The Israelites Sing Praises to the Lord

Moses and the people of Israel worshipped God in song for His victory over the Egyptians. It is the first song recorded in the Bible. I’ve included a few excerpts from their song below:

“The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.”

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.”

“Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty, you overthrow your adversaries.”

“Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?”

“You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed… You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.

“The LORD will reign forever and ever.”

We are also told Miriam, Moses’ sister, took a tambourine and sang praises to God with the all the women of Israel. It is interesting to note that Miriam led the women in extended worship and not over the men. We need spiritual women but not against the spiritual leadership of men in the Church. Women were not to teach according 1 Timothy 2:12 as Eve was deceived by Satan in an attempt to be more spiritual but in a disorderly way.

Prior to the flood there was an advanced civilisation that came from Cain’s descendants and one of the last things mentioned was the craft of metallurgy before chaos came with water. Here Pharaoh’s advanced civilisation is destroyed along with his metal chariots in the chaos of water.  The technology of the tyrant is destroyed. The descent to be like God by tyrants is not matched by what is on the ground (reality) as they seek to supplant God and take his title for themselves.

This latest miracle produces faith in the Lord by the Israelites albeit it doesn’t last very long. The proof of miracles can confirm a message, but any faith produced is often short-lived. Faith is described as something that is not based on what is seen but on hope. See Hebrews 11:1-3.

The Jewish tradition after the Torah has an issue with celebrating the destruction of the Egypt army in a song. The crossing of the Red Sea is perhaps the greatest miracle of them all and allows the Israelites to finally break free of Pharaoh’s tyranny. This song is often repeated in Jewish synagogues and is in the daily prayer. It is so encoded into their memory that it is no longer external but a habit on the inside. You remember better when you write something down but also putting the words into a song or poetry. When you sing together you get a sense of recognising each other in the same body thinking about the same thing with a common vision.

The Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb (15:1)

The Song of Moses is repeated in a few places in the Bible. The last is recorded in Revelation 15:3 where those who have been raptured will sing this song. The victorious martyrs sing two songs. They sing the song of the Lamb which, as we have seen, is the song which they alone could learn ( Revelation 14:3) but also sing the song of Moses, the servant of God. This was the song which Moses sang in triumph to God after the safe crossing of the Red Sea. There are obvious overlaps but note the new elements compared to the Song of Moses:

1. The victory over the dragon has come not with the staff of Moses but through the blood of the Lamb. The battle is not ours; it’s the Lord’s. We will see this later when God’s final army appears – and does no fighting.
2. The faithful do not sing about their own deliverance, but of God’s works in the world and reign over all the nations.
3. instead of focusing on the destruction of the enemy, the song of the Lamb focuses on the peoples of the world joining in praise and worship for the King of the nations.

Categories: Exodus