Songs of the Scripture - Pt. 2

 

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name. 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; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.” (Exodus 15:1-7 ESV).

 

Our reading today follows the deliverance from Egyptian slavery for God’s people. In the beginning of Exodus we see some of the radical effects of sin. God’s people became slaves in Egypt. Their lives became “bitter with harsh labor,” and “the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly” (cf. Exo­dus 1:14). But God set his peo­ple free from slavery on the night of the first Passover, redeeming them from oppression (cf. Exodus 12-13). It is known in the Scripture as the “Song of Moses.” It sings the glorious deliverance story.

 

This is a song about God’s ­miraculous deeds! At least a dozen times in the first 12 ­verses alone God’s name is mentioned! God, the Creator and Redeemer of this world, will accomplish his goal to redeem his people and restore the world he has made for his glory. The song closes with these words: “The Lord reigns for ever and ever.”

 

Just as all the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, the Bible teaches us that we are all slaves to sin. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (cf. Romans 3:23). Yet today we have a reason to sing just as Moses did. Jesus Christ has delivered us from sin by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. We too should praise God for his deliverance. As we confess Jesus Christ as our Savior, we will one day sing along with all who have been redeemed, “the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb” (cf. Revelation 15:3). What a day that will be!

 

Knowing that day certainly is coming gives us the opportunity to sing today as well. Even when it appears there is no escape from the perils of our circumstance, even with our backs to an impassable sea, God is more than enough. He will make a way through the treacherous waters as we are allowed to travel on the dry ground of God’s grace. Go ahead, sing your sing… or like me whistle the tune of redemption!