Exodus 15

Song of Victory at the Sea

1 Then Moses and the {Israelites} sang this song to Yahweh, {and they said}, "Let me sing to Yahweh because he is highly exalted; [the] horse and its rider he hurled into the sea.

2 Yah [is] my strength and song, and he has become my salvation; this [is] my God, and I will praise him--the God of my father--and I will exalt him.

3 Yahweh [is] a man of war; Yahweh [is] his name.

4 The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he cast into the sea, and his choice adjutants were sunk in the {Red Sea}.

5 The deep waters covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.

6 Yahweh, your right hand [is] glorious in power; Yahweh, your right hand destroyed [the] enemy.

7 And in the greatness of your majesty you overthrew those standing up [to] you; you released your fierce anger, and it consumed them like stubble.

8 And by the breath of your nostrils waters were piled up; waves stood like a heap; deep waters in the middle of the sea congealed.

9 [The] enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide plunder, my desire will be full [of] them, I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.'

10 You blew with your breath; the sea covered them; they dropped like lead in the mighty waters.

11 Who is like you among the gods, Yahweh? Who is like you--glorious in holiness, awesome [in] praiseworthy actions, doing wonders?

12 You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.

13 In your loyal love you led [the] people whom you redeemed; in your strength you guided [them] to the abode of your holiness.

14 Peoples heard; they trembled; anguish seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

15 Then the chiefs of Edom were horrified; great distress seized the leaders of Moab; all of the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.

16 Terror and dread fell on them; at the greatness of your arm they became silent like the stone, until your people passed by, Yahweh, until [the] people whom you bought passed by.

17 You brought them and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance, a place you made for yourself to inhabit, Yahweh, a sanctuary, Lord, [that] your hands established.

18 Yahweh will reign as king forever and ever."

19 When the horses of Pharaoh came into the sea with his chariots and with his charioteers, Yahweh brought back upon them the waters of the sea, and the {Israelites} traveled on dry ground through the middle of the sea.

20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took her tambourine in her hand, and all of the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances.

21 And Miriam answered, "Sing to Yahweh because he is highly exalted; [the] horse and its rider he hurled into the sea."

Yahweh Provides Water at Marah

22 And Moses caused Israel to set out from the {Red Sea}, and they went out into the desert of Shur, and they traveled three days in the desert, and they did not find water.

23 And they came to Marah, and they were not able to drink water from Marah because it was bitter. Therefore {it was named} Marah.

24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"

25 And he cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed him [a piece of] wood, and he threw [it] into the water, and the water became sweet. There he made a rule and regulation for them, and there he tested them.

26 And he said, "If you carefully listen to the voice of Yahweh your God and you do [what is] right in his eyes and give heed to his commands and you keep all his rules, [then] I will not bring about on you any of the diseases that I brought about on Egypt, because I [am] Yahweh your healer.

27 And they came to Elim, and twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees were there, and they encamped there at 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]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
• [b]. Literally "and they said, saying"
• [c]. a shortened form of "Yahweh"
• [d]. Literally "he was for me for salvation"
• [e]. Literally "sea of reed"
• [f]. Hebrew "wonder"
• [g]. Or "your holy dwelling"
• [h]. Hebrew "horse"
• [i]. Hebrew "chariot"
• [j]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
• [k]. Literally "the tambourine"
• [l]. Literally "answered to them"
• [m]. Literally "sea of reed"
• [n]. Literally "its name was called"; the Hebrew word for "bitter" is pronounced "marah"
• [o]. Hebrew "disease"

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.