Exodus 15

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.” President Dwight D.

Eisenhower spoke those words in his first inaugural address, January 20, 1953. As the man who helped lead the Allies to victory in World War II, General Eisenhower knew a great deal about the high cost of victory as well as the heavy burden of freedom that always follows. British novelist Charles Kingsley rightly said, “There are two freedoms—the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; and the true, where a man is free to do what he ought.” Throughout their history, the nation of Israel struggled with both of these freedoms, just as God’s people struggle with them today.

It’s a mark of maturity when we learn that freedom is a tool to build with, not a toy to play with, and that freedom involves accepting responsibility. Israel’s exodus experience taught them that their future success lay in fulfilling three important responsibilities: following the Lord (13:17–22), trusting the Lord (14:1–31), and praising the Lord (15:12–21).

With their enemies drowned and their freedom secure, the people of Israel burst into song and praised the Lord. We don’t read that they praised God while they were enslaved in Egypt, and while they were going out of the land, they were complaining to Moses and asking him to let them go back. But it takes maturity for God’s people to have a “song in the night” (Job 35:10; Ps. 42:8; Matt. 26:30; Acts 16:25), and the Jews were very immature in their faith at that time.

This hymn of praise has four stanzas: God’s victory is announced (Ex. 15:1–5), God’s weapons are described (vv. 6–10), God’s character is extolled (vv. 11–16a), and God’s promises are fulfilled (vv. 16b–18).

God’s victory is announced (vv. 1–5). The Lord is mentioned ten times in this hymn as Israel sang to the Lord and about the Lord, for true worship involves faithful witness to who God is and what He has done for His people.

God’s victory was a glorious victory, for it was wholly the work of the Lord. The Egyptian army was thrown into the sea (vv. 1 and 4), and the soldiers sank like stones (v. 5) and like lead (v. 10). They were consumed like burning stubble (v. 7). Pharaoh had ordered the Jewish boy babies to be drowned, so God paid him back in kind and drowned his troops.

The statement “The Lord is a man of war” (v. 3) may upset people who feel that anything relating to warfare is alien to the gospel and the Christian life. Some denominations have taken the “militant” hymns out of their hymnals, including “Onward Christian Soldiers.” But Moses promised the people, “The Lord shall fight for you” (14:14; see Deut. 1:30), and one of God’s names is “Jehovah-Sabaoth,” which means “Lord of hosts, Lord of armies,” a title that’s used 285 times in the Old Testament. Martin Luther wrote in his Reformation hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”: Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth His name, From age to age the same, And He must win the battle.

If there is in this world an enemy like Satan, and if sin and evil are hateful to God, then He must wage war against them. “The Lord will march out like a mighty man; like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies” (Isa. 42: niv). Jesus Christ is both the Lamb who died for our sins and the Lion who judges sin (Rev. 5:5–6), and one day He will ride forth to conquer His enemies (19:11). To emphasize only “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16) and eliminate “God is light” (1 John 1:5) is to rob God of His attributes of righteousness, holiness, and justice.

On three special occasions recorded in Scripture, the Jews sing, “The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation” (Ex. 15:2): when God delivered Israel from Egypt, when the Jewish remnant laid the foundation of the second temple (Ps. 118:14), and when the Jews are regathered and return to their land to enjoy the blessings of the kingdom (Isa. 12:2). In each instance, the Lord gives strength, salvation, and a song.

God’s weapons are described (vv. 6–10). “The Lord is a man of war” who doesn’t fight with conventional weapons. Using human characteristics to describe divine attributes, the singers declare that His right hand is glorious in power, His majesty throws His opponents down, and His anger consumes them like fire eats up stubble. The breath from His nostrils is the wind that blew back the waters and congealed them so they stood like a wall. When the overconfident Egyptian soldiers thought to catch up with the Jews, God simply breathed and the waters returned and drowned the army. What a mighty God is He!

God’s character is extolled (vv. 11–16a). In the ten plagues that He sent on the land, the Lord had already proved Himself greater than the gods and goddesses of Egypt. No wonder His people sang, “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?” (v. 11; see Mic. 7:18). The answer, of course, is nobody, for no other being in the universe is “majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders” (Ex. 15: niv). This stanza goes on to praise God for His power (v. 12), His mercy to deliver, His wisdom to guide (v. 13), and the awesomeness of His person to bring fear to the hearts of His enemies (v. 14).

The nation anticipated their march to the Promised Land, knowing that the news of the exodus would travel quickly to the other nations and bring fear to the hearts of their enemies (vv. 14–16a). When the spies entered Jericho, they discovered that the people of the land were indeed paralyzed with fear as Israel arrived on the scene (Josh. 2:8–13, 24; see Num. 22:3; Ps. 114). The heathen nations knew that the true and living God was more powerful than their gods and would give Israel the victory.

God’s promise is fulfilled (vv. 16b–18). This stanza looks forward to Israel’s conquest of Canaan and points out that God purchased Israel and they are His people. The nations in Canaan would be as still and dead as stones as the Jewish army conquered the land and the tribes claimed their inheritance. God brought them out of Egypt that He might bring them into Canaan and plant them in their own land (Ps. 44:2; 80:8, 15; Isa. 5). God would put His sanctuary among His people and dwell with them in glory. “The Lord shall reign forever and ever” (Ex. 15:18) is the climax of the song, emphasizing that God is sovereign and eternal.

When you read verse 19 in the Authorized Version, you get the impression that Pharaoh himself accompanied his army and led them into the sea where they all drowned, but the NASB clears up this misunderstanding. It reads, “For the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea.” Pharaoh was apparently on the scene (14:6), but he certainly wasn’t leading the army.

Not only did Moses lead the men in the singing of this anthem of praise (15:1), but Miriam formed a special choir of Jewish women who assisted her as she repeated the first words of the song. Their joyful enthusiasm was expressed as they sang, played their tambourines, and danced before the Lord (see 1 Sam. 18:6; 2 Sam. 1:20). Miriam is called “the prophetess,” which explains why later she had the courage to criticize Moses (Num. 12:1–2).

“And the waters covered their enemies; there was not one of them left. Then believed they his words; they sang his praise” (Ps. 106:11–12). However, that isn’t the end of the story, for the nation’s singing soon turned into complaining as they entered the wilderness and headed toward Mount Sinai. “They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert” (Ps. 106:13–14).

It wasn’t easy for them to carry the burden of freedom, and God had to teach them how to live a day at a time.

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men and women. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.”

That wise counsel comes from American preacher and Episcopal bishop Phillips Brooks (1835–1893). When he spoke those words to his Boston congregation, perhaps he had the people of Israel in mind, for whenever the going got tough, the Israelites began grumbling and talking about returning to Egypt. It was one thing for the Jews to stand by the Red Sea and joyfully sing praises to the Lord, and quite something else to trust God in their daily wilderness walk. They were no different from God’s people today. Life is still a school, and the painful experiences of life teach us some of the most important lessons.

As we trace the activities of the Israelites, we learn some important truths to help us in our own walk of faith.

“Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle,” wrote saintly Andrew Bonar. It’s possible to win the battle and yet lose the victory, which is what the Jews did as they left the Red Sea and began to march toward Mount Sinai. They forgot that life is a pilgrimage during which we must learn new lessons and fight new battles. One great victory doesn’t settle everything; we need challenging new experiences that will help us mature and glorify God. Yes, life is a school, and the Lord knows just when to give us an examination.

“What shall we drink?” (15:22–27). Uppermost in the minds of the Israelites wasn’t how to please God but “What shall we eat?” and “What shall we drink?” According to Jesus, these questions reveal an anxious heart, not a trusting heart (Matt. 6:21, 25–33), and this can lead to all kinds of problems.

A single day in the wilderness without water would be tolerable, two days would be difficult, but three days would be impossible, especially for the children and animals. And then to be disappointed by finding bitter water would only make the situation worse. (The word “Marah” means “bitter” and is related to the word “myrrh.”) But God was testing His people, not because He didn’t know their hearts, but because they didn’t know their own hearts. People often say, “Well, I know my own heart,” but they forget that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9).

The Lord tests us to encourage spiritual growth and bring out the best in us, but the devil tempts us to bring out the worst in us and to encourage spiritual immaturity. The attitude that we take toward our difficulties determines which direction life will go, for what life does to us depends on what life finds in us. If we trust God and obey His Word, we’ll pass the test and grow, but if in unbelief we complain and disobey the Lord, we’ll fail the test and remain immature (James 1:12–18; Heb. 12:1–11).

The people of Israel were experts when it came to murmuring and complaining (Ex. 16:1–12; Num. 14:2, 27–29; 16:41; 17:1–10; Deut. 1:27; Ps. 78:17ff.; 106:14). While God was testing them, they were tempting Him by their attitude and their words. To tempt God means to deliberately adopt a disobedient posture and dare Him to do anything about it. On more than one occasion in their wilderness wanderings, the Israelites invited the judgment of God by their obstinate attitude and their persistent grumbling. Our Heavenly Father is lon-suffering and gracious, but sometimes He has to “spank” His children to teach us how to behave.

Complaining doesn’t solve problems, and if we try to run away from a difficult situation (“Back to Egypt!”), we’ll meet the same problems in the new place and still have to solve them. Of course, the heart of every problem is the problem in the heart, and the hearts of many of the Jews were not right with God. They remembered the food they ate in Egypt but forgot the wonders God had performed (Ps. 106:7), and some of them had begun to worship the gods of Egypt that Jehovah had humiliated and judged (Josh. 24:14; Ezek. 20:6–9; 23:8). Imagine worshipping idols and then complaining to God about your problems!

Moses took the right approach, the way of faith: he cried out to the Lord and then followed God’s orders. God can solve our problems by changing things (like making the bitter waters sweet), by giving us something else (like the wells of water at Elim), or by giving us the grace we need to bear with our difficulties and not complain. The third approach is what produces lasting spiritual growth (2 Cor. 12:7–10).

To make “the tree” a picture of the cross of Christ is to go beyond what this passage teaches. Certainly God’s children find victory in their trials by identifying with Christ in His death (Rom. 6) and resurrection (Rom. 8), but that isn’t the lesson of this passage. The emphasis is on trusting God and obeying Him, knowing that the will of God will never lead us where the grace of God can’t keep us. When we experience trials, our complaining is evidence of unbelief, but our obedience is evidence of faith.

From this difficult experience, the Jews not only learned something about themselves and about life, but they also learned something about their God, that He is “Jehovah Ropha, the Lord who heals” (Ex. 15:26). God promised Israel abundant physical blessings if they would obey Him, but physical afflictions if they disobeyed (Deut. 7:12–15; 28). These promises were a part of the old covenant with Israel and aren’t repeated in the new covenant for believers today. If it is His will, God is certainly able to heal every disease except the last one, but our attitude must always be, “Not my will but Thy will be done.”

If life were nothing but tests, we would be discouraged. If life were all pleasure, we would never learn discipline and develop character. The Lord knows how to balance the experiences of life, for He brought His people to Elim where they found plenty of water and opportunity for rest. Let’s be grateful that the Lord gives us enough blessings to encourage us and enough burdens to humble us, and that He knows how much we can take.

“What shall we eat?” (16:1–3). The Wilderness of Sin lay on the eastern shore of the Red Sea and must not be confused with the Wilderness of Zin which lay south of Palestine and east of Edom (Num. 13:21; 33:11–12). The word “Sin” should not be interpreted in its English meaning, as though Israel were traveling through a “sinful” place. The word “Sin” is related to “Sinai” but the meaning is uncertain.

The whole congregation complained because they were hungry. They had been away from Egypt only a month and still remembered the “flesh pots” of Egypt and the food they had eaten “to the full.” But for some reason, they’d forgotten the bondage, the beatings, and the misery of their forced labor as slaves. They accused Moses and Aaron of deliberately leading them into the wilderness to kill them. They said they wished the Lord had killed them in Egypt when they were full rather than in the desert when they were empty! Little did these Israelites know that they would one day get their request, for the entire older generation would die in the wilderness and never get to the Promised Land.