"We see, in many a land, the proudest dynasties and tyrannies still crushing, with their mountain weight, every free motion of the Consciences and hearts of men. We see, on the other hand, the truest heroism for the right and the greatest devotion to the Truth in hearts that God has touched. We have a work to do, as great as our forefathers and, perhaps, far greater. The enemies of Truth are more numerous and subtle than ever and the needs of the Church are greater than at any preceding time. If we are not debtors to the present, then men were never debtors to their age and their time. Brethren, we are debtors to the hour in which we live. Oh, that we might stamp it with Truth and that God might help us to impress upon its wings some proof that it has not flown by neglected and unheeded." -- C.H. Spurgeon . . . "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31, 32 . . . . .

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Tuesday, April 6, 2021

EXODUS – GOD’s MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE of ISRAEL FROM EGYPT – Chapter FIFTEEN

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez and James Fire

EXODUS 15: Israel’s Song/My Song” – by Albert Lopez.

INTRODUCTION:
In chapter 14 which I think we’re all familiar with in some way, we read about the parting of the Red Sea. Wow, what a sight that must have been! I can only imagine what must have been going through the people’s minds. 

At first, they must have not believed their eyes and must have been somewhat scared. Seeing a body of water rising in a way that has never risen before and then being commanded to cross as they were being chased by the enemy. What a scene, straight out of a movie!
We learned that this was God’s massive baptism for his people but I’m sure they were not giving the idea one thought, they just wanted to escape with their lives.

We read in EXODUS 14:28-30
The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. 29 But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left.30 So the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great [t]power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses
.

This was the motivation that moved these people to sing to the one true God. Think about what our motivation is to sing our little hearts out to Jesus, our Great and Loving Savior.
Just like the children of Israel were enslaved to Egypt, we were enslaved to this world system and sin. Just like the children of Israel cried out for a Savior and God saved them, in the same way Jesus has saved us and continues to save those who cry out, “Save me Jesus! I know I’m a sinner in need of a Savior. Have mercy on me and transform my life through the power of your Spirit to be pleasing to you”.

Is Him saving you not motivation enough to sing to Him? 'What did He save me from?' you might be asking. He saves you from being a slave to sin, from the power of death and spending eternity in hell, separated from Him.
The punishment and payment for our sins that He took upon Himself; Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for our sins in the eyes of a Holy, Holy, Holy God (ISAIAH 6:3) and took upon His wrath, to satisfy God’s perfect justice for our sins that we should have paid for, but instead the Lord Jesus paid it all! He cried out, “It is finished”.
Is Him sanctifying you day by day not worthy of praise?
Is Him giving you victory over sin, death and hell not worth Him being exalted?
Is the thought of one day being glorified and seeing our Lord Jesus face to face not reason to have a continual praise on our lips? He is worthy church!! 

This song has a summary of the Exodus (meaning, "exit, departure") so that God would remind his people through Moses where He rescued them from!
It is also so that they remember how great and powerful God is!
Even more so it’s that they remember that God chose them and made a covenant with them that God would fulfill no matter what.
PSALM 77:11-20
I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; I will certainly remember Your wonders of old. 12 I will meditate on all Your work, And on Your deeds with thanksgiving. 13 Your way, God, is holy; What god is great like our God? 14 You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. 15 By Your power You have redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah  16 The waters saw You, God; The waters saw You, they were in anguish; The ocean depths also trembled. 17 The clouds poured out water; The skies sounded out; Your arrows flashed here and there. 18 The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightning lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. 19 Your way was in the sea, And Your paths in the mighty waters, And Your footprints were not known. 20 You led Your people like a flock; By the hand of Moses and Aaron
.
The idea throughout this passage is God’s sovereignty, He is in control.

EXODUS 15:1 
I will sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider. He has thrown into the sea!

When God intervenes decisively in the life of his people, their response is to sing his praise. This is a song of celebration and thanksgiving that focused on the Lord as the central character.

Like Pastor Sonny said,
He and He alone is the Superhero and we are the damsel in distress in a way. There is no room for us to think we are sidekicks because that may spell trouble for us. We might wake up one day and think we are ready to be the Superhero. He is our hero and he is beyond Super!!
This and other victories of the Israelites were celebrated singing and dancing for the Lord. 

JUDGES 11:34 
- With tambourines and dancing
1 SAMUEL 18:6-7 - With singing and dancing, with joy and other musical instruments.
We don’t have tambourines and dancing, but the Lord has raised up a loving worship team here at Shine Bright and I know they are honored to bring His people into the Lord’s presence when it’s time for worship and praise. I love the addition of brother David and Joseph. Thank you, Lord!

EXODUS 15:2-6
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. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone. 6 “Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power
;

This is my God; affirms the goal that God had for the Israelites to know him as their God.

EXODUS 6:7
Then I will take you as My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the labors of the Egyptians
.

Out from under the labors representing sin; was too heavy for a person to carry. Jesus tells us: 

MATTHEW 11:28
Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest
.

Come to me (An invitation and it’s not exclusive or VIP … well in a way it is, because it can mean ‘Very Incapable Person’. And I know that we all are incapable without the power of God. He says Without me you can do nothing” (JOHN 15:5)! But know that this invitation is for all that would hear Jesus’s voice.
If you accept this invitation, you will be able to join in Israel’s song and say: And He has become my salvation. Jesus’s name means: The Lord is salvation.

EXODUS 15:3
The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name.
The Lord is warrior- Often the Lord is seen fighting for his people as a warrior or driving them at war
REVELATION 19:15-16
From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS
.
To strike down nations. If this is not a picture of a strong warrior, I don’t know what is.

EXODUS 15:4-5
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone
.


With detail the people are remembering that the mighty Pharaoh went down; him and his chariots, his army, his muscle, everything sank to the bottom of the sea!
The Apostle Paul tells us in regard to the Ultimate victory for the Christian in the book of:
ROMANS 16:20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet
.

Victory is assured!
EXODUS 15:6
Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces
.


"Your right hand" - this represents power and authority. Let us remember that God said to his people: With a strong hand I took you out of Egypt.
PSALM 118:15-16
The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD performs valiantly. 16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD performs valiantly
.

ISAIAH 41:10b
I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand
.
The Lord’s powerful right hand is powerful enough to sustain you saint. Take comfort in what you read about His righteous right hand. No matter how hard it may seem to stand remember Who sustains you!

EXODUS 15:7-10
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. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.’ 10 You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters
.


And God in His Holiness consumes them like chaff. - God is Love, but He is also Consuming Fire!
DEUTERONOMY 4:24
For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God
(See also Hebrews 12:29).
EXODUS 15:9
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoils
;


The Bible tells us:

PROVERBS 16:19
It is better to be humble in spirit with the needy Than to divide the spoils with the proud
(Something the Egyptians did not understand).

An opposite attitude of the Egyptians’ pursuing is that when God pursues and apprehends, that equals His saving and rescuing those He pursues.
1 SAMUEL 30:8; 18-19
And David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I pursue this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue everyone.
EXODUS 15:11-17
11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12 You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them. 13 You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength. To Your holy habitation. 14 “The people will hear and be afraid; Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 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. 16 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. 17 You will bring them in and plant them. In the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O Lord, which You have made. For Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established
.

There is only One who can rightfully claim to be the Creator, and that is the God of the Bible. Likewise there is only One Who is perfectly holy in glorious fashion, Who alone is worthy of reverence (“fearful in praises”). As just and holy as He is, and right in His judgments to condemn sinners, still, our God is a merciful God and have led His people into redemption.

“Sorrow (and fear) will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia”.

In ROMANS 8:31 it states concerning the saints:
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
God will be the defense of His people, and ultimately the wicked will be in fear of His Almighty power and judgment as well as respect His people (see 2 Thess 2:10).

EXODUS 15:11
“Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Like we read about in PSALM 77 the question is asked 'Who is like you?' The answer, as stated before should be no one. The truth of God's power: which teaches that it cannot be compared; was one of the lessons shown throughout Egypt's plagues. The plagues time after time showed that God was saying that Egypt’s power was nothing compared to the power of the sovereign one true God!

DEUTERONOMY 4:28-31
You will serve gods made by the hands of men
(They are worthless, they cannot see or hear and you have to carry them) Someone once said, I don’t want to serve a god that I have to carry, I want him to carry me!

... You will return to the Lord your God. Why? Because there is no one like Him. Also because of his loving mercy and the covenant that he has made which would bring about the Messiah, our Lord Jesus.

Conclusion:
DEUTERONOMY 4:39
Therefore know today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

ISAIAH 40:25-26
To whom then will you compare Me that I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. 26 Raise your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who brings out their multitude by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the [aa]strength of His power, not one of them is missing
.
The fact that God knew the stars by name shows that they were His creation, and they were protected (not one of them is missing) by His power. If you are His, He knows you by name, and you are likewise protected by His power! Take comfort in this!

EXODUS 15:12-16
12 You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them. 13 You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength. To Your holy habitation. 14 “The people will hear and be afraid; sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 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. 16 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.

The earth swallowed them - They died; the Egyptians were destroyed.
“In your faithfulness or mercy”
A benevolent love (generosity, clemency, sympathy) This mercy is given or granted lavishly which means to pour or shower by a superior (God) to an inferior (sinner). Oh, and by the way, the Israelite’s did not deserve it and neither did we!
The Bible tells us that God is great in mercy:

LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23
The LORD’S acts of mercy indeed do not end, For His compassions do not fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

PSALM 103:10
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.
If God were to give us justice or payment we deserve death and hell but instead the righteous judge of the Universe showed us love and gave us mercy through Jesus at the cross.

ROMANS 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That as sinners [enemies of God] Christ died for us.

Verses 14-16
The peoples have heard:
as God purposed, He continued to be recognized throughout.
Remember in EXOD 9:16, while bringing about the plagues God told Pharaoh, 'You remain so you can be witness. To show God’s power and proclaim His name all over the Earth.' Nations are named in the order Israel would face them during the exodus or exit from Egypt:

The Philistines - Where Goliath the Giant comes from.
The Edomites - Descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother.
The Moabites - Descendants of Lot, Abraham's nephew.
The Canaanites - Descendants of Ham, specifically Canaan, the son of Noah who was cursed.

Verse 16
To the people you have purchased or redeemed:

The idea that God bought or redeemed Israel is found in the Bible:
PSALM 74:2
2 Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old; the rod of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein You have dwelt
.
The Psalmist is saying remember the one you redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance: Recover is another word that could be used: This word was used to buy a slave or property.
In Genesis 39:1 Potiphar bought Joseph. This is exactly what Jesus did for the sinner; for us. We were bought:
GALATIANS 3:13a
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us.
The sinless God-man became sin or bore our sins at the cross
(2 COR 5:21).

The purpose:
 
GALATIANS 4:5
so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters
.

EXODUS 15:17 
You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which You have made. For Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.

We read in Exodus; that the land where God would take Israel was spacious and fertile. The problem was that it was occupied by other nations. 
EXODUS 3:8
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites
.
In short God told Moses to free and remove them or take them out.

EXODUS 13:5
5 And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.
God is going to make good on His covenant reminding them I swore to your fathers that I would give you

In short, God was going to take the Israelites to be at home with Him (Mount Zion):
PSALM 78:54-55
54 And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased. 55 He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents
.
God brought Israel to his Holy land; And drove out nations along the way.
Jesus has promised to take His own Home too!
JOHN 14:1-3
I'm going to prepare a place for you that where I am you can be also
.
As God prepared a place for the Israelites and took them to Mount Zion (Promised Land or Jerusalem)! Jesus will take us to the New Jerusalem in the future!

EXODUS 15:18-19
“The Lord shall reign forever and ever.” 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.
1 SAMUEL 30:18-19
So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken and rescued his two wives. 19 And nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, plunder, or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back
.
In the same way we read about how God’s powerful right hand was with Moses and David; so it will be with us, the church of Jesus Christ. He will keep us and sustain us and present us to himself at His glorious coming.

Verse 18
The Lord shall reign forever and ever
PSALM 10:16
The LORD is King forever and ever; nations have perished from His land. Nations have perished
(will be cast out) from the (God’s) land (See JOEL 3:2).

PSALM 29:10
The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever
.
The Lord rules over (sits enthroned) the most powerful forces in the natural world. Because of this great power, his people find strength in Him. Not only is God enthroned in heaven but He is enthroned in every true believer’s heart:
ISAIAH 57:15
I dwell on high and holy place and also with the contrite and humble spirit
.
EXODUS 15:19-21
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. 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. 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!”

This is a summary of what happened to the Egyptians and the Israelites.
The last lines of the song are repeated the only difference is that the first time is a statement to motivate the people to praise while the last one is an order or command to praise for what God has done for them. He is worthy; I’m sure is what they were thinking. There is no one like Him, he deserves our all in a form of praise, worship and loyalty. 

EXODUS 15:22-27
22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 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. there He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, 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. For I am the Lord who heals you.” 27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters
.


This attitude of praise and gratitude would not last, as God would begin to test their hearts.
And they found no water: They walked through dry places, but beyond walking through the desert we will see that their murmuring would not allow them to see who their Protector and Provider was. The trust and gratefulness that they just sang about was gone!
In Jeremiah we learn about what it means to put your trust in men and what it means to put your trust in the Lord. 
This is what the LORD says:
JEREMIAH 17:5,7
5 Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 
7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose trust is the LORD.
‘Cursed’ which is trust in man, and ‘blessed’ which is trust in the Lord are the opposites.
The people grumbled saying.... what are we going to drink? The Israelites grumbled and doubted because they forgot who was with them and guided them. The disciple of Jesus; Philip did not know how to answer when Jesus asked “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” for not realizing who was walking alongside them and who was among them. But He was saying this only to test him, for He Himself knew what He intended to do (see JOHN 6:6).

He (Moses) cried out to the Lord…. the water became (“sweet”) drinkable. Changing the bitter water to sweet was the opposite of what the Lord did to the waters of Egypt. The Israelites needed to be different from the Egyptians. The Lord had healed or purified the water and he would bring healing in other ways for them.

And there He tested them.
The Lord tested the faith of Israel his people.

DEUTERONOMY 8:2-5
And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, in order to humble you, putting you to the test, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 And He humbled you and let you go hungry and fed you with the manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, in order to make you understand that man shall not live on bread alone, but man shall live on everything that comes out of the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 So you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son
.
PROVERBS 17:3
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests hearts
.
Just like the Lord tested Israel in the wilderness; I believe He will test his church. He gave his people victory and then adversity or affliction. He will refine us and purify us; we will be able to say along with:  
JOB 23:10b.
When He has put me to the test, I will come out as gold
Through it all we will be able to lift up our song of gratitude for what he has done for us and above all we will remember who he is and as a result with a willing heart we will strive like it says do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep all His statutes because we will know without a doubt that there is no one like our God.

Note from James Fire: the various offices of GOD such as Creator, Sovereign LORD, Judge and Redeemer are all covered in EXOD 15. For more on this, check out this four part TTUF series: The Four Primary Offices of the LORD GOD YHWH

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