Exodus 15
BBCExodus 15:1
C. The Song of Moses (15:1-21)Just as the Passover speaks of redemption by blood, the Red Sea tells of redemption by power. The song of Moses celebrates the latter. Dr. H. C. Woodring outlined it as follows: Prelude (v. 1)The triumph of Jehovah. Stanza 1 (vv. 2, 3)What He is: strength, song, salvation. Stanza 2 (vv. 4-13)What He has done: victory over past enemies, deliverance of His people from Egypt. Stanza 3 (vv. 14-18)What He will do: victory over future enemies; bring His people into their inheritance. Postlude (v. 19)Contrast of the defeat of Egypt and the deliverance of Israel. Antiphonal response by Miriam and all the women (vv. 20, 21). Nearly three centuries ago the English commentator Matthew Henry expressed his appreciation and understanding of this great spiritual ode as follows: We may observe respecting this song, that it is, (1.) An ancient song, the most ancient that we know of. (2.) A most admirable composition, the style lofty and magnificent, the images lively and proper, and the whole very moving. (3.) It is a holy song, consecrated to the honour of God, and intended to exalt his name and celebrate his praise, and his only, not in the least to magnify any man: holiness to the Lord is engraven on it, and to him they made melody in the singing of it. (4.) It is a typical song. The triumphs of the gospel church, in the downfall of its enemies, are expressed in the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb put together, which are said to be sung upon a sea of glass, as this was upon the Red Sea, Rev xv. 2, 3.
Exodus 15:22
VIII. THE JOURNEY TO SINAI (15:2218:27) A. The Wilderness of Shur (15:22-27)Verse 22 begins the record of the journey from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai. Each step is filled with spiritual lessons for believers of every age. Marah, which means bitter, for instance, speaks of the bitter experiences of life. The tree suggests the cross of Calvary, which transmutes the bitter things of life into sweetness. At Marah the Lord revealed Himself as “the LORD who heals you” (YHWH Rpheke3). He promised to deliver Israel from the diseases that afflicted the Egyptians. Elim, with its twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, suggests the rest and refreshment which are ours after we have been to the cross.