What a thrilling song that Moses and the children of Israel sang on the eastern banks of the Red Sea. They “sang unto the Lord” and it was all about the Lord.
The first word of the chapter indicates the circumstances that gave occasion for the song. “Then”–after being sheltered from the terrible judgment depicted in Exodus 12; after their marvellous salvation from Egypt and the power of Pharaoh; when they realized “that great work which the Lord did”–“Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord.” Four things are prominent:
The Pre-eminence of God
Their song was not about themselves but about Jehovah; not about the blessing but about the Blesser; not about what they had secured but about how Jehovah had secured it. They might have been excused if they had been occupied with their escape from the judgment and their new status–a nation, no longer labor-camp slaves. But it was not so. Jehovah was preeminent in their praise. What He was and the glory that would be His produced joy in their hearts and called forth this magnificent paean of praise from their lips.
The Purpose of God
They must have been divinely taught, for they seem to have learned why Jehovah had done all this. It was not simply that they might escape the judgment and be brought into “a land flowing with milk and honey.” It was that He might have a people for Himself among whom He could dwell. Thus we find that they sang of His habitation, His dwelling place, His sanctuary. Their joy was the reflex of His joy. They entered into His thoughts. They were sharers of His delight.
The Power of God
Had they not seen the mightiest demonstration of it that the world had witnessed up to that time? They were confident that what that power had done it would do. It would carry them through. Just as the complete defeat of the Egyptians was an accomplished fact, so the victory over the Canaanites was certain. Jehovah would bring them in. That power would also be exercised later in universal dominion, for they sang: “The Lord shall reign forever and ever” (v. 18). Reason might ask: “But how could God carry through those six hundred thousand men, not to speak of women and children, plus “a mixed multitude”? This brings us to what seems like a blot on a charming chapter, and yet it brings out in bright relief God’s providing.
The Provision of God
After all that they had seen, after all that they had sung, in the face of their first test they fell. Note! They commenced to murmur when they ceased to sing. We dare not fling stones at them; we have been there ourselves. Perhaps some person reading these lines is there just now. The preventive for murmuring is singing, and the cure for murmuring is singing. We have nothing to murmur about, and every time we do, we play into Satan’s hands and grieve the heart of our gracious God. We have sufficient to keep us singing forever!
The failure of the children of Israel gave occasion, however, for learning the greatness and the adequacy of God’s provision. Praise His Name! That provision never failed them during all their wilderness wanderings. May we heed the exhortations of Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 till we see Him face to face: Singing! Singing! SINGING!