Exodus 15

Israel's Song

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said: I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea.

2 The Lord is my strength and my song;^[a] He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him.

3 The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is His name.

4 He threw Pharaoh's chariots and his army into the sea; the elite of his officers were drowned in the Red Sea.

5 The floods covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.

6 Lord, Your right hand is glorious in power. Lord, Your right hand shattered the enemy.

7 You overthrew Your adversaries by Your great majesty. You unleashed Your burning wrath; it consumed them like stubble.

8 The waters heaped up at the blast of Your nostrils; the currents stood firm like a dam. The watery 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 will be gratified at their expense. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy^[b] them."

10 But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11 Lord, who is like You among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?

12 You stretched out Your right hand, and the earth swallowed them.

13 You will lead the people You have redeemed with Your faithful love; You will guide [them] to Your holy dwelling with Your strength.

14 When the peoples hear, they will shudder; anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.

15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; the inhabitants of Canaan will panic;

16 and terror and dread will fall on them. They will be as still^[c] as a stone because of Your powerful arm until Your people pass by, Lord, until the people whom You purchased^[d] pass by.

17 You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your possession; Lord, You have prepared the place for Your dwelling; Lord,^[e] Your hands have established the sanctuary.

18 The Lord will reign forever and ever!

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

20 Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.

21 Miriam sang to them: Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea.

Water Provided

22 Then Moses led Israel on from the Red Sea, and they went out to the Wilderness of Shur. They journeyed for three days in the wilderness without finding water.

23 They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter-that is why it was named Marah.^[f]

24 The people grumbled to Moses, "What are we going to drink?"

25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable. He made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah and He tested them there.

26 He said, "If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in His eyes, pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, I will not inflict any illness on you I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you."

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were 12 springs of water and 70 date palms, and they camped there by the waters.^[g]

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 might
• [b]. Or conquer
• [c]. Or silent
• [d]. Or created
• [e]. Other Hb mss, DSS, Sam, Tg read Lord
• [f]. bitter, or bitterness
• [g]. Nm 33:9-10

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.