Exodus 14:15-Exodus 15:21
“From Sea To Shining Sea!” • 12.2.10 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday Night Bible Study
Intro
- The people of Israel are in an impossible situation. Moses has followed God’s lead right onto the shore of the Red Sea.
- As the Egyptian army sets itself up for an attack, Moses, the leader speaks up with a rally cry that is truly epic in nature. "Stand and see what the Lord will do! He will fight for you!"
- The people are happy to hear their leader's speech and are ready to watch God do something. Apparently, so is Moses!
Text
• Exodus 14:15-20 : "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.' And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night." : After Moses had this great burst of faith, it seems that he stalled out a little. It had moved past time to pray. It was now time to act!
- God tells Him, "Move forward! and get that rod out!" The sea is in front of them, the army is behind them. He is moving them until they are face to face with the sea.
- God involves Moses in this action as the people needed to see that God and Moses were acting co-operatively.
- God had told Moses what was going to happen, but all Israel could see was Red Sea!
- They will stand a pretty large barrier to them. The size of this sea doesn't matter to God.
- God says, "I'll just make a path through it!" God is great at making ways where there are no ways! The impossible thought was that the people would walk on dry ground!
- This does not mean that the sea bed was fully dry, as though it were sand. It means that there was no water on it. There would be a path that they could walk on.
- It's interesting that God planned for this to take an entire night. God does not just open up the sea and cut out a large portion of the sea. There is always time between promise and fulfillment.
- The presence of God would usually be set in front of the people. On this night, God’s presence would stand as a rear guard between Israel and the Egyptians.
- God's presence that led them also protected them. A great principle is revealed here. We are the safest when we are following the Lord's lead!
- God's people walk in light, while the enemies of God's people are in darkness.
• Exodus 14:21,22 : "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left." : God allowed the wind to blow that entire night. This was a supernatural event.
- This "wind" created a sea wall corridor that the people walked through. Can you imagine what this must have been like? Several have tried to imagine and explain.
- One theory reflects a belief that this scripture is supposed to be the Reed sea, which is more of a marsh land and only a few feet deep when the wind blows.
- A study that was published September 21st in USA Today, asserts that sustained winds of 63 mph over a 12 hour span, could cause the water to recede, and expose an underwater land bridge.[i]
- Of course, the only problem is that there was a wall on the right and the left! A natural wind would have made a one sided wall! God did something here that nature cannot reproduce.
- Hours before, they wondered if they would survive. Now, what had been a wall was now a door and they walked through! Their experience was wondrous as they looked at a giant aquarium!
• Exodus 14:23-25 : "And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, 'Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.'" : Israel had a nice stroll. The Egyptians did not have as good a time. God troubled the army of Egyptians.
- The word "trouble" comes from a word that describes noise and confusion. God was actively working against them. Psalm 77 gives us a few more details.
• Psalm 77:16-20 : "The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled. The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known. You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron."
- With all that was happening, He also relieved them of their chariot wheels! The Egyptians knew that they were doomed. God was fighting against them, just as He said that He would.
• Exodus 14:26-31 : "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.' And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses." : When the people of Israel came out on the other side, on what is now called the Arabian Pennisula, God ordered the final death of Egypt's armies.
- The waters came over the army of Egypt and they drowned. The Red Sea averages a 1,600 ft depth count. The deepest depth, off the Port of Sudan, is over 7,000 feet of water.[ii]
- They had come against the Lord over and over again, hardened their hearts against Him, and fought to their own demise. Not even one remained! Not one enemy soldier made it!
- Israel saw these dead soldiers come up upon the sea shore, all dead. Here was the moment when God showed them His utter victory. These represented almost 200 years of cruel slavery!
- When Israel saw this, they feared the Lord, believed upon Him and had confidence in Moses, at least temporarily!
- It is very instructive for us to remember here the power of this story. God had worked for them. He had fought for them. They saw this great work, reverencing and trusting in God.
- How important is it for us to stand back and watch what God will do? God allows these things, Red Sea experiences, to promote His own glory.
- God gives us these experiences that we might know that He is worthy of our trust!
• Exodus 15:1-3 : "Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying: 'I will sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name." : The song of Moses is significant for a few reasons. It's the first song of the Bible and it gives us a great occasion to consider why it is that we sing in worship.
- They would sing to the Lord because of His victory over their enemies. They had seen the chariots and the horsemen drowned in the sea.
- Their enemy was vanguished before their eyes. As a result, the Lord had become their strength. His strength had worked on their behalf.
- We have to acknowledge the typical corrolary: Our enemy has been vanguished as well! We have seen Christ's work finished and completed! The enemy has lost.
- Verse 2 is an oddly translated verse. The first part is fairly universally translated, "The Lord is my strength and song. He has become my salvation."
- I like the way that the NLT translates the word "salvation" as victory! That's a good way to put it: God has become my victory! In fact, there is no victory, no salvation without Him!
- Now, this second half of the verse is where there is difficulty. "He is my God and I will praise Him" is the NKJV rendering.
- In the original language, the phrase is "He is my God and I will prepare a habitacion." The concept seems to be that He is my God and I will let Him rest upon my life. I will prepare a room for Him to occupy.
- The last part of this that is foreign to our ears is the fact that the Lord is a man of war. Our Lord is a warrior, who has fought to deliver His people.
- The people of Israel sang about this because He fought for them physically. We have been delivered from an enemy as well! He has fought for us in the same way.
• Exodus 15:4-8 : "Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces. And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble. And with the blast of Your nostrils The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea." : You'll notice the emphasis on what God has done. "He has cast them, He dashed them, He overthrew them."
- This is a celebration of God's wrath, which was sent out against the enemies of His people.
- You will not find many songs celebrating God's wrath, but this one does and many of the Psalms do as well. Redemption is the ultimate striking down of the perpetual bully!
- Simultaneous with our salvation is the throwing down of our enemies!
- His wrath is an expression of His righteousness and an acknowledgement of the level of resistance that humans can have toward a holy God.
• Exodus 15:9-12 : “The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.’ You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them.” : The voice of the enemy was the voice of Egypt, but is the voice of our enemy as well.
- Satan’s plan for my life is predicated on a desire to destroy me. It’s God that stands between Him and me! God comes through each and every time.
- There is nobody like Him! There is no god that can do what He does! His Holiness is a reflection of just how "other" that He is!
• Exodus 15:13-16 : "You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation. The people will hear and be afraid; Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; The mighty men of Moab, Trembling will take hold of them; All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away. Fear and dread will fall on them; By the greatness of Your arm They will be as still as a stone, Till Your people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over Whom You have purchased." : God's actions will bring honor to His name. The people that they would be surrounded by, when they saw His redeemed people, would cause fear.
- It's interesting that many of these nations would fear, but because of Israel's faithlessness, the situation would be reversed.
- But the point is that a redeemed people should bring fear or respect for the name of God.
- Notice in these verses, a sense of the future in their worship. God has delivered them from their enemies, but is delivering them to His habitation!
- We are singing because He has dealt with our past. Equally important is a need to sing for what is future to us! We need to sing because we are are going to heaven!
• Exodus 15:17-19 : "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. For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea." : Consider these sentiments from a nation of slaves. God was going to take them and plant them in His mountain, for His pleasure.
- This speaks about the fellowship that Israel would now be free to enjoy with the Lord. He was going to bring them into His dwelling.
- The song ends in the way that it began. God allowed the enemy to drown, but allowed Israel to come through unharmed.
• Exodus 15:20,21 : "Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them: 'Sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!'" : Miriam's refrain was a repeat of what Moses had begun with. Moses calls her a "Prophetess."
- She is speaking prophetically, speaking forth, what it was that she had heard. The women got things going with dancing and singing and made this theme into a celebration medley.
Conclusion
- As a matter of recap, let's review our reasons to sing. God has been our strength when we had none. He has been our victory when defeat was sure.
- He was our warrior, whose right hand vanquished our enemy and overthrew His plan for oue lives. He is our Lord and our Holy Redeemer. Who can keep from singing!?
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