There has, of course, been plenty of dispute over this miraculous crossing of the sea. One university theologian was preaching in a country church and at the end of the Bible reading an enthusiastic voice from the congregation called out, “Praise God for leading His people safely through the raging waters of the Red Sea!” He was slightly miffed by this over-zealous participation and he began his sermon by saying, “Of course, modern scholarship has shown us that this so-called sea crossing was really no more than a passage through a reedy marsh with the water only two or three inches deep at the most.” Whereupon the voice interrupted again: “Praise God, Who in water only two inches deep, drowned all Pharaoh’s chariots!”
What receives the main emphasis through all the long passage is not actually the mechanics of the sea crossing (whether miraculous or natural), but the victory of God over Egypt. So that general theme is our first point.
1) The God of Victory
This theme runs right through our passage from beginning to end. At the centre of it all is the beginning of the song: ‘Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy” ’ (Exodus 15:1-6). We find that same note where we end our study today as Miriam picks up the theme again and sings with tambourines and dancing: “Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea” (15:21).
Now to us with the hindsight of over 3,000 years, Pharaoh’s antics in these chapters look faintly comical – all his resistance to the clear message of the plagues, all his bargaining, all his vacillating, seem so futile and so feeble (not to mention the antics of his troops: don’t you like the first half of verse 25 of chapter 14, with its masterly understatement? ‘He [God] made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving ….’). But we mustn’t forget that Egypt was the great power of the ancient Near East. No Egyptian ruler could afford to go down in history as the Pharaoh who had lost the massive economic resource of a nation of slaves. And no-one in those days thought there was anything at all comical about an Egyptian army of 600 chariots. It would be over 1,000 years of history before anybody mocked an Egyptian army. It was probably the most formidable military force of its day. And that was why this was such a significant moment in Israel’s history.
Centuries before, God had made promises to the Patriarchs (to Abraham and to Jacob) that God would make them a nation and give them a land. But there had been little evidence over the intervening centuries of His power to do so. Now, at the Red Sea, God defeated the greatest imperial power on earth, because it was trying to prevent the fulfilling of His purposes. And it was the moment of Israel’s salvation, the event when they became God’s people: “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (15:2).
To us, the Egyptians and the Israelites seem like chess pieces on God’s chess board. Glance back to the beginning of chapter 14: ‘When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. The Egyptians – all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops – pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon’ (14:5-9). It looks as if Pharaoh had decided that he had not after all finished with this slave nation. But it was actually that God had not yet finished with Pharaoh. We know that from the verses that had come just before, at the beginning of the chapter: ‘The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to camp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this’ (vv.1-4).
You see, Egyptians and Israelites are entirely subject to God’s will, and notice from the end of verse 25 that the Egyptians have now come to know His name: ‘The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” ’ This is no slave-god of a slave-people any longer (“The god of the Hebrews” as He had been referred to earlier). It is the Lord, who is proving to be greater than all the gods of Egypt.
And notice what is going on inside the Israelites. For over 400 years they had been a slave race within the most sophisticated civilisation of the day. They had learned to respect Egypt, to be subservient to Egypt, to fear Egypt. They may have marched out of Egypt armed for battle (13:18) and boldly (14:8), but one sight of an Egyptian Chariot Corps changed all that: ‘As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’ ” ’ (14:10-12).
Notice the emphasis on sight: ‘… the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians …’ (v. 10); ‘Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again” ’ (v. 13); ‘That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant’ (14:30, 31). The sight of Egyptians soldiery had been the symbol of Israelite bondage. If you’re a slave and you see a contingent of soldiers marching down the road, you’re in fear and trembling. But now those drowned corpses were the symbol of God’s victory. What had held Israel in bondage had been conquered by the unaided power of God. It is a powerful picture of salvation. Israel was to experience many more enemies before they reached the Promised Land of Canaan; and even in Canaan their livelihood would constantly be threatened by other nations. But God had shown that no force (not even that of the greatest nation on the earth) can enslave His people when He acts to free them. The Christian knows that in this life we will never escape the presence of sin. We have been forgiven, as Christians, from the penalty for sin (eternal death: separation from God) – that is dealt with at our conversion by the Cross of Christ. We are being freed, day by day in the Christian life, from the power of sin. That’s the ongoing, day-by-day, battle of the Christian, carried on by the Spirit of Christ within us in our hearts. That’s the present tense of salvation. But we will one day be free even from the presence of sin – when in heaven we stand before the One Whose ‘… eyes are too pure to behold evil, and who cannot look on wrong’ (Habakkuk 1:13). That’s what the sight of those dead Egyptian charioteers promised to Israel and promises to us. God has signed sin’s death warrant. We may be surrounded by it in our lives at the moment; we may at times be defeated by it as we live every day; we may be terribly conscious of its all-pervading presence in our society and in our own hearts. But we need to remember that God will exterminate it. They will not win: greed, selfishness, pride, materialism. Self-interest may dominate a UK election, but it is in the condemned cell. Our God is a God of victory, and He will not let His people be kept as slaves – even by sin. You need to say that to yourself now – about the things in your life that make your life so pathetic as a Christian. Does anybody here think they don’t have a pathetic Christian life? No, I didn’t think so. Well, say to yourself now that those things are going to pass. God has dealt with them. When you and I stand before Him in heaven, they will no longer be present. The Egyptian corpses on the seashore tell us that. If God could defeat Egypt, He could defeat anyone. If God can defeat sin, then you and I (if we are Christians) know we are safe for ever. And we can face death with confidence.
That, I suggest, is the Big Picture of these chapters that we are looking at. But let us also consider two details of the story which also have much to teach us.
2) Overcoming Obstacles
God is a God who leads His people into – and through – obstacles.
We notice that God had His own purposes in the way He led the Israelites: ‘When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road towards the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle’ (13:17, 18). But there was something in their baggage that could have reminded them it was not going to be an easy way, for they had with them Joseph’s ossuary: ‘Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place” ’ (v. 19). Joseph’s life had been a story of dead ends and cul-de-sacs and difficulties and trials. So it is no surprise that in the next chapter we find the Israelites failing just such a test! – trapped between the sea, the desert, and Pharaoh’s troops.
And their despair was palpable: ‘They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have brought us to the desert to die?” ’ Do you see the heavy irony of that? Egypt was a nation with an abnormal obsession with tombs and burials. Three-quarters of the land area in Egypt was available for graves. “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” ’ (14:11-12). Now I wonder which of us has not at some point complained in a similar tone: “I thought the Christian life was going to promise me so much. I put my faith in Christ. I thought He would clear the way for me and make it so easy and straightforward. I never realised I would face such difficulties: the possibility of singleness, the danger of redundancy, the sacrifice of career prospects, the loss of popularity with my friends and my family, a decline in my standard of living, this struggle with sin that I am now called to battle with every day of my life. God undertook to guide me, and then He leads me right into difficulties and obstacles like this!”
And it’s true, He does. But an obstacle or a difficulty is not actually the same as a dead end. Paul, writing to the Corinthian Christians, many centuries later, with this part of the Old Testament in mind, wrote this: ‘No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it’ (1 Corinthians 10:13 NRSV). God provides a way of escape for His people. The situation is never hopeless, but it will require the obedience of faith.
Notice it was an active obedience: ‘Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on” ’ (Ex. 14:13-15). I love the juxtaposition of those verses. Moses struck a sort of super-spiritual note – “Just stand still and watch God’s victory. You don’t have to do a thing. Just let go and let God”: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? tell the Israelites to move on.” ’ God can see the dust cloud of the Egyptian chariots rolling ever nearer over the plain, and He wants the Israelites into the sea crossing before those chariots reach them. “For heaven’s sake, Moses, stop praying and start moving!” Trusting and trying are never opposed in the Christian life. God will provide the way of escape, but we have to take it. It will call for the obedience of faith. It may be most unwelcome to us. You may know the Bestie cartoon: the Israelites on the edge of the sea, and an angry Moses saying, “What do you mean, ‘It’s a bit muddy’?” That may be extra-Biblical, but it certainly catches the spirit of the Israelites, as we will discover, and probably the spirit of this occasion.
Faith demands action, and usually sacrificial action. The way of escape is not the route we would choose. The Israelites wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt; Moses wanted to stand still and watch God do it (let go and let God); but God told them to march into the sea. We say to ourselves, “If I look after my money carefully enough, I’ll just be able to make ends meet.” God says, “Give it away sacrificially and put me to the test, and see if you won’t find a happier way of living.” We say, “I just haven’t got enough time to get through all I have to do today. I’m so tired. I just haven’t got the time to get up early enough to read the Bible and pray.” God says, “Put me first, and see if the rest of your day doesn’t fall into place.” (It was Martin Luther who once said, “I have got so many things to do today I will have to spend the first three hours in prayer.” Three hours in prayer in order to cope with a really busy day!) We say, “All my happiness depends on this relationship. I know it’s against God’s will, but I simply can’t do without it.” God says, “Trust me; do my will; and see if I don’t know more about what really satisfies human beings than you know yourself.” We say, “It’s the middle of exams; I’m way behind with my revision. God will understand if I work seven days a week to catch up.” God says, “Take my word seriously, tremble at it, and you will get the rest of your life into a proper perspective – even through GCSEs and A Levels and Finals.”
God leads His people into – and through – difficulties. As they trust and obey (which is always costly) they will see God’s glory. ‘The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen – the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant’ (14:28-31).
It was a great moment and the people’s response was the great hymn of praise in chapter 15.
3) The People’s Praise
“I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea” (15:1b). And Miriam echoed it back in verse 21: “Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.” Notice this:
(a) Singing is a right response to the work of God. The Bible ends with the Book of Revelation, and in that book wherever John turns in heaven he hears singing – because heaven, too, rejoices in the wake of a great victory. It’s natural to sing in victory, isn’t it? We hear it here on earth (“Three – nil, Three – nil!” “We are the champions” etc.) And heaven will be full of singing, because it follows a great victory.
Now, this is not particularly good news for me, because I am pretty well tone-deaf, and singing holds few joys for me. So I’m looking forward to a new voice as well as a new song in heaven. But as a non-musical person, I do observe the tendency among the more musical of us (which I think is pretty well all the rest of you here) to invest our own particular musical tastes with spiritual significance. The Bible does not endorse one musical style rather than another, so don’t let’s try to pretend that musical styles are more or less intrinsically spiritual than each other. Heavy metal, Handel, Taize, Iona, traditional hymns, rap – the style itself is a matter of personal taste and nothing more. I fear it is idolatry to pretend otherwise, and to insist that our taste in music should prevail over that of others in a church service is just selfishness (I’ll be making a quick exit at the end of this service).
(b) But let’s note from Exodus 15 that the purpose of music is to express an experience of God, not to generate one. Did you notice how much of Moses’ song is concerned with what God had done (in vv. 1-12) and what God would do (vv. 13-18) as He fulfilled His promise to take them to the Promised Land? It was a response to God’s actions in the past and in the future. It expressed the people’s praise and thanksgiving and adoration in response to God’s deeds. It did not set out to create an emotion itself. It set out to express an emotion created by God’s grace. So I guess that means that the content of what we sing will always be very important. Meaningless singing and music, contentless singing, will take us away from Christianity and towards paganism.
(c) And so (and from this I do take comfort) the most important faculty for singing spiritually is not actually a tuneful voice – it is a good memory. The Israelites sang (in chapter 15) because they had seen the dead Egyptians (at the end of chapter 14). If we want to sing spiritually, we must know that God has saved us from bondage. And the people who will be most enthused to sing will be those who are most aware of being saved. If we have no sense of being rescued from our own experience of slavery to sin, then this Song of Moses will remain an ancient lyric for us, and we will never be able to enter its spirit.
I’m going to end by just reading a few of its verses again (15:2-3; 6; 11; 13; 17-18).
“The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.”
“Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.”
“Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?”
“In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.”
“You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance – the place, O Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established. The Lord will reign for ever and ever.”
And the Christian says, “Amen to that,” just as the Israelite would have done all those centuries ago. Amen.