Exodus 15

Moses’ victory song

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for an overflowing victory! Horse and rider he threw into the sea!

2 The LORD is my strength and my power; he has become my salvation. This is my God, whom I will praise, the God of my ancestors, whom I will acclaim.

3 The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.

4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army he hurled into the sea; his elite captains were sunk in the Reed Sea.

5 The deep sea covered them; they sank into the deep waters like a stone.

6 Your strong hand, LORD, is dominant in power; your strong hand, LORD, shatters the enemy!

7 With your great surge you overthrow your opponents; you send out your hot anger; it burns them up like straw.

8 With the breath of your nostrils the waters swelled up, the floods surged up in a great wave; the deep waters foamed in the depths of the sea.

9 The enemy said, "I'll pursue, I'll overtake, I'll divide the spoils of war. I'll be overfilled with them. I'll draw my sword; my hand will destroy them."

10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered over them. They sank like lead in the towering waters.

11 Who is like you among the gods, LORD? Who is like you, foremost in holiness, worthy of highest praise, doing awesome deeds?

12 You raised your strong hand; earth swallowed them up.

13 With your great loyalty you led the people you rescued; with your power you guided them to your sanctuary.

14 The peoples heard, they shook in terror; horror grabbed hold of Philistia's inhabitants.

15 Then Edom's tribal chiefs were terrified; panic grabbed hold of Moab's rulers; all of Canaan's inhabitants melted in fear.

16 Terror and fear came over them; because of your great power, they were as still as a stone until your people, LORD, passed by, until the people you made your own passed by.

17 You brought them in and planted them on your own mountain, the place, LORD, that you made your home, the sanctuary, LORD, that your hand created.

18 The LORD will rule forever and always.

19 When Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and cavalry went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

Miriam’s victory song

20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her playing tambourines and dancing.

21 Miriam sang the refrain back to them: Sing to the LORD, for an overflowing victory! Horse and rider he threw into the sea!

Turning bitter water sweet

22 Then Moses had Israel leave the Reed Sea and go out into the Shur desert. They traveled for three days in the desert and found no water.

23 When they came to Marah, they couldn't drink Marah's water because it was bitter. That's why it was called Marah.

24 The people complained against Moses, "What will we drink?"

25 Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD pointed out a tree to him. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. The LORD made a regulation and a ruling there, and there he tested them.

26 The LORD said, "If you are careful to obey the LORD your God, do what God thinks is right, pay attention to his commandments, and keep all of his regulations, then I won't bring on you any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the LORD who heals you."

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They camped there by the water.

Exodus 15 Commentary

Chapter 15

The song of Moses for the deliverance of Israel. (1-21) The bitter waters at Marah, The Israelites come to Elim. (22-27)

Verses 1-21 This song is the most ancient we know of. It is a holy song, to the honour of God, to exalt his name, and celebrate his praise, and his only, not in the least to magnify any man. Holiness to the Lord is in every part of it. It may be considered as typical, and prophetical of the final destruction of the enemies of the church. Happy the people whose God is the Lord. They have work to do, temptations to grapple with, and afflictions to bear, and are weak in themselves; but his grace is their strength. They are often in sorrow, but in him they have comfort; he is their song. Sin, and death, and hell threaten them, but he is, and will be their salvation. The Lord is a God of almighty power, and woe to those that strive with their Maker! He is a God of matchless perfection; he is glorious in holiness; his holiness is his glory. His holiness appears in the hatred of sin, and his wrath against obstinate sinners. It appears in the deliverance of Israel, and his faithfulness to his own promise. He is fearful in praises; that which is matter of praise to the servants of God, is very dreadful to his enemies. He is doing wonders, things out of the common course of nature; wondrous to those in whose favour they are wrought, who are so unworthy, that they had no reason to expect them. There were wonders of power and wonders of grace; in both, God was to be humbly adored.

Verses 22-27 In the wilderness of Shur the Israelites had no water. At Marah they had water, but it was bitter; so that they could not drink it. God can make bitter to us that from which we promise ourselves most, and often does so in the wilderness of this world, that our wants, and disappointments in the creature, may drive us to the Creator, in whose favour alone true comfort is to be had. In this distress the people fretted, and quarrelled with Moses. Hypocrites may show high affections, and appear earnest in religious exercises, but in the time of temptation they fall away. Even true believers, in seasons of sharp trial, will be tempted to fret, distrust, and murmur. But in every trial we should cast our care upon the Lord, and pour out our hearts before him. We shall then find that a submissive will, a peaceful conscience, and the comforts of the Holy Ghost, will render the bitterest trial tolerable, yea, pleasant. Moses did what the people had neglected to do; he cried unto the Lord. And God provided graciously for them. He directed Moses to a tree which he cast into the waters, when, at once, they were made sweet. Some make this tree typical of the cross of Christ, which sweetens the bitter waters of affliction to all the faithful, and enables them to rejoice in tribulation. But a rebellious Israelite shall fare no better than a rebellious Egyptian. The threatening is implied only, the promise is expressed. God is the great Physician. If we are kept well, it is he that keeps us; if we are made well, it is he that recovers us. He is our life and the length of our days. Let us not forget that we are kept from destruction, and delivered from our enemies, to be the Lord's servants. At Elim they had good water, and enough of it. Though God may, for a time, order his people to encamp by the bitter waters of Marah, that shall not always be their lot. Let us not faint at tribulations.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or song
• [b]. Or Red Sea
• [c]. Or Red Sea
• [d]. Or bitter

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 15

This chapter contains the song of Moses, and of the children of Israel, on the banks of the Red sea; in which they celebrate their passage through it, the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in it, and the glory of the divine perfections displayed therein, interspersed with prophetic hints of things future, Ex 15:1-19 which same song was sung by the women, with Miriam at the head of them, attended with timbrels and dances, Ex 15:20,21, an account is given of the march of the children of Israel from the Red sea to the wilderness of Shur, and of the bitter waters found at Marah, which occasioned a murmuring, and of their being made sweet by casting a tree into them, Ex 15:22-25 when they were told by the Lord, that if they would yield obedience to his commandments, they should be free from the diseases the Egyptians had been afflicted with, Ex 15:26, and the chapter is concluded with their coming to Elim, where they found twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees, and there encamped, Ex 15:27.