Exodus 15:1-21--The Song of Moses

The Song of Moses
15 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 rider 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.”

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So what was the response of the people to the deliverance and salvation that was provided?  We saw in the last chapter that it caused them to fear the LORD, but it also led them all to worship  The people and Moses together sang a song that became part of the way that the people of Israel would remember the LORD and His marvelous works, especially their salvation.  We too should sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs that give testimony to what the LORD has done in our lives.  Hymns like "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and "Behold Our God" come to mind along with some others.  We'll see Moses write other songs too to help the people of Israel remember the Promised Land and their time in the desert (see Deuteronomy 32)  And we see in Revelation 15 that the Song of Moses (probably referring to this very song here) is one of the few songs that it seems that everyone in heaven will know the words too and that the choir of all saints from all nations and all times and all places will join together to one voice to sing "The Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb"   )See Revelation 15:1-4).  These will be the lyrics on our lips right before God pours out the final seven plagues of His wrath on the unbelieving, rebellious world that still remains.  Both salvation and vengeance belong to the LORD and to the Lamb who sits on the throne.  Compare these words from that song to the lyrics of The Song of Moses that is recorded here:

3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and amazing are your deeds,
    O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
    O King of the nations!
4 Who will not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
    All nations will come
    and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Rev. 15:3-4)

One other passage of Scripture in song from that we know was authored by Moses is Psalm 90.  I encourage you to read and pray through that today as it is another song that reaches beyond what the LORD did for His people Israel and is the story of our God as well.

Notice how in all of these songs, the focus is on the Lord and what He has done.  We are mere spectators and the recipients of His blessing, grace, and mercy.  Whether it's creation, redemption, protection, providence, or all of them together as God's perfect plan of salvation, it should make us sing of Him and His works so that we bring all glory, honor and praise to Him and testify before all peoples and make them wonder at who this God is and what He has done to put music in our hearts and in our mouths.  Surely we were created unique from all the rest of creation not just to have a relationship with God, but to worship Him--especially in song, for no other creature can sing like we can.  Others may learn to imitate the tune and lyrics (some birds can sing with perfect pitch), but they are not singing in response to the Lord and what He has done--they are simply engaged in vain repetition of words they can't possibly understand.  No one can sing these songs like those who have actually experienced and responded to these events in their own lives by the faith that God provides which brings about regeneration.  He is the one that puts the song in our hearts.

This song also looked forward to what the Lord was sure to do, and would remind the people that in the good times and bad that God was on His throne and still working out His plan to bring about His plan and establishing His covenant with His people.join with me today and with Moses and all the people in the book of Revelation when we join together with these words recorded in Revelation 7 (emphasis added):

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 7:9-12)