15:1 This chapter begins with a Song of Moses, a proclamation of Moses' faith in and love for God. Another Song of Moses is written in Deuteronomy 32. The Song(s) of Moses are referenced in Revelation 15:3. The reason why these proclamations are important is because these prophets were the first to realize and make a personal connection with God. They paved the way for us to do the same. Let's see what Moses has to say about our God in verses 1-18.
I will sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
Moses is feeling blessed beyond belief. He has now witnessed miracle upon miracle of God's power. Moses is reflecting on his faith in this time of joy and triumph. Like Moses, keep your relationship with God constant. Communicate with Him in all seasons of your life. He hopes to share all moments of our lives with us, not just the moments when we need something.
15:2
The Lord is my strength and song,
He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him
My father's God, and I will exalt Him.
Moses acknowledges the ways God became his strength, the power and endurance which carried him through tribulation. He manifests as our salvation: our rescue, our safe haven. God has claimed us as His children and here Moses claims Him. Claim your Father, your creator. Joyfully profess your love for Him. Recognize the ways in your life He has become or manifested exactly what you needed. If you haven't experienced that, claim Him and you will.
15:3
The Lord is a man of war;
The Lord is His name.
Moses is astonished by God's ability to implement military strategy. God is much more than an anthropomorphism. He's so much more than a man. Humans, like Moses, have a difficult time conceiving of what exactly He is. He does not have the limitations of humans therefore He wins every war He's involved with. God intervened with the children of Israel because it was a critical point in history, His entire people could have been wiped out. Now, we have thrived. His children are spread throughout the world and now, when we engage in wars, we fight our ancestral-siblings. He allows our battles against each other for now.
15:4-5
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.
Moses and the children of Israel have just witnessed this occurrence: the complete reduction of their slaveholders!
15:6
Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power;
Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy to pieces.
Realize that this power, God's power is your to be harnessed.
15:7
And in greatness of Your excellence
You have overthrown those who rose against you;
You sent forth your wrath;
It consumed them like stubble.
Piece out the characteristics of God Moses declares here: Great and excellent with an ability to overthrow, to completely consume His opposition.
15:8
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.
God is the creator of this earth and universe. He understands the math and science behind everything because He even created that math and science. He knows how to create the natural conditions He needs to accomplish something. All creation bends to His will.
15:9
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.'
No matter what declarations our enemies make against us, they cannot reach us as long as we have given God authority over our lives. Fierce as opposition might be, it cannot defeat God. Give God permission to be your personal army.
15:10
You blew with Your wind,
The sea covered them;
The sank like lead in the mighty waters.
God doesn't just rescue us from our enemies, He cripples their efforts entirely. He ensures that they cannot reach us now or ever. He does a complete job of disabling their mission.
15:11-12
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.
It's amazing that Moses is taking the time to make this prayer/proclamation. We can sense from his energy and enthusiasm just how marveled he is by God. He has witnessed something amazing and he cannot help but express how blessed he feels. Pure joy, appreciation and incredulity pours out of Moses. Do you have these moments with God? When you just sit back and reflect on how wondrous He is? After all, it's not hard to spot a miracle of our own. Just waking up in the morning is an impossible miracle! The breeze and the leaves and the sun... all of our earth is an intricate miracle, an unmatched, innovative design. Marvel at the works of His creative hand.
15:13
You in Your mercy have led forth
The people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them in Your strength
To Your holy habitation.
Moses references God's mercy, one of His most defining traits. He loves and defends us like the Father that He is, despite all of our shortcomings and failures. We frequently doubt or even forget Him but He never doubts or forgets us. He leads us for as long as we will follow. He redeems us, draws us out and up from oppression and depression. He guides with strength: strength in wisdom, strength in perception, strength in love and leadership. He knows where we are headed, where we want to go, where we've come from and why. His strong in knowledge.
15:14-15
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.
Moses rejoices because God's power has been made so famously known that all enemies of the children of Israel have been scared off. Moses knows that their endeavors will always be protected by God no matter what region they pass through.
14:16
Fear and dread will fall on them;
By the greatness of Your arm
They will be as still as stone,
Till Your people pass over, O Lord,
Till the people pass over
Whom You have purchased.
We just read that were claimed by God. Through the manifestation and consequent tribulation of the messiah and all time and energy given by God, He has purchased us. He has given everything He has to be ours. He pours His whole self out to us to claim us.
15:17
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.
Moses speaks of God's plans for us: He will gather us together and plant us. For and through and by Him we will become fruitful trees. He will be, and is now, our source of water and light. He is the safe and nutrient dense soil we need to grow and produce righteousness among humanity.
15:18
The Lord shall reign forever and ever.
A fitting conclusion to Moses's song: the reminder that with God, our lives do not ever conclude.
15:19 There is no end to God's compassion for us. There are no barriers or borders. He will go the full length to reach us, to save us, to love us, us to teach us, to lead us. He will always provide a dry, safe and secure path for us.
15:20-21 Aaron's sister, Miriam, is described here as a prophetess. There are so many souls who participate in the fulfillment of God's will. He shows no partiality... men, women, children... we all have a place in His divine-plans. Miriam expresses her own love for God, an iteration of what Moses proclaimed:
Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea.
The fact that Miriam is described here to have been a prophetess is a reminder that although this particular account is centered around Moses and Aaron, God was working through many of His children simultaneously. You have an important part... claim it. Claim Him.
15:22 We continue in the account of Moses in this verse. Moses and the children of Israel have just passed through the sea into the wilderness of a land named Shur. After three days of journeying, they have not found water. As we know very well, humans require water and cannot live without it much (or at all) beyond three days. Keep in mind the size of the group...there are hundreds of thousands of people. They require a significant source of water.
We delve into a metaphor here. We too are on a journey. This journey of life. Our physical bodies require water but so do our souls. Our souls require the spiritual waters of God to learn, grow and thrive. There are many souls here and luckily, our God, our source of spiritual water is an abundant spring. A water source capable of effortlessly taking care of us all. God does not need to ration. He and everything He offers to us is without limit. Keep that in mind when you need love or joy or blessing from Him... He has an infinite supply just for you. He can literally overwhelm you with blessings. He can make your life burst full of them.
15:23 The metaphor continues. Moses and the children of Israel find water... but it's bitter. They cannot drink it. Figuratively, this water is the water the world offers us. The world's water is so (literally and figuratively) polluted by corruption. By ingesting it, we harm ourselves. Not only that but it's finite. There isn't even enough to go around. The values and morals of the world do not have your best interest in heart but God does. He created you: He knows exactly what you need. He knows how to provide precisely what your body and soul requires. Choose Him as your source... trust Him to be there, right here, for you.
15:24 The children of Israel do not trust Him yet even though He has at this point given them ample reason to. They begin to grumble and complain to Moses.
15:25 Moses wisely brings his concern to God. God immediately responds... and most importantly, immediately provides. God shows Moses a tree, the tree of Life... the representation of Him. When the tree is cast into the waters, when God is placed in the center of our lives, life becomes sweet. Pure. Clean. Healthy. Joyful.
15:26 God makes another loving promise to the children of Israel, to you: If you diligently follow His voice, if you diligently do what is right and follow His advice, you will be free from the torments of the world. Notice this proclamation from God: For I am the Lord who heals you. Through faith and righteousness, put Him directly in the center of your life... make Him your central intelligence and command center. Place Him exactly in the place where He can heal and bless you.
15:27 The group reaches Elim, meaning palms. In Elim, they find 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees. These serve as symbols that God provides for each branch of His children with strength and abundance.
