Exodus Sermons (written)

Exodus 15:22-27
The Sweetened Waters

For every sermon, one must think up an introduction… a little piece of information to make a smooth transition from the previous events of the day into the sermon itself. Today’s was easy. On 15 July, just 12 days before I typed this sermon, Jim sent me an email and asked about an account from the Old Testament.

It is found in 1 Kings 6 and it was a part of Jim and Linda’s Bible reading for the day. They wanted to know what it was there for. As he said, “Nothing is in the Bible that doesn’t belong there, but these few verses sure raise an eyebrow.  Can you give me a little insight on what this is telling us…..aside from the obvious that Elisha was gifted through God.”

I had never really considered those verses in detail, but I looked them over a bit and nothing came to mind. And so for night after night, I read them and thought about them as I slept. Then when I got to this passage in Exodus, I decided to do a detailed study of the account and add the story in with this sermon because the two accounts are so similar.

We’ll get to it at the end of the Exodus verses today. For now though, we’ll look at how the bitter waters of Marah became sweet…

Text Verse: And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. Revelation 21:6

As always, there are pictures of Christ and His work all the way through the Bible. God uses the natural to reveal the spiritual. Water is given as a picture of life and even of Christ Himself, the true Life of us all. Someday, we will have a perpetual fountain of the water of life bubbling over in us for all eternity.

It is ours now if we but receive it, and it will be realized in us some wonderful day when Christ comes for us. What a great hope we have! What a sure and glorious promise to place our faith in! It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Bitter Waters made Sweet (verses 22-25^1/2)

²² So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur.

It seems as if a pun is being made in these first words of the day. Moses’ name means “He who draws out.” And so we are reminded after the great song of victory that “He who draws out” has “brought Israel from the Red Sea.”

Many scholars believe that this location is known even today as Ayun Musa, or the “Springs of Moses.” Apparently, there are a number of wells and a considerable amount of vegetation there. It is about seven miles south of Suez. If this is that location, it is where the Song of Moses was written and sung.

From there, their steps were directed into the Wilderness of Shur. This name, Shur, is actually shrouded in mystery because of the various possible root words that lead to it, and also that it isn’t agreed which root is correct.

But, there is a reason for selecting the name Shur because later in Numbers 33:8, the same area and journey is said to be in the Wilderness of Etham, a completely different name. The three roots from which the name is derived all have the common element of a sudden appearance, and thus the thought “Behold” seems to apply.

And in the context of the passage, that idea fits beautifully. In these verses, both the people of Israel as well as us will behold the healing of the bitter waters.

Shur is the same name of the place where Hagar, the concubine of Abraham and the mother of Ishmael, was fleeing to in Genesis 16. There, the Lord appeared to her at a well which was named Beer-lahai-roi, or the “Well of the One who Lives and Sees Me.” At that time, the Lord announced that she would have her son and that he was to be named Ishmael.

That well was not to be found by the Israelites though as they continued their trek after three long days…

^{22 (con’t)} And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

Regardless of whether the well which Hagar came to was near to them or still a long distance off, unlike her, they found no water. In the desert, water is life. The people would have carried some, but there would not be a great supply. And considering the countless animals that went with them, this could easily become a great tragedy.

The animals would suffer the most and the most quickly. But we have to keep remembering that they are being led. There is nothing to suggest that the pillar of cloud and fire did not remain with them the entire time, guiding them. This then is a trial which has purpose and whether they could see it or not, was intended to instruct them.

²³ Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter.

If Ayun Musa is the true spot which they departed from, the next logical spot which corresponds to this description would be a place known now as Huwara. It is approximately 35 miles from Ayun Musa and the entire distance between the two is sand and rough gravel. It would have been a hard, hot walk, even if in springtime.

Regardless as to whether this is the true place they came to, at the time, they called it Marah. The word marah simply means “bitter.” It is named because of the waters which were bitter and undrinkable. But there is a small note or germ of grace here.

The name Marah is spelled with a hey or “h” at the end of it. This is the fifth letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet; five being the number of grace. It is the same letter that was added to Abraham and Sarah’s name as a sign of covenant grace.

However in the book of Ruth, when Naomi asked to be called Mara, it is spelled without this “h.” In calling herself Mara, she was proclaiming her bitterness and it was as if she felt she was outside of the Lord’s covenant provision, wallowing alone in her bitterness.

This letter, hey or “h,” has the meaning of “look,” “reveal,” or “breath.” And thus, understanding this, the story takes on a greater meaning, a gift of grace will be revealed which will take the people’s breath away.

^{23 (con’t)} Therefore the name of it was called Marah.

As I said, the place is named because of the waters. This is probably the case with almost every location which the people will travel to during the next 40 years. Unless they were already named places when they arrived, the places where they stop will be named based on what occurs at the place they stop.

This will be quite common as we travel with them through the wilderness. God will reveal something, or the people will act in a certain way, or some other thing will occur which will bring forth a name for the location.

²⁴ And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

The Pulpit commentary notes, “The men who serve a nation best are during their lifetime least appreciated.” After three days of walking and coming to a well with bitter waters, the people did what the bitterness seemed to cry out for… they complained against Moses. Interestingly, the word for “complain” here is luwn. It literally means to lodge, as in lodging for the night.

And so it seems a strange word to be translated as “complain” or “grumble” and yet it is translated this way dozens and dozens of times during the wilderness wanderings. It appears that as lodging is a temporary thing, the grumbling is as well. Even though there is hardship in the night, with the Lord there is joy in the morning. The HAW describes this word, luwn, in this way –

“The theological usage emphasizes the brevity of God’s anger as opposed to the life-giving power of his abundant favor.”

That description actually fits quite perfectly with what happens next. Though the people complained against Moses, he knows where to go for relief…

²⁵ So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree.

Moses, or “He who draws out,” cries to the Lord. In so doing, he draws out from the Lord an answer to their dilemma – the Lord shows him a tree. The word translated as tree, is exactly that, ets or a tree. The word simply means “wood.” However, there is a picture being given to us which is more than a piece of wood.

Instead, we are seeing the work of Christ revealed once again, as He has been so many thousands of times already since “Holy Bible, page 1.”

^{25 (con’t)} When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.

This is in essence correcting a contrary with a contrary. There is something bad which needs to be fixed and so something else which is bad will fix it. People can’t eat a tree, though they may eat what comes from the tree. But it is contrary to think that a tree would heal water in this way, especially on the scale which could satisfy two million people.

Therefore, the tree is actually a sign to the people and not the cure itself. And because it is a sign, it then must also be a pictorial lesson for us.

Having been shown the tree and without any further note of what transpired between the Lord and Moses, we next read that he simply threw it into the waters and with that, they were made sweet. The verb for “made sweet” is mathoq.

This is a word used for the first of just five times in the Bible. Each time it appears it is used to contrast something else. Here, the bitter waters are contrasted with them becoming sweet. In Job 20, the sweetness of evil is contrasted with sourness in the stomach, and even venom –

“Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he hides it under his tongue,
¹³ Though he spares it and does not forsake it,
But still keeps it in his mouth,
¹⁴ Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
It becomes cobra venom within him.” Job 20:12

Again in Job 21, the bitterness of life is contrasted with the sweetness of the grave. In the 55th Psalm, the sweet counsel of a friend is contrasted with his later betrayal of him. And in the proverbs, the temporary sweetness of stolen water, is contrasted with the consequences of the action –

“‘Stolen water is sweet,
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’
¹⁸ But he does not know that the dead are there,
That her guests are in the depths of hell.” Proverbs 9:17, 18

This is the idea that we are given here. A contrast is made between two things, bitter and sweet. But what is to be remembered is that the original change actually came about because of a tree. It is the lesson of the Garden of Eden.

Where there was ease, comfort, and fellowship, they were lost by a tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In their interaction with this tree, came trial, difficulty, and a broken relationship. If it was a tree which caused the rift, then we are being given a picture of a tree which will also heal the rift.

In this story, water is emblematic of life, because without fresh water the people will die. Therefore, the tree is also emblematic of the granting of that life; its restoration. This then is a picture of the cross of Christ – that tree which made our waters sweet once again. As Christ Himself proclaimed –

“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:13-14

However, before the well could bring forth the fresh water, there was bitterness. There was bitterness in man who lacked everlasting life, and there was bitterness in Jesus’ cross which could only bring us everlasting life through His death. The waters were bitter, but the waters were healed.

Now, through Christ, a fountain of life has bubbled forth, just as happened at Marah when the waters were sweetened.

The bitter waters of life have stolen all joy
There is no soundness in my bones, I am weak and drained
What can heal the waters, what can I employ?
That will bring life to this body so that health is attained

Is there a way to purify this fount?
What can heal these waters, what can I employ?
And because they flow, it would take an ever-lasting amount
What kind of thing could bring this eternal joy?

I behold there a tree, and on it a bitter-filled sight
A Man whose life is ebbing away
But I perceive that He will heal the waters of my plight
Through His death the waters are sweetened in a marvelous way

II. I Am the Lord Who Heals You (verses 25^1/2-27)

^{25 (con’t)} There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,

It seems that these words should be their own verse, separated from the previous words of verse 25. So much so is this, that I have started an entirely new thought in today’s sermon. And yet, it is right that the words are contained in one verse.

God has shown the people grace in the wilderness. He gave them sweet water in repayment for their complaints. He healed them despite their lack of faith. And now, a threat is implied. In the same verse where grace is bestowed, a statute and an ordinance are given.

The giving of this statute and ordinance would make no sense if He had not healed the waters. But because He had, it became an object lesson for them. He was able to heal the water, and now He was asking for implicit trust in the mandates that He would proceed to give them.

The word “statute” is khoq. It implies something prescribed or owed. The word “ordinance” or mishpat, implies a judgment based on justice. Grace is not based on these things. A law doesn’t confer grace: it confers a requirement which is to be obeyed. When it is isn’t, then one may receive punishment, or they may receive mercy. But either way, grace is excluded.

They received grace in the healing of the waters; they now receive a law to guide them after their healing. In the giving of that law, it then says that “He tested them.” It is the word nasah. It was first used in Genesis 22:1 when the Lord tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice Isaac. Now it is used for the second time in the Bible to test the descendents of Abraham.

In their testing comes a promise, but also a veiled threat…

²⁶ and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians.

The word im, or “if,” is a conditional word. It implies that if something is in compliance, then there will be one result. If it is not, then there will be another. The Lord promises them now, after this first testing which ended in grace, that further testings will carry rewards or losses.

This is sounding like our own walk in Christ, isn’t it! We are saved by grace, with no works on our part. We have walked in a wilderness, we have complained of our situation, and by His unmerited favor, He has given us the life-giving waters.

But after our salvation, and after our being granted eternal life, we are given commandments and statutes. If we comply, things will normally go well for us. If we don’t, we only have ourselves to blame. The commands and exhortations from the hand of Paul are many. But they are given for our well being.

The Lord is showing us from this ancient story that His ways are always the better option. And so He first tells Israel, that they should diligently heed His voice with the words shamoa tishma – “listening you shall listen.” Pay heed! Take note! Hear the word! And what is it that they should be so attentive to?

1) v’hayashar b’enav taaseh – They should do what is right in His sight. The word is yashar and means “upright.” It is the first time it is used in the Bible and it is the Lord imploring them to do what is morally honorable and proper in His eyes, not theirs. He sets the standard; they are to accept it.

Unfortunately, the people failed often, generation after generation found it more suitable to follow their own desires than the will of the Lord. It is the theme of the book of Judges. The very last words of the book repeat the sentiment found throughout the book –

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25

2) v’haazanta l’mitsvotav – and give ear to His commandments. The mitsvot are the comprehensive list of laws which form the Law of Moses. They are told to listen to these, not just to hear. We hear things all the time, but we often don’t listen. Every week, you come and hear a sermon from Charlie, but you don’t always listen…sometimes you drowse and sometimes you nod off.

The Lord will give commandments and they are to be listened to, unlike Charlie’s sermons. Many generations later, the Lord spoke to Ezekiel and said that the people had failed to do exactly this –

“So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. ³² Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.” Ezekiel 33:31, 32

The Lord is warning the people of what lies ahead. A law will be given and there will be consequences for failing to heed that law.

3) v’shamarta kal huqav – “and keep all His statutes.” A commandment is something one is to do in obedience to the one in authority. A statute is similar. It is something owed to the one in authority. It is something apportioned to someone to guide them in their societal conduct.

The rest of the Old Testament is replete with examples of the people, both the leaders and the common people, failing to adhere to this admonition. During the giving of the law, the Lord will be very specific concerning the blessings and the curses which will come upon the people for either adhering to these things or for straying from them.

These are recorded in the first person from the Lord in Leviticus 26 – “I will do this and I will do that.” They are recorded in the third person by Moses in Deuteronomy 28 – “The Lord will do this and the Lord will do that.” It is the Lord who gives the laws, it is the Lord who executes the judgments upon violators, and it is the Lord who heals the people who adhere or who repent. The psalmist understood this –

“I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
² O Lord my God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me.
³ O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.” Psalm 30:1-3

It is the Lord who judges and the Lord heals. He is the Lord…

^{26 (con’t)} For I am the Lord who heals you.”

ani Yehovah rophekha – It is a title as much as a proclamation. “I am Yehovah who heals you.” The healing of the waters was for their physical healing. The Lord promises now that in adherence to His word, there is such healing to be found.

This word, heal or rapha, is used 67 times in the Old Testament and it is often used in exactly the manner that He proclaims here. After much disobedience and a second exile which lasted for 2000 years, the Lord promised that He would a second time heal His wayward people. This is recorded in Hosea 6 –

“Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
² After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.” Hosea 6:1, 2

It is also the same word which is used to describe the work of the Lord as He went to the cross for our healing –

“But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

The Lord is telling this group of people, in advance, that what He has done for them at Marah is a part of His nature – He is gracious. But He is also telling them that there are other aspects of who He is – He is just; He is righteous; He is holy. And in His proclamations, they are to see that there are consequences for violating these awesome attributes that He is revealing to them.

He is their Healer if they will but allow themselves to be healed. For us, the healing of the waters isn’t for our physical healing. Rather, it is for our spiritual healing. The fount was poisoned by the devil, but Christ purifies it once again, if we will but trust. It is, in fact, by grace we are saved – through faith.

*²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.

The chapter ends with this most unusual verse. It gives us enough to know that things went well after the next trek, but only enough to tantalize the thoughts, wondering why more isn’t given.

This place, here called Elim, is believed to be identified today as the Wadi-Ghurandel. It is an oasis with many types of trees, including palms and which has a stream flowing through it. Barnes notes that it is about a mile in breadth, but in length it stretches out a long way to the northeast.

The name Elim, comes from a root which indicates to protrude or stick out, such as a porch on a house, a ram in a flock, or a large tree. There at Elim the Bible records 12 wells. However, the word in Hebrew it says enot mayim, “eyes of water.” And so these are springs, not really wells.

There are also seventy palm trees. The word is temarim, which is the plural of Tamar, the same name as the daughter of Judah who bore his child. The name pictures an upright or righteous person. At this location, it is said that the people camped there by the wells.

I dread leaving verses like this unattended concerning a picture that they are making and there is every reason to believe that the Lord is telling us something with the specificity – 12 springs and 70 palms. What is this referring to?

If Christ is the Water of Life and there are twelve springs, these then picture those who send out the word of the water of life to the people. In Matthew 10, the apostles are given the power to heal, just as the Lord said that He would be Yehovah Rophekha in the previous verse –

“And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” Matthew 10:1

And the seventy palms then would represent the 70 disciples, or righteous ones, chosen by Christ in Luke 10, to follow suit –

“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. … ⁹ And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.'” Luke 10:1 & 9

Again, like the apostles, they were given the power to heal by Yehovah Rophekha, the Lord Jesus. The name Elim is given to show that the work of Christ protrudes out for all to see as the apostles and disciples spread its message to Israel.

Chapter 15 closes with a picture of the Lord and His ministry to the people of Israel. A ministry which was intended for the healing of the people if they would but pay heed to Him and to His words.

I am the Lord who heals you
I am the One who can take away your pains
In following Me, you are following the Path which is true
And in doing so, are to be found eternal gains

I am the Lord who heals you
In Me there is a well bubbling up to everlasting life
I will fulfill every promise as I said I would do
I will end the enmity between us, I will end the strife

There is healing in My wings
For I am the Lord who heals you
And I will do marvelous things
For I am ever faithful and true

III. Bonus Insert (2 Kings 6:1-7)

In the book of 2 Kings, the prophet Elisha performs two miracles, both of which parallel the account which we have just seen. The first is found in 2 Kings 2:19-22 where Elisha throws salt into water to heal it. The second is found in 2 Kings 6:1-7 and deals with him throwing wood into water to raise an axe head.

Although space won’t allow us to cover both, or even one in detail, I decided to add in a quick look at the second to round out our time in God’s precious word today and to satisfy Jim and Linda’s well-directed curiosity. Here are those verses –

And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. ² Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.”
So he answered, “Go.”
³ Then one said, “Please consent to go with your servants.”
And he answered, “I will go.” ⁴ So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. ⁵ But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”
⁶ So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. ⁷ Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.

And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us.

The term “sons of the prophets” means those who are of the prophets as disciples. They are a collective group of people who study under the hand of Elisha. Collectively, they come to Elisha and say that the place where they are dwelling can no longer sustain them. Instead, they wish to go to the Jordan to build a larger place to study.

The name Elisha comes from two words – el, meaning God and yasha meaning to be saved. So his name means God is Salvation or God the Savior. To him, they ask nelekha na ad ha’yarden – “Let us go, we pray you, to Jordan.”

² Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.”
So he answered, “Go.”

The name Jordan is given and therefore it is relevant to the story. It means “the Descender” because it descends from the high mountains of Lebanon all the way to the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth. The word for “beam” is used just five times in the Old Testament.

It comes from a word which means to occur or happen, especially that which happens beyond one’s control. The idea in a beam is probably that by putting beams together it causes a building to occur. In response to their request, Elisha simply says leku – “go.”

³ Then one said, “Please consent to go with your servants.”
And he answered, “I will go.”

Where it says “one said” the term ha’echad is used. It means “the one.” One is singled out as making the request. He asks Elisha to come along and calls himself and the others abadekha – “your servants.” The request was probably so that the project would be blessed by his presence and for him to oversee the project.

Elisha, seems impressed enough by the man’s faith in his ability to be of assistance, and so in response he in says ani elek. “I will go.” There is an immense sparseness of verbiage being employed by Elisha in this account. He is direct, his words are simple, and unlike me in my sermons, he doesn’t waste any words.

⁴ So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.

Together they all went and came to the Jordan where they cut down ha’etsim or “the trees.” The word for “cut” here is gazar. It means to completely divide or separate. It is used when speaking of Christ’s death in Isaiah 53 –

“He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.” Isaiah 53:8

⁵ But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”

The person cutting down the tree seems to be the same person who asked Elisha to come in the first place. The term ha’echad, or “the one” is again used, possibly to imply the same person. The term for “cutting down” in this verse is not the same as the previous verse. This word is naphal, not gazar. It means to fall, as if a tree falls.

While in the process of felling a tree, ha’barzel or “the iron” comes off of the axe handle and falls into the water. Charles Ellicott notes that the wording here is unusual. He says –

“The subject of the verb is made prominent by being put first in the accusative. It is thus implied that something happened to the iron.” Ellicott

His response to this contains pitiful words, ahah adoni v’hu shaul – “Alas my lord, and it (was) begged.” He couldn’t afford his own and so he begged to use one belonging to another. He was morally responsible to pay for it, but he could not.

⁶ So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place.

Here Elisha is called ish ha’elohim – Rather than “the man of God” it should say “man of ‘the’ God,” thus signifying the One true God. He asks where the iron fell in the water and the man showed him.

^6 (con’t) So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.

To rectify the situation, Elisha takes the action. He doesn’t ask the person to get him a stick, instead he gets one himself. The word for “cut” is another word entirely from the two previously translated as cut. This word is qatsav – to cut. The only other time it is used is in the Song of Solomon when referring to shearing sheep.

Once he had the wood, he threw it in the water. It is the same word, shalak, that was used to describe what Moses did at the waters of Marah. In both accounts, they cast the stick into the water. For Moses, the waters were made sweet. For Elisha, the axe head was made to float.

The word for float is tsuph. It’s used only two other times in the Bible. Once when the waters flowed over the Egyptians in the Red Sea, and once in Lamentations 3 when Jeremiah says –

“The waters flowed over my head;
I said; I am cut off!” Lamentations 3:54

Interestingly, Jeremiah uses the same word in Lamentations, gazar, about himself as was used in verse 3 concerning cutting down the trees.

*⁷ Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.

In his normal verbose way, Elisha simply says, ha’rem lakh – “take up to.” The word rum that he uses carries the idea of exalting something. By lifting, something is raised up, or exalted. The once-lost axe head has been restored.

So what is this story telling us? To understand, we need to first go back to Deuteronomy 19 and read a something similar about an axe head –

“And this is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him in time past— ⁵ as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he shall flee to one of these cities and live ⁶ lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past. ” Deuteronomy 19:4-6

In this account, the person is legally and morally culpable of an offense even though it was unintentional. The same is true with the man at the Jordan. He is morally and legally responsible to restore what was lost, even if he didn’t intentionally lose it.

The axe head is a picture then of fallen man. He has inherited sin through Adam. Even if he didn’t do anything intentionally wrong, he still bears the guilt because of simply existing. He is submerged in sin and there is seemingly no hope for him. He is covered by the waters and cut off. This is explained by Paul in Romans 5 –

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—” Romans 5:12

Being morally culpable, whether one knows they have done wrong or not, is a tenet found both in civil life and in the Bible as well. In civil life we use the term, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.” If we break a law, even if we didn’t know it existed, we are still guilty. The same is true with spiritual matters. Jesus said –

“And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. ⁴⁸ But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.” Luke 12:47, 48

The waters cover fallen man because man is fallen. However, the very waters that cover him are also the medium though which his moral and legal responsibility is reversed. Jordan, or the Descender, pictures the time of Christ’s advent, just as it did at the burial of Jacob and at other times when it is mentioned. Christ became a Man. The same medium through which sin came will be used to deal with sin.

Jesus descended from the high mountain, picturing heaven, even to the Dead Sea itself. Elisha, or God of Salvation, is a picture of the work of Christ. Christ bore Calvary’s cross Himself, pictured by Elisha cutting the wood Himself.

The wood was cast into the waters, just as Christ was cast into the pit of death. But through that act, the axe head was restored. The legal and moral responsibility was paid by another and it was removed from the offender.

In our baptism is a picture of what we see here. We are immersed in the waters of death with our legal and moral bonds weighing us down, but we are raised to newness of life, free from those bonds.

As in the account with Moses, the tree cast into the waters symbolizes the cross of Calvary and the expiation of our sins. The waters are the Source of life for the believer, Christ. They are the law, which overwhelms us and by which we are cut off, and yet Christ is the embodiment of that Law and so it is through Him and His fulfillment of that law that our sin is removed and eternal life is granted to us.

However, there is the final verse with those instructive words, ha’rem lakh, “Pick it up for yourself.” We have to do something, we have to reach out, by faith, and receive back the restored rights. Each of us should do just as the man there with Elisha – “So he reached out his hand and took it.”

If you have never reached out your hand to receive God’s pardon which is found in Christ Jesus the Lord, do it today! The entire Bible, even these obscure little passages that seem almost quaint, is there to show us of the love of God in Christ our Lord.

The axe head was still in the water, still in Christ, until it was received from Him. The hole in Jesus’ side was there for all to see, but Thomas doubted and so Jesus told him to “reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing” (John 20:27).

This is what Jesus asks each of us to do, reach out for the axe head, reach out our hand and take what has been offered, reach out for restoration through Christ. I pray that you will do so today…

Closing Verse: “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17

Next Week: Exodus 16:1-8 (Bread from Heaven) (45th Exodus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean lies ahead of You, He can part the waters and lead you through it on dry ground. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Precious Water of Life

So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea
Then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur
And into the wilderness they went days three
And found no water; nothing to drink, nothing tasty and pure

Now when they to Marah came
They could not drink the waters of Marah for they were bitter
Therefore Marah was called its name

And the people complained against Moses, saying
“What shall we drink?” Tell us, we are praying

So he cried out to the Lord
And the Lord showed him a tree
When he cast it into the waters
The waters were made sweet, sweet as can be

There He made a statute and an ordinance for them
And there He tested them, and said
“If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God
And do what is right in His sight and not wrong instead

And give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes
I will put none of the diseases on you
Which I have brought on the Egyptians
For I am the Lord who heals you; this I will do

Then they came to Elim
Where there were of water twelve wells
And seventy palm trees, beautiful it would seem
So they camped there by the waters, as the account tells

Such a beautiful story of God’s tender care for us!
He took what was bitter and healed it
And if we will just receive His Son, the Lord Jesus
And to Him our souls entrust and commit

We will be saved unto the ages of ages, for all eternity
It is a gift and an offer from our glorious God
How can such love be found! How can it be?
That He would heal us from the sins of our earthly trod

We hail You, O our majestic King!
We praise You glorious Lord Jesus!
Hear our voices as to You we sing!
You who have done such marvelous things for us!

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

Exodus 15:11-21
The Song of Moses
The Song at the Sea, Part II

There is some of the worst artwork on the face of the planet on display in downtown Sarasota. I don’t think a person here would disagree with that. Abstract art for the most part isn’t art and almost all of the stuff that is along the bay front cannot be called “art” in any real sense.

The metal sculptures would look better as sports cars. Those made of fiberglass would look better as surfboards. And those made of resins of some sort would look better as children’s Lego blocks. If any of them are made of wood… well, even a shipping pallet is more pleasing to look at that the junk down there.

But there is one exception, isn’t there. Who here knows the name of the one piece of artwork that has true value downtown? That’s right… it’s the Kissing Statue! It is the one that every person who visits Sarasota loves to see and, of course, it is the only one that the stupid liberals – including the stupid liberal art commission – want to see removed.

And why is this? It is because it brings out the past that they don’t want to consider. They hate the nation in which we live and they hate what the Kissing Statue stands for – victory over the enemies of World War II. It was a battle of Good verses Evil and liberals always want evil to win.

Today we will finish the Song of Moses, the Song at the Sea. The Lord won a great victory over Pharaoh and his army. But this victory only pictures a much greater victory in redemptive history. It is the victory over the devil and sin.

Text Verse: “O Lord God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
⁹ You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.” Psalm 89:8, 9

When we see the Kissing Statue downtown, we have a reminder of the once great thing that America accomplished in their triumph over the evil axis powers which threatened the world. There was joy and jubilation in the land as the people wildly celebrated what had been done.

Miriam did some wild celebrating with the other women as they danced and played the timbrels and exalted the great victory the Lord had accomplished for Israel. Let’s look at this marvelous celebration together, analyzing it’s wonders as we look into God’s superior word. It’s all to be found there. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Who is Like You, O Lord? (verses 11 & 12)

¹¹ “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?

mi kamoka ba’elim Yehovah – With these words, we now enter the third stanza of the Song of Moses. It is shorter than the first two, but it is marvelous in its form and detail. Moses, as if completely overwhelmed by the thoughts which he has so far penned, turns from narration to question.

It is as if he had to pause and contemplate the utter majesty of the Lord and His wonderful work. His first of two rhetorical questions is “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?” This question is parallel to the words of 15:2, 3 –

“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.
³ The Lord is a man of war;
The Lord is His name.”

In those verses, he described the Lord. Now in this question, he asks who is like Him. The answer is implied in the question, “No one!” All of the gods of Egypt, the greatest nation on earth at the time, were rendered impotent against the hand of the Lord. None could compare to him and all were shown to be false.

Only the Lord was to be exalted because only the Lord is the true God. The words are as valid today as they were when Moses wrote them – allah, buddha, krishna, and on and on… Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? The answer stands – “None are like the Lord!”

In this question is the germ of the name of the archangel Michael, which means “Who is like God?” You can hear the similarity – mikael and mi kamoka? Who can compare to the Lord?

^{11 (con’t)} Who is like You, glorious in holiness,

mi-kamoka nadar ba’qodesh – This portion of the verse is parallel to 15:6 which said –

“Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power;”

He asked the question based on these words and the reply again is implied in the question. “Surely there is no one like the Lord who is glorious in holiness!” In all ways, He is far above every being because He is the Creator of them all. Therefore, He alone is holy.

The word “glorious,” which in Hebrew is adar, is used for the second time both in this poem and in the Bible. In all, it will only be used three times in the Bible. Some translations use “majestic,” thus showing the superlative nature of the One who is “glorious in holiness.”

This is the first time that the idea of holiness is ascribed directly to the Lord. Three other times the word qodesh or “holy” has been used. The first was at the burning bush where the Lord told Moses to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. It implied that the Lord is the One who made the ground holy.

The other two times it was used came in conjunction with the Feast of Unleavened bread, where the first and the last days of the feast were to be considered “holy.” Now, in the fourth use of the word, holiness is ascribed to the Lord who is “glorious in holiness” by asking this rhetorical question.

^{11 (con’t)} Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

nowra tehilot oseh pele – This is the second half of the second question. It is parallel to verses 6-8 –

“Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
⁷ 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.
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.”

Moses described the great works of the Lord and now, in question he asks, “Who else is like this?” Again, the answer is implied in the question. “There is none like the Lord who is fearful in praises, doing wonders!”

He uses three new words in this portion of the verse. The first is emah and is translated as “fearful.” It means “terror.” The second new word translated as “praises” is tehillah. It means “praise,” or a “song of praise” and thus a psalm. It comes from the word halal which means “to shine.”

And the third new word is translated as “wonders.” It is the word pele. It is the first of 13 uses of this word in the Bible. It is a word found mostly in the psalms to describe the Lord in a manner similar to this song of praise, but probably the most famous use of it is found in Isaiah 9:6 where it describes the coming Messiah –

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Again and again Moses draws out new and exceptional words from his Hebrew dictionary to describe the majesty of the Lord who has performed works never seen before. He is to be held in awe, but not just as in an impressive mountain scene. Rather, we are to be in fearful awe of His glorious splendor. He is all powerful and therefore He alone is fearful in praises.

The Lord’s wonders in the creation itself as well as how He works through the creation are magnificent. And beyond this, He has proven that He can work beyond the natural order. The final plague, that of the firstborn, transcended the natural. And the parting and closing of the Red Sea did as well.

The Lord is able to suspend nature in order to accomplish his great wonders. It is He who is wonderful in all ways. Moses first recognizes this in written form for the people of the world to reflect on ever since. The author of Psalm 86 appears to have used his words here as a pattern for his own reflections on the Lord –

“Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
Nor are there any works like Your works.
⁹ All nations whom You have made
Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And shall glorify Your name.
¹⁰ For You are great, and do wondrous things;
You alone are God.” Psalm 86:8-10

¹² You stretched out Your right hand;
The earth swallowed them.

yatita yeminikha tiblaemow arets – These words are parallel to verse 10 which said –

“You blew with Your wind,
The sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.”

But though parallel, there is an addition to what we have seen so far. It says that “the earth swallowed them.” It could be as many scholars believe, that this is speaking of the sea as a part of the earth and that Moses is using poetic license in his description.

However, it could be that this implies more than just the waters covering them, but that the earth was rent asunder as well. The 77th Psalm, which details this event, seems to confirm that along with the sea closing, there was also an earthquake –

“The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹ Your way was in the sea,
Your path in the great waters,
And Your footsteps were not known.
²⁰ You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.” Psalm 77:18-20

The earth and all of its elements are under the complete control of the Lord. The Egyptians failed to see this and they perished. Israel failed to heed Moses’ words and they were twice exiled. And the world has forgotten that the Lord is in control and they too will suffer His judgments because of this.

Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods of the world?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness?
You are fearful in praises, Your wonders unfurled!
Only to You shall my soul bless

You stretched out Your right hand
The earth swallowed the peoples
You in Your mercy have led forth your redeemed as planned
So that they can gather to praise You under church steeples

The people whom You have redeemed and brought out
You have guided them in Your might
To Your holy habitation, and with a resounding shout
They have been brought into Your glorious light

II. The Lord Shall Reign Forever and Ever (verses 13-18)

¹³ You in Your mercy have led forth
The people whom You have redeemed;

nahita ba-khash-dekha am zu gaaleta – This is the concluding verse of the third stanza, but it is also the first verse of the second major section of the song. The first 12 verses were retrospective, looking back on the deliverance of the Israelites by the Lord.

Now from verses 13-18, they are prospective; they look forward to the future results of that deliverance. And yet, even though future, they are written in a past-tense, mission-accomplished style. Moses acknowledges that it is the Lord’s khesed, or divine favor, which made Him select and covenant with Israel.

In other words, it was a merciful act and not because they had merited His lovingkindness. It is an important point which Moses has incorporated into the song. The Lord covenanted with Abraham and made a promise to his seed. Even in their unfaithfulness, He has remained faithful to the people He redeemed.

And the words of this verse are exactly what the Lord promised all the way back in Chapter 6 –

“Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” Exodus 6:6

Just as the Lord promised, so He also fulfilled.

^{13 (con’t)} You have guided them in Your strength
To Your holy habitation.

nahalta b’azzekha el neveh qad-shekha – The form of the Hebrew indicates that the guiding of which Moses speaks is on-going. In other words, Moses is looking forward to where they are being led even though it is written as if they are already there.

The Lord had guided them, was guiding them, and would guide them by the power of His strength to His holy habitation. It could be, and it probably is, that this is speaking of Canaan, the Land of Promise, but verse 17 is more specific than that.

Not only would the people be brought into the Land of Promise, but there would be a place in that land where the Lord would dwell. In the end, this is still not only a historical account, but also a picture of those redeemed through the tribulation period of the future who would partake of the millennial reign of Christ as spoken of by the prophets many times.

It is also a picture of the redeemed of the Lord who will eventually be guided even to His heavenly habitation. This is described in Hebrews 12 –

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, ²³ to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,…” Hebrews 12:22, 23

In both the temporal and in the spiritual, it is the Lord who guides His redeemed until they arrive at the destination which He has prepared for them. It is marvelous to see how history repeats itself so that we can know that the Lord’s hand is involved in what occurs.

¹⁴ “The people will hear and be afraid;

sha-me-u ammim yir-ga-zun – The word “people” in the Hebrew is plural. It is speaking of the various people groups in the land of Canaan, many of which have been named already in the Bible.

They are groups such as those mentioned in Exodus 3 when the Lord spoke to Moses at the burning bush. These included the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. These many groups, and others as well, would hear and would fear.

This became a reality when Israel finally entered Canaan. When the spies first entered the land, they came to the house of Rahab the harlot and she said this to them, thus confirming Moses words –

“I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. ¹⁰ For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. ¹¹ And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” Joshua 2:9-11

^{14 (con’t)} Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.

khil akhaz yo-shev-e pelasheth –  In Moses’ words now though, he specifically singles out the inhabitants of Philistia. He says that “sorrow” would take hold of them. The word “sorrow” in Hebrew is khil. It is the first of seven times it will be used. It specifically means “agony” or “anguish.”

The Philistines have been mentioned several times in the Bible, but the territory known as Philistia is now mentioned for the first time. They are thus not just a group of people, but they are a people who have a portion of land identified with them.

It is the coastal area which is still occupied today by a rebellious group of people known as the Palestinians – a term which comes from the Hebrew word used to describe this ancient people. However, the modern Palestinians are actually Arabs with no connection to this group. Thus they could more rightly be called Fakestinians.

Just as the Philistines trembled at Israel in the past, the modern Palestinians do so once again in the present. History continues to repeat itself and the enemies of God and of His people follow the same pattern again and again.

¹⁵ Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed;

az nivhalu aluphe edowm – The alluphey, or chiefs of Edom, are mentioned dozens of times in Genesis 36 and then again in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles 1. However, by the time Israel finished its wilderness wanderings, these chiefs were replaced by a king.

Despite being under a kingdom and having become belligerent towards Israel, Moses still warned the people just prior to their movement towards Canaan that despite their fear of Israel, they were to be left alone –

“You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. ⁵ Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. ” Deuteronomy 2:4, 5

^{15 (con’t)} The mighty men of Moab,
Trembling will take hold of them;

ele mowav yokhazemow raad – These words are perfectly described as being fulfilled just as Moses wrote them. In Numbers 22, we read this –

“Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.
² Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel.” Numbers 22:1, 2

The story which follows this goes from Numbers 22-24 and concerns the story of Moab and Balaam the prophet. It has been a favorite of God’s people ever since.

^{15 (con’t)} All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.

namogu kol yo-shev-e kenaan – Along with the words of Rahab that I read a couple minutes ago, this prophecy of Moses is exactingly fulfilled in the words of Joshua 5 –

“So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.” Joshua 5:1

¹⁶ Fear and dread will fall on them;

tippol alehem ematah v’pakhad – For the second time in both the song and in the Bible, Moses uses the word emah. The first time was in verse 11 to describe the Lord who is “fearful in praises.” Now he says that emah, or fear along with dread, will fall on the inhabitants of Canaan.

Though they were more numerous than the people of Israel, they would be no match for them because they knew of His mighty arm which was set on destroying her enemies. Because of this, they would be in both fear and dread of the crushing flood which would come upon them.

^{16 (con’t)} By the greatness of Your arm
They will be as still as a stone,

bigdol zerow-akha  yid-demu ka-aben – In Exodus 6:6, the Lord had promised to bring Israel out with an outstretched arm. That same symbolism is now used again to show that the arm of the Lord is not shortened. He would go on wielding it for His redeemed against the people they would continue to encounter.

And because of the display of strength His arm would show forth, Moses says that their enemies would be as still as a stone. Again, he brings a new word into the Bible’s pages, translated as “still.” It is the word damam which means to “cease.” The idea is that because of astonishment they would at once be motionless and hushed just like a stone. It is a beautiful metaphor to consider.

^{16 (con’t)} Till Your people pass over, O Lord,
Till the people pass over
Whom You have purchased.

ad-yaabor amekha Yehovah ad-yaabor am-zu qanita –

This section of the verse isn’t speaking of either the trip out of Egypt, nor passing through the Red Sea. It continues to be prospective, looking forward to the journey into Canaan. In Deuteronomy 29:16, Moses speaks of the nations they passed by during the wilderness wanderings.

They encountered many peoples, passing them by on the way to a better place, a place which had been promised to them over 400 years earlier. The repetition of the words in this verse are used to highlight and magnify the fact that all of those nations remained as still as a stone while Israel passed through them.

It is true that some came against them in battle, but those who did were crushed by Israel, becoming as still as a stone in death. The Lord allowed nothing to impede their march forward except the stubbornness of their own hearts as they rebelled against Him. But even that didn’t cause His forward motion to cease entirely.

And the reason is in the word “purchased.” Israel was purchased though the destruction of Egypt and the slaying of the Passover. Because they were bought back, He would continue to lead them and fight for them. They had become His possession and therefore the only One who had a right to discipline them was Him.

¹⁷ You will bring them in and plant them
In the mountain of Your inheritance,

t’bi-e-mow v’tita-e-mow b’har nakhalatekha – Moses, taking the rest of the journey toward. and into Canaan, as an accomplished fact, says that the Lord will not only bring them in, but that He would plant them. And the word he uses means exactly that, as if to plant a tree. It conveys the idea that they will be firmly fixed in the land.

However, even before they arrive, they will be given advanced warning that just as a tree can be planted, it can also be uprooted. In his warnings to the people, he again spoke to them in a prospective manner, telling them that as certainly as they were to be planted, they would likewise be uprooted when they failed to live up to the standards He set before them –

“Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book. And the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.” Deuteronomy 29:27, 28

And the reason for both planting them and uprooting them is found in the words, “the mountain of Your inheritance.” The land of Israel is equated to a mountain, as it is several times in the Bible. Because it is the Lord’s inheritance, meaning the Lord’s land, it is up to Him who may live there.

The Lord gave the Land to Israel as their inheritance as well. And so when they remain obedient to the Lord it is their land and they may use it. When they are under the punishment of the Lord, it is their land and they may not use it.

Either way, it is the Lord’s land, He has given it to Israel, and He decides when they may dwell in it. This is no different than a father giving to a son a bicycle or a car. Just because it belongs to the son it doesn’t mean that he can always use it. Israel is the Lord’s child and so He governs the rights of the child.

^{17 (con’t)} In the place, O Lord, which You have made
For Your own dwelling,

makon l’shivetekha paalta Yehovah – Again, for the umpteenth time in this marvelous song, Moses introduces a new word to us – makon. It is a fixed or established place; a foundation. The idea is “permanence,” and this word, which is used 17 times in the Bible, almost always refers to some aspect of the Lord’s earthly temple or His heavenly throne.

Moses’ words here put that idea into motion and it will be repeated many times as the idea of permanence is affixed to the Lord’s dwelling place.

^{17 (con’t)} The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.

miqedash adonai konnu yadekha – Interestingly, the name Yehovah or LORD is used ten times in this Song of Moses, but in this one verse the title Lord or Adonai is used instead. Why Moses deferred to the title rather than the name is a puzzle, but having done it this one time makes the song all the more exceptional.

The only commentator I read who even mentioned this change was John Lang who said –

“The centre of this mountain is, on the one hand, the dwelling-place of Jehovah; on the other, the sanctuary of the Lord (אָדֹנָי) for His people.” John Lange

But this isn’t correct. The lines of the verse are formed in parallel and are simply conveying the same idea with different words. To me, it is probably because of the meaning of the number ten in Scripture which is that of “…the perfection of Divine order… it implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete.” (Bullinger)

As ten signifies completion and the perfection of Divine order, Moses chose to include this address to the Lord with a title rather than as the Lord with His name.

Again in this verse, we are introduced to a new word – miqedash or “sanctuary.” It carries the same meaning as the word qodesh or “holy,” but it is applied to the dwelling of the Lord. However, it is the Lord who makes the sanctuary holy.

Therefore, Moses notes that it is “The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.” The words of Moses, if understood and heeded by Israel, would have saved them from an immense amount of grief throughout their generations.

If the Lord is the one who sanctifies the sanctuary, then those who are disobedient to the Lord will defile it. This occurred throughout their history and twice He saw fit to destroy the very place where He dwelt among them. Ezekiel 5 gives the charges to the people before its first destruction –

“‘Therefore, as I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you; My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. ¹² One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.'” Ezekiel 5:11-12

All of this could have been avoided if the people just kept their hearts and their minds directed towards the Lord. But Israel is just a microcosm of the greater world. Like them, the world has failed to pay heed. What came upon Egypt and what came upon Israel will also come on a global scale. All because we fail to pay heed to the word of the Lord.

¹⁸ “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”

Yehovah yimlok l’olam v’ed – The Song of Moses ends with these words of glorious affirmation. They are amazingly simple and the substance of them will be repeated and built upon many times in Scripture, even into the New Testament where we read these words in Revelation 11 –

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!'” Revelation 11:15

Thus, Moses’ words here are to be taken as a statement concerning the redeemed throughout all dispensations and even throughout eternity itself. To show that this is a thought which is actually beyond comprehension, He introduces one last new word into the Bible with the very last word of the song – ad or “forever.”

By adding it to the word olam, or forever, it adds a superlative sense to its meaning. This dynasty of Pharaoh had come while Israel was in Egypt and it had ended before their very eyes. The waters of the ocean which consumed him dated back to the moment when the Lord created them, and those same waters saw his final end.

Other kingdoms would arise and they too would fall. History would continue on year by year, century by century, and even throughout the millenniums, but the Lord who was there at the beginning will still be there when all earthly kingdoms have passed into oblivion. Only He will reign forever and ever because only He is the Lord.

How great are Your deeds O Lord our God!
Wonderful! Splendid! Majestic! We cry to You
Our eyes have seen glory as our feet have trod
You have brought us out to a life brand new

And You will bring Your people in and them You will plant
In the mountain of Your inheritance
There people will dance and to You they will chant
Of Your great deeds for their deliverance

In the place, O Lord, which You have furnished
For Your own dwelling we too shall dwell, leaving never
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established
The Lord shall reign forever and ever

III. He has Triumphed Gloriously! (verses 19-21)

¹⁹ 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.

This verse is given as a summary of what was said in Chapter 14. With more details there, it said –

“So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸ 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. ²⁹ 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.” Exodus 14:27-29

This then is not a later insert as so many scholars claim. Rather, it is a recounting of why the song was written. The words begin with a conjunction ki which means “for” or “because.” The last words of the song said that “The Lord shall reign forever and ever!” The “for” or “because” is explaining that thought.

Pharaoh is no longer a threat to the people of God because the Lord has proven Himself above all gods. This then is a prophetic picture of the comparable redemptive battles to come. From Christ defeating the world of sin and the power of the devil at the cross, to His final defeat of the devil and his demons when they are cast into the Lake of Fire, it is all pictured here.

Because of this marvelous work of the Lord, a spontaneous act came about by Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron…

²⁰ 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.

Miriam is formerly introduced by name into the Bible at this time, even though she was seen on the banks of the Nile when her younger brother Moses was placed in the ark made by his mother. Now, some eighty years after that, she has witnessed another miracle of the Lord as that same brother raised his staff to first open the waters of the Red Sea and then to close them over the enemies of Israel.

She is called “the sister of Aaron” rather than Moses, possibly because Aaron is the elder of the two, but more probably because both she and Aaron are considered subordinate to Moses in the narrative before us.

In this verse, she is called a “prophetess.” She is the first of five women who are given this designation in the Old Testament. There is also one in Luke 2. Other women are noted as prophesying in the book of Acts.

Here she sets a precedent in the Bible which will be followed by other women. She takes a timbrel, meaning a tambourine, and goes out in dance before the Lord in victory. Other women will follow in this same manner when kings or others come home from victory in battle. They will dance and play the timbrel for the victor.

One of the most noted instances is found in Judges 11 where the daughter of Jephthah came out with timbrels and dancing to welcome home her father after his victory. Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well for her after that. It is a sad story despite the victory of Jephthah.

Unfortunately, the meaning of the name “Miriam” is not well agreed upon. However, one possibility for introducing her by name here comes from two separate words marar which means either “bitter” or “strong” and yam which means “sea.”

And so her name may mean “Waters of Strength.” That would certainly explain why the name is given at this time. The Red Sea crushed the enemies of the Lord as He directed them back to their natural state.

This can only be speculation, so if you make a brain squiggle on that, please include that it is only one possible meaning to her name which happens to correspond with the introduction of her name. And the meaning does fit well with our final verse of the day…

*²¹ And Miriam answered them:
“Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!”

The word for “them” in this verse is masculine. Because of this, it is believed that after hearing the first words of the Song of Moses, she picked up that refrain and answered them after each stanza as they went through the song. As she and the other women sang, they played the timbrel and danced.

This is the first time that dancing is mentioned in the Bible and it is almost sad to read Elizabethan era commentaries on this verse. They either say that it was only appropriate in the past, as if somehow dancing should never be allowed among Christians, or they might say something like she and the other women moved “gracefully through a stately and solemn dance” (Ellicott).

Personally, I would imagine the last thing they would be doing is having a slow, solemn dance. Instead, they would be leaping for joy at the work of the Lord. I can’t think of anything duller and more boring than a congregation of people who would sit still in an almost catatonic state, quietly playing harps, after seeing what they had seen.

In 2 Samuel 6, it says that David danced before the Lord with all his might as the Ark was brought into Jerusalem. He did this because he understood the greatness of the Lord who had delivered him from all his foes.

And certainly Miriam and the entire congregation of Israel danced their hearts out before the Lord as well. If you’re not too old to break something, I don’t think the Lord would fault you a bit for doing the same. And considering that Miriam is somewhere around 90 years old at this time, you’re probably not too old to do so.

Rejoice before the Lord because He has done great things for us. He has done far more for us than merely bringing us through a deep body of water and crushing an army who was set and determined to destroy us. More than that, He has brought us beyond an eternal chasm, an infinite divide between us and our God.

In the process, He destroyed the power of the devil over us and He has brought us to the safe shores of a heavenly inheritance. That is, assuming that you are one of His redeemed. And how did He accomplish this? Let me tell you in case you have never made a decision to follow Jesus Christ…

Closing Verse: “He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
⁵² He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.” Luke 1:51, 52

Next Week: Exodus 15:22-27 (The Sweetened Waters) (44th Exodus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean lies ahead of You, He can part the waters and lead you through it on dry ground. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Lord shall Reign Forever and Ever

“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.
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.
 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
Into the sea with his chariots and his horsemen
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
Surely it was a marvelous event

Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister
Took the timbrel in her hand
And all the women went out after her
With timbrels and with dances, the celebration was grand

And Miriam answered them: “Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!”

The Lord won the victory over the armies of Pharaoh
Casting them into the deep waters of the Red Sea
But He delivered Israel; His greatness He did show
And so the Israelites shouted out in victory

The people danced and sang to the Lord
Because of the marvelous display they did see
And we too should feel free to act the same toward
Our great Savior Jesus, who from sin and death has set us free!

Don’t just sit there like you’re dead in your seat
Instead raise your hands and move those feet

Shout out to Jesus with voices that have truly been set free
Shout about the wonderful things that He has done for you and me

Shout out people! The Lord has won the victory!

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

Exodus 15:1-10
The Song of Moses
The Song at the Sea, Part I

I generally have a pretty good idea of how many verses I will use for any given sermon. I look over the passage, find a logical place to stop, and then start preparing those verses to delight your ears with treasures from the word. And so, on the 13th of July, which is the day I started typing this one, I chose Exodus 15:1-19.

Mom had come by that morning to pick someone up and take them to the airport and I told her that today would be a tough sermon to type. She blew me off, knowing that it would go fine, but I told her, “It’s the song of Moses. It’s in poem form. I’m not sure what I’ll get out of it.”

I started organizing it into sections – I chose four. That is rare, but four sections would mean three poems, one before each subsequent section. That would take up a lot of space to make a full length sermon. But by the time I finished the first verse, I had to cut off verses 11-19 and cut it from four sections to two.

The Song of Moses has taken on a whole new meaning to me because of what is tucked away in it. I hope you will enjoy this first half of it as much as I enjoyed studying it. And be advised – this sermon is not 22 or 23 pages long as normal… it is 25.

Text Verse: “But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
⁶ I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.” Psalm 13:5, 6

David said that his heart would rejoice in the Lord’s salvation. Moses says something similar in His song today. I would trust that by the time we finish, you will rejoice in Him as well. Just hearing the words of the Bible come alive as they do in this song is enough to make me want to jump out of my seat.

Great stuff from a wonderful God to the objects of His affection! It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Lord is His Name (verse 1-5)

¹ Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying:

Although not the first poetry recorded in the Bible, it is the first song recorded here. In fact the verb sheer or “sing” is used for the first time in Scripture in these words. And not only is this the first song in the Bible, it is also by some hundreds of years the first recorded song in human history.

The structure of it will be followed closely many times in Scripture after this and, though I’m no specialist on these things, it apparently “bears a close resemblance to the Egyptian religious poetry, with which Moses—and probably no other Israelite of the time—would have been familiar from his early training” (Ellicott).

Because of this, there is absolutely no reason to assume that anyone other than Moses is the true author of the song. And yet, he humbly doesn’t take credit for it. Instead he simply says that he and the children of Israel sang it to the Lord.

The song is written entirely in hemistiches, meaning half-lines, which is the normal form of Hebrew poetry. The poem actually divides in a few ways. The first is that from verses 1-12, the words are retrospective. They look back on the deliverance of the Israelites by the Lord.

From verses 13-18, they are prospective, meaning that they look forward to the future results of their deliverance. And yet, even though future, they are written in a past-tense, mission-accomplished style.

But, the first retrospective section logically divides into three subsections – from verses 1-5, then verses 6-10, and then verses 11-12. Each of these divisions begins with a note of acknowledgement to the Lord and each ends with a note of judgment on the Lord’s enemies.

But there is more to consider than just the song before us. Even at this early point of chapter 15, and without having entered into the song itself, it needs to be noted that this song is later comparable to the song of the redeemed of the Tribulation Period.

Thus this is a complete confirmation of the many previous sermons which equated Pharaoh first with the devil and later as the antichrist of the end times; Egypt with the world; and the Lord, Yehovah with the Lord Jesus.

Therefore, all three redemptive scenarios follow logically – Israel from Egypt, the church from the world, and the tribulation saints from the Tribulation Period. This Song of Moses is in Exodus 15 and the last is found in Revelation 15 – a nice pattern having been established between the two 15s. There we read these words –

“And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. ³ They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:
‘Great and marvelous are Your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the saints!
⁴ Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.'” Revelation 15:2-4

The words of this Revelation song follow the same pattern as that of the Exodus song. They open with acknowledgement to the Lord of His greatness, and they end with a note that the judgments of the Lord have been manifest.

Further, in these two songs we can see that the mark of the Passover is to be equated with refusal to take the mark of the beast, standing by the Red Sea is to be equated with standing by the sea of glass, and the timbrels of the women of Exodus 15:20 are to be equated with the “harps of God” in Revelation 15:2.

Throughout the Bible, we are progressively being shown what will come about in the future by looking at what has occurred in the past. And in that progressive revelation is the truth that God has slowly and methodically revealed Jesus as the Lord who is to be exalted above all else. If we fail to see this, or if we simply refuse to acknowledge it, it is to our own detriment.

The songs of the Bible are recorded to show us the very heart of God in how we are to honor Him, exalt Him, and glorify Him. This being the first, we should attend to it carefully and completely, savoring each line as a cherished possession which will lead us to the very throne of God and the Lamb. And so let us look into this first such expression of the magnificence of God’s redemptive workings with a sense of delight and joy.

^1 (con’t) “I will sing to the Lord,

 

ashira l’Yehovah – This begins the first subsection which recounts the works of the Lord. It is individual and personal rather than as a group – “I will sing.” It is the true calling of each individual within the whole to acknowledge the Lord and sing to Him. Some of us, like me, should probably sing quietly as to not hurt the ears of the Lord or our fellow man, but let us sing! And the reason why is…

^1 (con’t) For He has triumphed gloriously!

ki-gaoh gaah – literally, “He is gloriously glorious,” or “He is exceedingly exalted.” This word, gaah, is used only 7 times in the Bible and the first four of them are found in this chapter. The root of the word means “to rise.” For emphasis, the word is repeated twice here gaoh gaah. It is first in the finite form and then in the infinitive absolute.

The idea here is that the Lord has “risen up like a wave” (HAW) over His enemies. Therefore, I can’t see any reason not to think of these words as, “He rising has risen.” It would then make a perfect picture of, and parallel to, exactly what Christ did when He triumphed over His foes in the resurrection.

^1 (con’t) The horse and its rider

sus v’rokevoh  – The “horse and its rider” implies the chariots of the Egyptians. They followed the Israelites in but they were destroyed.

^1 (con’t) He has thrown into the sea!

ramah b’yam – This is a contrast to the “rising like a wave” from a moment ago. He rose like a wave; they were thrown into the sea. It is reflective of the words of Paul which say –

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, ¹⁴ having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” Colossians 2:13-15 (NASB)

² The Lord is my strength and song,

azzi v’zimrat Yah – “My strength and my song is Yah.” There is a lot in these few words for us to pull out. Instead of the full name Yehovah, this has the contracted form Yah. It is the first time this poetic form is used in the Bible and it was used to maintain the rhythm of the words.

But, this name, Yah, is not just a nickname or a reason for a poetic matching of sounds. In itself it is a full name. We know this because it is used in conjunction with the full name Yehovah by Isaiah on two separate instances. One is found in Isaiah 12 and it is almost a mirror of the words we now see here in Exodus –

“Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.'” Isaiah 12:2

Adam Clarke notes that the name Yah indicates “He who Is, simply, absolutely, and independently.” It is the very basis of the name “I AM” and it is what Jesus was certainly alluding to in John 8 when He said these words –

“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:58

Despite this being the first use of Yah as a name, the compound form was used earlier in Genesis 22:2 in the name Moriah, or “Bitterness of Yah.” It is also the form of His wonderful name that we use every time we say “Hallelujah” or “Praise Yah.”

Moses acknowledges here that it is Yah who is azzi v’zimrat “my strength and my song.” And if He is our strength and our song, then that will naturally lead to Him being something else…

^2 (con’t) And He has become my salvation;

v’hi-li lishua – “And he has been to me my salvation.”  The Lord is our strength, our song, and our salvation. Nothing could be more wonderful to consider. We could pull up a thousand verses on this concept. And as you read the Bible, take time to ponder them as your eyes alight upon them.

When we are weak, He is our strength. When we are downtrodden, He becomes the song on our lips to restore our souls. When we are overjoyed with His goodness, He is our song of praise and thanks. And when we need a Savior, He is there to save. This is now the third of seventy-seven times in the Bible that the word yeshuah is used. The first was in Genesis 49 during Jacob’s blessing of his sons. After blessing Dan and before blessing Gad, he cried out –

“I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!” Genesis 49:18

Jacob anticipated Yeshua. It was next used just before the parting of the waters when Moses said –

“Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” Exodus 14:13

Moses promised Yeshua. Salvation would come and it would come from the Lord. And now in this verse, it says that Yeshua had come. There is a logical progression of the introduction of this word, Yeshua, to show us the coming of Christ – He is anticipated, He is promised, and He has come. It is a picture of the incarnation.

In essence, the words say, “My strength and my song is Yah, and He has become to me my Jesus.” It is ancient reference to what the Lord would do in history. He would step out of His eternal realm and become the Man, Yeshua; the Lord Jesus.

Along with Isaiah 12:2, these words are also quoted one more time in Psalm 118:14. We are being given, time and again, hidden references to what God would do in the sending of His Son to redeem man. The Lord is Yah and Yah is Jesus. Such is the wisdom of God to show us these things in advance!

^2 (con’t) He is my God, and I will praise Him;

zeh eli v’anvehu – The term “my God” or Eli is used here for the first time in Scripture. It is a personal touch acknowledging that the Lord is God and not only “a god,” but “my God,” and because this is so, v’anvehu – “and I will praise Him.

This word, navah, is only used two times in the Bible and it means “home.” And so some older translations say “…and I will prepare Him a habitation.” However, the root of the word means “beautiful” and so other translations say something like “I will praise Him” or “I will glorify him.”

This is most probably the correct sense because the poem is constructed of parallel verses. The next portion says, “I will exalt Him” and so in order to be parallel, the words “I will praise Him” are certainly a better choice than “I will build Him a home.”

^2 (con’t) My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

elohe avi v’aromemenhu – “My father’s God” means “the God of my ancestors.” In other words, it is speaking of the everlasting nature of God who was there before and who is there now. He is the God his fathers called on and now it is his honor to call on this same God. This takes us right back to the words of Exodus 3 –

“Then He said, ‘Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.’ ⁶ Moreover He said, ‘I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'” Exodus 3:5, 6

This same God who received the praises of the fathers is the God who Moses and all of the children of Israel now exalt. There is no gap in the praise of God from generation to generation. When Jesus appeared to His people, His praises continued on in a new group of people who are sons of Abraham because they possess the faith of Abraham. Paul writes this to us in Galatians 3 –

“Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” ⁹ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” Galatians 3:7-9

³ The Lord is a man of war;

Yehovah ish milkhama – The sappy, impotent picture that modern theologians make concerning God is false. From the beginning to the end, God is the one who takes to the battlefront and engages in the battle. It is He who receives the victory as His enemies are destroyed. In the previous chapter, we read these words –

“The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14:14

In seemingly countless times throughout Scripture, the Lord is shown to be a mighty warrior and one who doesn’t shrink from the battle. In Isaiah 42 we read this –

“The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man;
He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war.
He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud;
He shall prevail against His enemies.” Isaiah 42:13

And in Isaiah 63 there is a description of the Lord that is so striking and terrible that if its words are properly considered, they would fill the mind with absolute horror at what they picture. There the prophet writes this most vivid description –

“Who is this who comes from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah,
This One who is glorious in His apparel,
Traveling in the greatness of His strength?—

‘I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.’

² Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?

³ ‘I have trodden the winepress alone,
And from the peoples no one was with Me.
For I have trodden them in My anger,
And trampled them in My fury;
Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments,
And I have stained all My robes.
⁴ For the day of vengeance is in My heart,
And the year of My redeemed has come.
⁵ I looked, but there was no one to help,
And I wondered
That there was no one to uphold;
Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me;
And My own fury, it sustained Me.
⁶ I have trodden down the peoples in My anger,
Made them drunk in My fury,
And brought down their strength to the earth.'” Isaiah 63:1-6

And lest we make the same error as many modern church-folk that this is just the “wrathful God of the Old Testament” and not the same as the “peaceful and loving God of the New” we have to see the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words in the book of Revelation –

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 19:11-16

The terrifying vision of the Lord that Isaiah saw is actually fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It is He who will stomp out the blood of His enemies, spattering His garments with their blood in the full righteous rage of God who defends His people. Surely the words Yehovah ish milkhama are true – Yehovah is a Man of war.

^3 (con’t) The Lord is His name.

Yehovah shemo – It is actually unfortunate that the name Yehovah is replaced with “the Lord” in most translations of this poem. We probably use the term “the Lord” to show the obvious connection between the two testaments of Yehovah the Lord and Jesus the Lord. However, we lose some of the sense of the poetry when we substitute the name with the title.

Yehovah is a proper noun, not a title, and so the words Yehovah shemo means, “Yehovah is His name.” He is the One who appeared to Moses at the burning bush and explained to him His very nature by the giving of the name.

In our sermon on Exodus 3:14, we went through many long pages of explanation concerning this divine name. Without going into so much detail, we should recall some of its significance now because Moses is tying the victory of the Lord over His enemies to the One whom he met at the bush.

The name Yehovah which is often translated as LORD is derived from the word ehyeh. It means to fall out, to come to pass, to become, or to be. In this, God confirmed that He was to be known to His people by the name Yehovah specifically.

This name Yehovah carries just that meaning – Being, He Is, or He Will Cause to Be. Abraim notes that to a Hebrew audience the name Yehovah may have looked very much like “He Who Causes ‘That Which Is’ To Be.” As He is uncaused, then all things that exist were caused by Him.

He then is the First Cause of all things; the unmoved Mover; and the Giver of existence. In that He is self-existent, and that all things come from Him, then that means that all things are actually encompassed by Him. There is no place where we are, or could be, which is outside of His Being.

The name I AM, or its form Yehovah, implies an absolute uniqueness. If He is the Giver of existence, then there is none other that gives existence and therefore none other like Him. The name also implies eternality.

He is outside of time, having created it, and therefore though He interacts with it, it has no effect on Him, rather it is affected by Him. Yehovah is His name and the promises which He makes will never fail to come to pass. Moses realized this in his words of this song. Yehovah promised to bring Israel out and Yehovah delivered. Yehovah is His name.

⁴ Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;

markevot paroh v’khelow yarah b’yam – The word used here for “cast” means something like “to hurl.” It is a verb which often is used to describe “the hurling of a javelin or the shooting of an arrow” (Pulpit). Such is the nature of the mighty Man of war described in the previous verse. By His hand, he took them and cast them to their deaths – both chariots and army in one fell swoop. But for intensification of the imagery, Moses continues…

^4 (con’t) His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.

umiv-khar shalishav tubbehu b’yam suph – Not only were the lesser warriors destroyed, but even the chosen captains. The word miv-khar means “the choicest.” It is the same as the word used in Genesis 23:6 when Abraham looked for a tomb for Sarah. At that time, the Hittites said –

“Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” Genesis 23:6

The word now shows that those who were personally selected by Pharaoh himself as the finest of all of the armies were not spared. They along with the lowest of foot soldiers all perished. If you have been paying attention to these four verses, you may have seen the amplification of the scope of the victory.

It started with the general words “horse and rider” in verse 1.  From that, verse 4 broke it down into first his chariots, then his army, and then his chosen captains. It seems Moses was purposely raising the intensity of the words as if he were stepping up to a new level with each description.

The word translated as “drowned” here is taba. It is the first of ten uses of it in the Bible. It specifically means to “sink.” It is the same word which is next used in 1 Samuel 17 when the rock from David’s sling sunk into the forehead of Goliath. Down went the choice captains of Egypt – a watery grave was their final lot.

With such a massive scope of destruction, particularly the choicest leaders having been removed, Moses could actually have turned around and probably subdued all of Egypt. But the sea behind them was closed and the Lord had no intention of leading them around it and back into that miserable place again.

Instead, He wanted them to share in His glory in another way. In fact, Deuteronomy 17 says that He instructed them to never return that way again. Israel was never to return to Egypt; we are never to return to the world of sin. Jesus Christ has utterly defeated the foe who stands against us, and so why would we go again to trust him or ally with him? Instead, we are to take a new direction and always follow the Lord where He goes.

One final note on this verse is that this destruction occurred in the Red Sea – yam suph. In an earlier sermon, I explained the meaning of suph as a noun means “reeds” but as a verb it means “end.” The verb is translated elsewhere as “to be swept away.” Thus, there may be somewhat of a play on words here. The armies of Pharaoh sunk in the sea which consumes. They were swept away.

⁵ The depths have covered them;

tehōmōṯ yekas-yumu – The word for “depths” is a word often used in a poetic sense as if an unfathomable abyss. One of the most memorable uses in Scripture is found in the 42nd Psalm –

“Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.” Psalm 42:7

The tense of the words in Hebrew are is if the floods were covering them in Moses’ mind as the poem was being written – “…the floods covering them…”

^5 (con’t) They sank to the bottom like a stone.

yaredu vimsolowt kemow-aben – “They went down into the abyss like a stone.” The word “bottom” or “abyss” is different from “the depths.” Taken together, the two lines read, “The floods covering them, they went down into the abyss like a stone.” It is a great mental parallel to what we read about the antichrist of the future –

“And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. ²⁰ Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.” Revelation 19:19-21

The Lord judged Pharaoh and his armies and the Lord will judge the antichrist and his. The finality of the words is given to show the terrible end to these wicked foes of the Lord and of his people.

This ends the first subdivision of the poem with the words of judgment upon Pharaoh and his host. It is at this time in the song that the women would probably pick up the refrain found recorded at the end of the song in verse 21 –

“Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!”

When the refrain was finished, Moses and the men would continue with the next stanza.

Great and glorious is the Lord our God
He has cast the horse and the rider into the sea
He is my strength and my song in this life as I trod
And He has even become Salvation to me

He is my God and I will praise Him forever
My father’s God is He, the One who ever lives
He is a Man of war, from the battle retreating never
Yehovah is His name, and upon us His favor He gives

He is the same One who then stepped out of the eternal realm
Uniting with flesh and living as a Man to redeem us
He is our Mighty God! Ever at the ship’s helm
There to bring us to our heavenly shore; He is Jesus!

II. The Right Hand of the Lord (verses 6-10)

⁶ “Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power;

yeminikha Yehovah nedari bakoakh – This is a second anthropomorphism used to describe the Lord. The first was in verse 3 when He was called a Man of war. Now an attribute of a man is given to Him – the right hand.

It is the first time this phase is used in connection with the Lord in the Bible, but it will fill Scripture from here on out, especially in the psalms and in the prophets. The New Testament will continue on with the analogy as well. Also, the word “glorious,” which in Hebrew is adar, is used for the first of only three times in the Bible. Some translations use “majestic” to translate this word, showing the superlative nature of the right hand of the Lord.

The right hand of the Lord is the place of power, of favor, of divine blessing, and of divine judgment. It is expressive of the finest qualities of tender care, or the harshness of the outpouring of wrath. How the right hand is used in relation to the subject is what determines what the outcome for the subject will be.

It is a lesson from the Bible. We should consider being on the good side of the Lord before the hand is raised. In the case of His enemies, the consequences of being in His disfavor are realized in the following words…

^6 (con’t) Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.

yeminikah Yehovah tirats owyev – The word translated as “dashed” here is raats. It means “to afflict” and it is only used twice in the Bible. The other time is in Judges 10 –

“So the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the people of Ammon. ⁸ From that year they harassed and oppressed the children of Israel for eighteen years—all the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, in Gilead.” Judges 10:7, 8

Knowing the human heart, and seeing it daily in the treatment of people by, for example the muslims of today, we can know for sure that “dashed” is a good word. The Israelites were more than harassed. They were crushed. In like manner, the Egyptians were literally crushed by the right hand of the Lord.

Translators vary on what verbs to use in this verse – “has become glorious/has dashed the enemy,” “is glorious/dashes the enemy,” and so on. The ESV skips the verb in the first part and makes the second verb present tense. In doing so it gives what I think is proper sense of the verse –

“Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.” ESV

The verb is in the present but it is of continuance. His hand wasn’t just glorious in power in the past, it is simply glorious in power. And Moses wasn’t just looking back on what happened, but to what the Lord is capable of at all times. He shatters the enemy as the enemy comes against Him – past, present, and future; always.

⁷ And in the greatness of Your excellence
You have overthrown those who rose against You;

u’verov geownkha taharos qamekha – “Your excellence” is another word used for the first time in the Bible – ga’own. And it is immediately followed up in the Hebrew with another first-time word haras, or “overthrown.”

It is a completely different word than that used in chapter 14 where it says the armies of Pharaoh were overthrown. This word gives the idea of picking something up and shattering it to pieces, like a pot of clay being smashed on the ground.

Moses is holding nothing back as time and time again he introduces new or superlative words to describe the Lord and to convey the magnificence of what his eyes had beheld. This Song of Moses is merely the beginning of such majestic poetry about the Lord, but it is an amazing start to it.

The Lord in all of His greatness and majesty overthrows those who rise against Him. Like the previous verse, the verbs indicate something on-going. This is not merely a description of what occurred, but it is an acknowledgement of what occurs in connection with the work of the Lord.

^7 (con’t) You sent forth Your wrath;
It consumed them like stubble.

teshalah kharonekha yokelemow kaqash – Again, a new word is introduced into the Bible, kharon, or “wrath.” It literally says, “Your burning.” It is as if a fire went out to consume them, hence the words, “It consumed them like stubble.”

Stubble in this verse is the same word, qash, that was first introduced in Exodus 5 when the people went out looking for stubble to make bricks. That which was useless was used in the brick-making process and those who are useless to the Lord are burnt up like stubble in the eternal fires of judgment.

⁸ And with the blast of Your nostrils
The waters were gathered together;

u’veruakh appekha neermu mayim – The imagery here is astonishing. It is as if the Lord put His face down to the water and blew with his nostrils, causing a mighty wind to drive the waters where He wished. With the mighty east wind, the waters were gathered and a highway was made.

The word for “gathered” is aram. It is used only here in the entire Bible. It comes from a primitive root meaning “to pile up” or “to gather together.” Moses is using exceptional words to describe the most exceptional of events. The fact that he uses a word such as this shows that this was not a mere ebb tide, but a truly miraculous event which they beheld. And the imagery continues…

^8 (con’t) The floods stood upright like a heap;
The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

nit-sevu kemow-ned nozelim qaphe-u tehomot b’lev-yam – Again, three words are used here for the first time in the Bible. Ned or “heap,” nazal, meaning “to flow,” and qapha, meaning “to congeal” have all been introduced into the poem and into Scripture.

Under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, Moses’ words reflect the magnificence of the event. The waters were brought to a state of animation as if they were in fear. They stood up at attention as if facing a drill sergeant, and poetically they were said to congeal to a hardened state as if blasted until frozen by a polar wind.

The elements reacted to the prompting of the Lord in order for the people of the Lord to pass through. And surely, no bride ever traversed down the hallway of a church with awed eyes gazing upon her as the people of God did as they passed through the admiring waters of the Red Sea. There went Israel, marching towards their marriage to Lord.

⁹ The enemy said, ‘I will pursue,
I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil;

amar oyev erdoph assig ahalek shalal – In what is a departure from the form of poetry thus far expressed, Moses enters directly into the thoughts of the enemy with words which are both extremely beautiful and yet terrifying in their original intent.

He makes abrupt and almost gasping utterances, leaving off the word “and” in between each. It is as if the intent of mind in the Egyptians was set on the goal, leaving no time to even coherently tie the thoughts together.

They were eager to regain the plunder of which they had been plundered. They were eager to take the flocks which would replace those lost in the plagues. They were eager to steal away the women, kill the men, and enslave the children. “I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the spoil.”

It is the most magnificent of poetry because we can enter into thoughts and feelings which had enticed otherwise rational men to go between walls of water which were as unnatural as a glowing green sky or cat which could fly. In complete disregard to the God who had proven Himself greater than any of their gods, they have become consumed with self. I will, I will, I will…

^9 (con’t) My desire shall be satisfied on them.
I will draw my sword,
My hand shall destroy them.’

timlaemow naphshi ariq harbi towrishemow yadi – The maniacal thoughts of the enemy continue… “My, I, My!” My desire – the lusts of my angry and coveting heart will be turned against them. I will draw out my sword from its place of rest and I will loose it upon the Hebrews. It will leave its sheath at my side and find a new place of rests in their hearts.

Those who have destroyed my firstborn will be paid double and more. They shall be utterly destroyed by the power of my hand and the rage flowing through my veins.

The terrifying thoughts made them ready to act as they drew nearer with each step through the long tunnel of water. But those angry, lusting thoughts became their own undoing. The Lord was ready to act and the end drew near. Anger would be replaced with horror…

*¹⁰ You blew with Your wind,
The sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

nashaphta v’ruakh-a kisamow yam tsalalu ka-o-pheret b’mayim addirim – The first wind was one of divine favor upon Israel. It parted the waters and it brought them out of bondage. The second wind was of divine wrath and it closed the mountainous passage, destroying the afflicters of His people. They were covered in the waters and started their journey to the bottom of the sea.

The word “sink” here is tsalal. This is its only use in Bible. It comes from a root meaning to tumble down or settle by a waving motion. However, two other identical words used elsewhere mean 1) grow dark, and 2) tingle. And so it could be that the intent is that they darkened the waters as they sank, and all that was left was a gurgling sound.

The word ophereth or “lead” is used for the first time in the Bible here. To me, it is striking that instead of again saying they sank like a stone, lead came to Moses’ mind. He is celebrating on the shore of the Red Sea with stones as far as the eye could see, and yet he says “lead” instead of “stone.”

Two things come to mind because of this. First, Moses was aware of the dense nature of lead. The word shows intent and it shows high intelligence concerning its nature. Secondly, there must be another connection for the Lord to so inspire him to use this word. The word for lead, ophereth, comes from another word, aphar, which means “dust” due to its dusty color.

It is the word used at the creation of man when God took the dust of the earth and created him by blowing the breath of life into his nostrils. Now Moses saw these men of dust, created by God, sinking as if lead, there to return to the dust from which they came. The breath of God gave, and the breath of God has taken away.

It is the most beautiful of symbolism that God is absolutely sovereign. Even a word such as “lead” instead of “stone” shows immense wisdom in the construction of the greater magnificent themes found in the Bible. What a book!

And one last word in today’s verses is used for the first time. It is used to describe the waters – addirim. Addir means “majestic” but here it is plural, addirim – “majestics.” It is “the mighty proof of the Creator’s glory which is furnished by the waves as they rush majestically along.” Keil and Delitzsch

Like noble warriors having won a great battle, the waves roooooll along proudly, having prevailed over the foes of the people of God. Every word has been carefully selected by the great man of God while under inspiration of the Spirit to delight the senses and to show forth the majesty and splendor of the Lord as He worked His mighty miracle for His redeemed people.

With the ending of this second stanza, Miriam and the women of Israel would have again picked up their timbrels and sang –

“Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!”

What a marvelous beginning to this most magnificent of songs. What treasure and beauty has been hidden in these words for us to read and to delight in. And if this song was written for the redemption of mere temporary physical life, how much more should we endeavor to sing to the Lord for the redemption of our eternal spiritual souls!

Can we really sit and withhold our joy, praise, and exultation from the Lord knowing that we have crossed over a greater chasm than Israel passing through the Red Sea; knowing that a far greater foe has been defeated for us than a mere army of flesh; and knowing that even now we are seated in the heavenly places with Christ because of what He has done for us?

Sing to the Lord! Surely He has triumphed gloriously! The devil is defeated, eternal life is granted, and we are the redeemed of the Lord! And with the mere possibility that you are listening today and have not yet received Jesus, please let me tell you how you can, even now…

Closing Verse: “He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
¹⁹ He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.” Psalm 18:16-19

Next Week: Exodus 15:11-21 (The Song of Moses) (The Song at the Sea, Part II)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean lies ahead of You, He can part the waters and lead you through it on dry ground. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

I will Sing to the Lord

Then Moses and the children of Israel in joyous praying
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.
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.
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.

How wonderful to read the marvelous song
And to contemplate the greatness of the Lord
May we together for eternal ages sing along
And praise Jesus, God’s eternal word

Splendid and wondrous things He has done
He has brought us across the great divide
In our Lord the victory is won
And He has brought us to Himself to forevermore reside

We praise You Lord, Yes! Hear the praises from each of us
We exalt You O God, for our Lord, our Savior, our precious Jesus

Hallelujah and Amen…

 Exodus 14:21-31
The Parting of the Red Sea

Does anyone here know how many times waters are parted for people to cross over in the Bible? The idea of parting something, be it a body of water or a mountain, is given to show the power of God in a unique way. Whether God does it through a natural means or through a miracle which transcends nature, there is always the miraculous associated with it.

The reason is that when the Bible records such an event, it is done in connection with a need or desire of His people, and it is done at a time when it was necessary for that need or desire to be realized. Like the plagues on Egypt, God causes things to occur at specific times to show that He was behind it and it wasn’t just arbitrary.

The Red Sea’s parting is such an event and it points to other such marvelous events in redemptive history as well. These have been recorded in advance so that when they happen, the people will know that the Lord was behind it. This is the beauty of the Bible. It is a self-authenticating book, filled with wisdom and glory!

Text Verse: Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
⁴ And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.
⁵ Then you shall flee through My mountain valley,
For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
Yes, you shall flee
As you fled from the earthquake
In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
Thus the Lord my God will come,
And all the saints with You. Zechariah 14:1-5

The Red Sea is parted; the Mount of Olives will be rent asunder; and even the great chasm which stood between God and man, opposing our fellowship with Him, has been bridged. A highway has been made for God’s people to once again enter His presence.

Marvelous things keep repeating themselves in the Bible to show us that God had it under control, has it under control, and will continue to have it under control for all the ages which lie ahead. Oh,,, and the answer to the parting of waters is four – the Red Sea, the Jordon when Israel finished its wilderness wanderings, the Jordon for Elijah, and the Jordan for Elisha. Just so you know!

All of this wonder is to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Parting of the Waters (verses 21-25)

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea;

In obedience to the word of the Lord in verse 16, Moses complies and stretches out his hand over the sea. In his hand would be the rod of God which symbolized the power and authority of the Lord. As during the other plagues, the hand here is being used as the principle cause, whereas the rod is used as the instrumental cause.

In the intervening verses since the Lord told him to do this, there was no questioning the Lord or seeming hesitation in his actions. Instead, Moses simply complied. It shows a complete confidence in the fact that the Lord would do exactly as He said He would.

^{21 (con’t)} and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night,

There is both the sense of the natural and the miraculous in this account. The natural however does not diminish the miraculous at all. And whatever the true location of this event by today’s maps, it was an event which cannot be as liberal scholars try to say. They say that it was merely a shallow lake that was crossed.

It very well could be in the region of the Bitter Lakes of Egypt today if they were truly once a part of the Red Sea. Or it could be at a place where the Red Sea itself is today. Either way, it is the Red Sea which was parted, not a shallow sea of reeds.

When the rod was stretched out, a strong wind began to blow, as it says, from the east. However, this could mean anything from a NE to a SE wind. The Greek translation of the passage says it was a southerly wind. Therefore, it was possibly a SE wind which pushed the waters away from a shallow area at Pi Hahiroth and which extended all the way to Baal Zephon.

This same effect can be seen out my back door a few times a year when cold fronts come through in the winter. The wind blows from the north and almost completely drains the bay behind us. What is normally a deep bay which is a mile across can be traversed without getting more than a foot or two deep. Under the right circumstances, an even more complete drying of a sea could occur.

There is no reason to think this account didn’t literally happen exactly as stated. The most miraculous part is that there is Israel, hemmed in from all sides and ready to face destruction, but a pillar of cloud and light kept the Egyptians away from them, the wind started blowing exactly when it was supposed to, the location where they were made it possible for the event to occur, and Israel was escorted to safety while Egypt was destroyed.

Regardless of how God does something, the circumstances around the event are often more miraculous than the event itself. But yet, as this account shows, it was miraculous in both the event and its surrounding circumstances. The wind parted the waters to the point where the grounds became dry. It is as if the winds licked up even the moisture from the sandy bottom as we now see…

^{21 (con’t)} and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.

The word “divided” here is baqa. It is a common word meaning “to split” but it is often used in the most uncommon of passages. So far it has been used in the breaking open of the fountains of the great deep in Genesis 7 and in the splitting of the wood by Abraham in preparation for burning his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice in Genesis 22. Now it is used in this third remarkable passage in the dividing of the waters of the Red Sea.

In the use of this word for the biblical events such as the one we are seeing come about, the HAW says, “…the burden of these passages is not simply that God is possessed of such terrible power as to split rocks and waters, etc., but that the possessor of such power is able to redeem a lost creation.”

And in fact, each of these accounts so far has shown just that. Noah was redeemed from the destruction of the earth by water; Isaac was redeemed from the destruction of fire and a substitute was given in his place; and now Israel is redeemed from destruction by Egypt by the dividing of the waters and Egypt being destroyed in their place.

It is fascinating how even one word, like this word baqa, can carry such immense theological importance in the overall biblical account. In this one, the waters have been divided, the land has become dry, and a highway has been opened for God’s redeemed to march through unto safety and freedom.

²² So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground,

Jewish tradition has it that Nahshon, the leader of the tribe of Judah, was the first one to enter into the path through the Red Sea and that the tribe of Judah was the first tribe to enter, leading the rest. However, Josephus, the great Jewish historian says that –

“When Moses had thus addressed himself to God, he smote the sea with his rod, which parted asunder at the stroke, and receiving those waters into itself, left the ground dry, as a road and a place of flight for the Hebrews. Now when Moses saw this appearance of God, and that the sea went out of its own place, and left dry land, he went first of all into it, and bid the Hebrews to follow him along that divine road, and to rejoice at the danger their enemies that followed them were in; and gave thanks to God for this so surprising a deliverance which appeared from him.” Flavius Josephus

Regardless of the truth, the Bible itself refrains from saying what occurred. It simply says that “the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea.” However, in this verse a different word for “dry” is used than in the previous verse.

In verse 21, the word was kharavah. It would indicate ground which is free from water, or drained. In this verse, it is yabashah. This comes from the word yabesh, meaning “dried up” or “withered.” Hence, it is saying that the ground was literally free from moisture, or completely dried.

The words have been used in a progressive sense to show the complete preparedness of the path for the children of Israel to make the journey. Not only would the ground be free of water as if walking on a beach, but it would be completely dry as if walking on a desert path.

^{22 (con’t)} and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Care needs to be taken on this portion of the verse to not diminish what it says, or to not make an unfounded deduction concerning what is said. The liberals at Cambridge note in their commentary that this is “A very summary poetical and hyperbolical description of the occurrence.”

In other words, they are saying this is just merely an exaggeration, nothing more. However, other scholars take it in another direction and say that the water of the sea “gave up its nature, formed with its waves a strong wall, and instead of streaming like a fluid, congealed into a hard substance” (Kalisch).

This adds into the account something that isn’t said. And if in fact the waters were hardened to ice, it would have said just that. The word translated as “wall” here is khomah and it means exactly that, a wall – such as in the wall of a city. However, it can also be metaphorically used to mean “protection.” One of many examples is found in 1 Samuel 25 –

“Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, ‘Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master; and he reviled them. ¹⁵ But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, nor did we miss anything as long as we accompanied them, when we were in the fields. ¹⁶ They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep.'” 1 Samuel 25:14-16

Because of this type of metaphorical use of the word khomah, other scholars say that the waters were a metaphorical defense for Israel. To further strengthen their stand, Exodus 15:8 speaks of this same occurrence in the Red Sea, and says that the waters stood up “like a heap” using another word, ned which means a mound.

However, the fact that the word ned is used there doesn’t diminish what is said here. Instead, it bolsters it. There was no need for protection or defense on either side of Israel except for protection from the waters! The only defense they needed was taken care of by the pillar which stood between them and the Egyptians.

Therefore, unless one just dismisses this account as an outright fabrication, the only logical deduction is that the waters were actually a wall, exactly as described. They were supernaturally being held in place, not by a mere natural occurrence, but by that which transcends the natural.

The Lord has taken nature and worked within nature to a point to execute this miracle, but His work transcends the natural after meeting that point. It is truly a work of God in its most marvelous sense. And this brings us to the reason for this display.

In our sermon on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, it was noted that there are two holy convocations which bracket the Feast. One occurs on the first day of the feast and one on the seventh. They stand as representative of the entire period of the feast.

And this feast stands as representative of our time in Christ, from the day of our adoption until we go home to glory, this passing through the Red Sea on the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread symbolizes our passage from this life into the next.

There is an impossible gulf for us to cross over and yet the Lord has made that way possible. He has taken the natural and combined it with the miraculous in order to allow His redeemed to cross over to safety on the other shore where our heavenly home awaits. This is the symbolism we are given here.

It should be noted that by this time, the full moon of the first day of the feast has become a waning moon. The darkness would have been more pronounced, just as it is in our deaths, but there was still a brighter light to lead them. Matthew Henry notes that “…where God leads us, he will light us; while we follow his conduct we shall not want of his comforts.”

The path for our full and complete redemption has been paved through that impossible gulf, every drop of water has been lifted off it and despite the walls which will stand on each side of us, there will be safety as we pass through into His glory. Remember that on the other side of where Israel now stands, and to where they are heading, is a place called Baal Zephon, we can rest in ease. Baal Zephon means “The Lord is Watching.” And in fact He is.

The rapture is coming and He is carefully watching over His flock until that day. When the time is right, the infinite gulf will be parted and we, His redeemed, will pass through with ease and safety. However, there is another aspect to this path which will not end with the same results for all people…

²³ And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

Since the beginning of Exodus, this dynasty of Pharaoh has pictured both the devil and the antichrist of the future. Egypt has pictured the world of sin. This wicked ruler wanted nothing more than to destroy Israel, the devil wants nothing more than to destroy God’s people, and the antichrist of the future – filled with the power of the devil, will want nothing more than to again destroy Israel.

The patterns of history repeat to let us know that the things which lie ahead have already been seen in the past. The army of Egypt now pursues Israel, even into the midst of the sea. There is a marvelous story of redemption which follows the same pattern, time and again.

In the case of Egypt, they foolishly decide to pursue Israel into the midst of the sea. The entire army of Pharaoh has failed to recognize the glory of the Lord who has thus far been slow to anger and even filled with patience and mercy towards the objects of His wrath.

²⁴ 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.

In verse 19, it said it was “the Angel of God” in the pillar. Now it says that it is the Lord. These words are used with specificity to show that the Lord is the Angel of God – He is the Messenger of God who works God’s miracles and wonders.

With a proper analysis of the Bible, one can come to no other conclusion than the fact that Jesus is God. Time and again, specific terminology is used to show us God’s progressive revelation of Himself, finally being realized in Jesus Christ. What a sad thing that people miss this, either through deceit or simply a lack of caring about spending time in His word.

From this verse, unless you understand that the Lord knows everything and is in control of everything, it might sound like the Lord wasn’t aware of the pursuing Egyptians until the morning time, but that isn’t the case at all. Rather, the Bible is including us in the narrative of the events as they unfold.

He has purposely allowed the Egyptians to pursue Israel into the sea. At the right moment, we are told that He “looked down” on them. This is a way of saying that their time of judgment had come. The Lord is in an elevated place and He can look down in favor or in condemnation. In Egypt’s case, it will be the latter.

This is called the “morning watch” which would be between the hours of 2am and 6am. It says at this time that He “troubled” the army of the Egyptians. The word here is hamam. It means “to throw into confusion” and this is its first use in the Bible. The confusion being spoken of here is described in the 77th Psalm –

The clouds poured out water;
The skies sent out a sound;
Your arrows also flashed about.
¹⁸ The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook. Psalm 77:17, 18

Along with this confusion from the Lord came more trouble…

²⁵ And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty;

This is one of those wonderful verses that comes up from time to time where translators seem to find pleasure in thinking up new ways of describing what occurred. The NKJV says, “He took off their chariot wheels.” Others versions say jammed, twisted, clogged, caused to swerve, took off, made wobble, overturned them grievously, overthrew, or turneth aside.”

The word is sur, which means “to depart.” It doesn’t seem that “took off” would fit here because of the next words – “so that they drove them with difficulty.” Rather, it is probable that the water from the rains described in the Psalm saturated the ground causing them to get muddy so that they veered off course because of it. What was a perfectly dry and easy passage for the redeemed has now become a impossible journey for the Egyptians.

^{25 (con’t)} and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

With the din of the noise and the pursuit getting completely bogged down because of the situation they faced, the Egyptians are no longer the pursuers. Instead they realize that they are now on the defensive. The Lord defended Israel while at the same time He began an awesome work of war against those who wished them harm.

While the Lord protects His people
He troubles those who come to attack and destroy
Be confident you who worship under the steeple
That the Lord will deliver, great weapons He will employ

And though we may die in this temporary jar of clay
We have the surest hope of all, to be raised anew
The Lord will come for His at the rapture, some wondrous day
The Lord who is ever faithful and true

For those who wait for Him, the sea of death will part
And He will lead His people, guiding the way
On the other shore our new life will start
Oh! Even so, come Lord Jesus! Yes, make it today!

II. Not so Much as One of Them Remained (verses 26-29)

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea,

Just as he had been instructed at the beginning of this great event, he is now instructed at its end. God allows Moses the honor of being seen as the human redeemer of his people. It was thus intended that in their eyes he would be magnified and treated with the due respect he deserved.

^{26 (con’t)} that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.”

These words form the center of a chiasm which spans verses 21-31. First, the Lord troubled Pharaoh’s army in verses 23-25, here Moses is told to take action which will result in their destruction. And finally, it will be fully realized in verse 28.

Exodus 14:21-31 – Stretch Out Your Hand Over the Sea (4/23/08)
The Great Miracle

a 14:21 LORD produced miracle through Moses.
b 14:22 Through sea on dry ground, the waters a wall to their right and left.
c 14:23-25 Army of Pharaoh troubled
d 14:26 “Stretch out your hand over the sea.”
The waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.
d 14:27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea
c 14:28 Army of Pharaoh destroyed.
b 14:29 Through sea on dry ground, the waters a wall to their right and left.
a 14:30, 31 Israelites saw the miracle and feared the LORD and Moses.

The attention to these verses is given for us to contemplate our own safety in the Lord. Think of the progression of thought. There was the Passover, and then there was the exodus and the Feast of Unleavened Bread with its beginning and ending convocations.

In Christ, there is our being passed over because of the blood applied to our lives. In that, our Exodus from the world of sin and death is granted. We begin our adopted life in Christ, symbolized by the first-day convocation, and we are brought out fully – with the enemies destroyed behind us, at the end of our time on this earth, pictured by the seventh-day convocation.

Everything fits because it is from the mind of God for His people to see and have confidence in. Chiasms like this short one give us hope that our trust in the Lord isn’t futile, and no matter how the devil rages against us, we are safe, secure, and cared for by Him. At the same time, the devil and his minions are destined for doom.

²⁷ And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth,

Another portion of the miraculous is seen in these words. Moses stretched out his hand and the waters parted and he stretched them out again and they returned to their place. No ebb tide is so obedient as this, even though they are timed by the movement of the earth and the moon. This was a fitting end to a true miracle.

It must have been a long night for all concerned, but all would be freed from the anxiety of its events. Israel could camp on the other side of the sea, resting and rejoicing in the astonishing deliverance they had participated in. The Egyptians on the other hand would face a different type of rest… that of death.

When they are awakened from that, it will be for judgment and condemnation. That day is still ahead, but it is as sure to come as was the complete deliverance which Israel was granted.

^{27 (con’t)} while the Egyptians were fleeing into it.

This isn’t the best translation of these words. The idea is that they were fleeing from the sea, not into it. The waters simply caught up with them and overwhelmed them. With a slight change or two, these words could be tidied up a bit. The idea when translating words like this is to add clarity of thought, not confusion. Read several other translations and you will see a better rendering of it.

^{27 (con’t)} So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

Moses was asked to stretch out his hand over the sea in order to bring the waters back to normal. He did as instructed, and yet here it says, “So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians.” It shows a remarkable harmony between the two descriptions. Moses was given the honor in the sight of his people and yet the Lord is given glory over the entire account.

This is seen repeatedly in the Bible and in church history as well. Billy Graham preached the word of God according to the call of the Lord on his life, and yet it is the Lord who is glorified through the word that has been preached.

There is a harmony between the Lord and His chosen instruments where both are honored. It shows the amazingly gracious nature of the Lord upon those whom He favors.

²⁸ 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.

Flavius Josephus gives his commentary on what happened here –

“Showers of rain also came down from the sky, and dreadful thunders and lightning, with flashes of fire. Thunderbolts also were darted upon them. Nor was there any thing which used to be sent by God upon men, as indications of his wrath, which did not happen at this time, for a dark and dismal night oppressed them. And thus did all these men perish, so that there was not one man left to be a messenger of this calamity to the rest of the Egyptians.” Flavius Josephus

Many scholars claim that only the chariots and horsemen went into the sea and they argue over the wording of the Hebrew which seems to say this. They say that both the army and Pharaoh were actually excluded from the destruction of the waters, but this is probably incorrect.

The psalms seem to show that Pharaoh and all his army were destroyed. Psalm 106 says that the waters covered their enemies so that not one of them was left. Psalm 136 says that the Lord overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea. Therefore, there is no reason to doubt that this is not the case.

The reason why this is relevant is because of what it pictures later in the Bible. During the tribulation period, Daniel explains what will come concerning the antichrist –

“At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. ⁴¹ He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. ⁴² He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. ⁴³ He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. ⁴⁴ But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. ⁴⁵ And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.” Daniel 11:40-45

Like Pharaoh and his armies, the anti-Christ will also go out to destroy and to annihilate, but he too will come to his end, and no one will help him. Revelation gives more insights into his end –

“And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. ²⁰ Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.” Revelation 19:19-21

In Chapter 20 of Revelation, the end of the devil is noted with his being cast into the Lake of Fire. Like the destruction of Pharaoh, both the anti-Christ and the devil will be destroyed while the people of the Lord will be saved. History repeats itself, and each of those who think they can defeat God’s plans is, in the end, himself defeated. As Matthew Henry says about this –

“Men will not be convinced, till it is too late, that those who meddle with God’s people, meddle to their own hurt.” Matthew Henry

This is a truth which will be seen more and more in the world as we head into the end times, both those who persecute Christ’s church, and those who come after His people Israel, will find that their actions ultimately harm themselves.

²⁹ 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.

Repeated again in order to close out the chiasm of these verses, we are told here that Israel was kept safe on yabashah or perfectly dried ground and yet right in the midst of the sea. All the while the waters remained a wall on their right hand and on their left.

Judgment will come on all who have not received Jesus
God has offered terms of peace, but the time will run out
It is up to each and every one of us
To receive Him and His forgiveness, by faith – having no doubt

For those who fail to take hold of this offer
Only judgment and death is the option that remains
By nailed scarred hands the Lord has made the proffer
No other way will allow for the heavenly gains

And so learn the lesson of the armies of Pharaoh
Call out to Jesus and be saved by His blood
The path to the other side is exceedingly narrow
For those who refuse, over them will come the destructive flood

III. So the People feared the Lord (verses 30 & 31)

³⁰ So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians,

Though they had observed the Passover and began their exodus from Egypt, it cannot be said that the Israelites were actually saved until this day. Both the Passover and the exodus implied that they were saved, but until they passed through the bonds of the Red Sea and the enemies of Israel were destroyed, there was still a work of salvation ahead of them.

And this is exactly where we are right now. We have observed our Passover in the death of Christ as noted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5. We are living in our Feast of Unleavened bread as he notes there as well, but we are still in this body awaiting our final deliverance which he speaks of in 1 Corinthians 15.

We are still living in the land of Egypt and we are affected by the spirit of Pharaoh as the world comes against us, but the Lord is with us and our day of deliverance is ahead. This is why Paul so often writes of our salvation as a done deal and yet he writes of it as a future event as well.

In the Lord it is a done deal, but as we wait on the Lord, we look forward to a future event with eager anticipation. This day of being saved out of the hand of the Egyptians was on the seventh day after their departure. It is the day the Lord set aside as their holy convocation to end the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Our day of departure is pictured in that feast, and may it be soon for all of the people of the Lord.

^{30 (con’t)} and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

Like salvation, judgment belongs to the Lord. There are those who are His, and there are those who are not. The world needs to wake up to the fact that these ancient stories are given to show us what lies ahead, not just what happened in the past.

Death will come on a global scale someday for those who have harmed and harassed the Lord’s people and for those who have failed to give Him the glory He is due. According to Isaiah, man will become rarer than fine gold on that day.

In this verse, the fact that the dead Egyptians were seen on the seashore provides another level of credibility to the eyewitness nature of the account. It made enough of an impression upon Moses to include the fact which would otherwise be omitted by a later writer of the account. In an interesting portion of the writings of Josephus concerning this event, we read these words –

“On the next day Moses gathered together the weapons of the Egyptians, which were brought to the camp of the Hebrews by the current of the sea, and the force of the winds resisting it; and he conjectured that this also happened by Divine Providence, that so they might not be destitute of weapons. So when he had ordered the Hebrews to arm themselves with them, he led them to Mount Sinai, in order to offer sacrifice to God, and to render oblations for the salvation of the multitude, as he was charged to do beforehand.” Flavius Josephus

The reason we should pay heed to this as probably factual is that in the coming pages of the Bible, Israel will go to battle and they will continue in battles until and after they enter into the Land of Promise. It is these weapons which they would be able to use during those battles.

³¹ Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt;

This sentence must certainly be a fitting summary of the entire period of Moses’ leadership, from the time he first presented himself to them in Exodus 4 until this moment when the multitude of Egypt’s army lay dead at their feet.

Moses had shown them the three signs given to him by the Lord at the burning bush. He had taken them through 10 plagues which utterly destroyed the land. He had marched them out under the full moon while cries filled the homes of the Egyptians.

And yet, they had waffled, they had lost faith, and they had even cast accusations at Moses and thus implicitly upon the Lord. But with the parting of the Red Sea to deliver them and then its closing to destroy Egypt, they saw the “great work” or as the Hebrew reads, ha’yad ha’gedolah – “the mighty hand” of the Lord.

And with the events they saw, a new resoluteness came to them…

*^31 (fin) so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses.

The “fear” spoken of here is not fear as in dread. Rather, it is a reverential fear. This idea of fearing the Lord in this reverential way is repeated numerous times the Bible. It is saying, “I know He loves me, but I know that His grace and mercy are unmerited. I receive that and return reverence to Him.”

It is like our own father. Even if we know he loves us, we will fear to let him down through disobedience. If we do, we would shame the one who loves us. This is the attitude that the Israelites now feel. They have previously let down both the Lord and Moses, but now they have learned to fear the Lord.

Further, they have come to believe in Him. Not only is He given the reverential fear of their hearts, but they have come to know that when He speaks, His words are true and reliable; they can be counted on. Likewise, because Moses is his servant, they have come to know that they can believe him as well.

Before, the two were mentally disconnected by the Israelites. The Lord was “a god” to them and Moses was a person claiming to represent Him, whether that was the case or not. Now, Yehovah is “the God” to them and Moses is His representative.

The entire process has been one which was intended to bring about this result. If only the people would stay as resolute in their thinking at this high point in their history at all other times. But Israel, like many today, believed for a while and then fell away. What we need is to ground our belief deeply in our souls so that we never fail to trust the Lord at all times.

But all trust must have a starting point. And maybe you have never taken the time to simply trust Jesus to deliver you from your present predicament. If not, today’s passage is simply a small reflection of a much greater story of redemption, one which you may participate in as well. And all it takes is a simple act of faith.

This is even what the ancients were noted for. In the great hall of fame of faith in the Bible, Hebrews 11, we are told that stepping onto a path in the middle of the Red Sea took real faith –

“By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.” Hebrews 11:29

In this act, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that Israel received their baptism –

“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, ² all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea…” 1 Corinthians 10:1, 2

If you haven’t yet placed your faith in Christ Jesus and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, let me tell you why you should and how you can, even right now…

Closing Verse: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13, 14

Just so you know. Another parting of waters is anticipated in Israel’s future. Isaiah tells us about it –

“The Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt;
With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River,
And strike it in the seven streams,
And make men cross over dry-shod.
¹⁶ There will be a highway for the remnant of His people
Who will be left from Assyria,
As it was for Israel
In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.” Isaiah 11:15, 16

Great stuff from a great God!

Next Week: Exodus 15:1-10 (The Song of Moses, The Song at the Sea, Part I) (42nd Exodus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean lies ahead of You, He can part the waters and lead you through it on dry ground. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

So the People Feared the Lord

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea
And the Lord caused the sea to go back as if derided
By a strong east wind all that night, one so mighty
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, one heaven sent
On their right hand and on their left, waters all around

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 bought the army of the Egyptians some real harmy
(Yes, I made that word up)

And He took off their chariot wheels
So that they drove them with difficulty
And the Egyptians said,
“From the face of Israel, let us flee

The Lord for them against the Egyptians He fights
For them this is their most terrifying of nights

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, so let it be

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 away, its waters over them reared

So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians completely
There it happened 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 to shoot an arrow

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, protecting them completely

So the Lord saved Israel that day
Out of the Egyptian’s hand
And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore… hooray!
A mighty deliverance; ever so grand

Thus Israel saw the great work, promised by His word
Which the Lord had done in Egypt as the account closes
So the people feared the Lord
And believed the Lord and His servant Moses

What will it take for you to believe?
What is it that you have to see?
In order for the Lord Jesus to receive
When will you say, “It is sufficient for me?”

God has shown us so much love and care
Throughout the world His power is seen
His wisdom is on display everywhere
In the skies of blue and in the fields of green

And even more sure is His prophetic word
It is there for us to pick up, study, and believe
It tells us about our great and awesome Lord
Please search it out and then Jesus receive

He is coming again to bring His people home
To a place where there shall no more tears be
We will be content, never from His presence to roam
But walking in His glory for all eternity

Let us pursue Him now and give Him praise from our heart
Let it be today! Yes, it is a good day for us to start

Hallelujah and Amen…