So, He loves and leads and sets free His people. There is a destination, Your holy dwelling. He is leading us somewhere. Now, that begs the question, What did Moses mean by holy dwelling? Certainly he did not mean Mt. Sinai, the mountain of God. Context tells us he has to lead them past the nations to get to this dwelling. So, Israel proper comes to mind. But then we notice v.17 which refers to it as a Page 8

9 mountain and now a picture begins to emerge. There is a place, known to Moses and all Israel where God meets with His people. It is in Jerusalem, Mt. Moriah. Abraham met with God there. The temple will be built there. It is the place where God s Son gave up His life. It is the place where He will return. It is the place where God connects with His people. And the LORD will lead them there. Now, clearly there is an ultimate home to which He is leading us. This is not to downplay heaven as our holy dwelling. But it is to make a connection between enslavement, deliverance, freedom, journey, and destination, the place where the LORD meets with His people. There IS a destination. And the point here is if the LORD is leading us, we WILL make it there. Amen? 14 The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. 15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; 16 terror and dread will fall upon them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone until your people pass by, O LORD, until the people you bought pass by. Notice here how the waters of the first part become the nations of the second part. Just as the waters parted and piled up, standing still, so the nations will part and pile up, standing still as the LORD leads His people through them. By the same mighty power that He held back the sea, so will He paralyze mighty nations which stand between the people and their destination. Can you see how Moses builds on both history and character? Page 9

10 17 You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established. 18 The LORD will reign for ever and ever. Here we notice the emphasis is on permanence, possession, and personal attention. The LORD will personally bring them in, leading them, not pushing them. He builds a home for them on a plot of ground chosen especially by Him for them. He will plant them there, establish them there, rule over them there forever. It will be their home. They will grow there, take root there. The place will be theirs. For the first time, they will have their own home, safe from all predators, as strong as a fortress, protected from any harm. These verses are fascinating to me. They are rich, pointed, prophetic. They have fulfillment on multiple levels, in ways never imagined by those first Israelites. I see the covenant with David described in 2 Samuel 7 drawn from these verses. And I see here both old covenant and new covenant theology. In other words, these are not just words for the Israelites under Moses, nor just words for Israel in general. These are words of promise for Christians with the same rock solid guarantee that it will take place. It will be fulfilled. He loves us enough to guarantee safe passage to our permanent home, the place where God meets with man. He has promised such a home to His people and He will make sure they get there. Isn t that good news? Isn t that THE good news? If we believe this passage is the Word of God, then what should be different about our lives? Page 10

11 1) We will follow Moses example in watching for Yahweh s mighty deeds, and then celebrating Him when we see them. 2) We will use what we know about Him and His history to build our faith as we go forward. 3) We will keep our destination in focus. 4) We will not be intimidated by the obstacles that stand between us and the place where the LORD is leading us. 5) We will write and sing our own song. Page 11