Exodus by Elder Vernon Johnson

Exodus Chapter 15 Verse 1

:1 “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.”

In this chapter Moses and the children of Israel sing a song unto the LORD. It is a song of praise for the LORD’s timely deliverance of them and of the resulting hope they have of future deliverances. In the book of Revelation we read of the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb: Rev. 15:3 “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.” The song of Moses is a song giving praise to God for his timely deliverances and for their hope of seeing the fulfillment of the remaining covenant promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The song of the Lamb is a song of praise to God for his eternal deliverance of his people from their sins and of their subsequent hope of eternal glory through the covenant promise made by God before the world began and as stated in Rom. 8:29, 30: Rom. 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Verse 2

:2 “The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

“The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.” In this sentence of praise several points can be made:

1. The children of Israel were exalting the LORD. The word, LORD, refers to God as a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. Thus, they were praising him for the covenant he had made and kept.

2. They were also exalting the LORD as their strength. This tells us that they felt themselves to be inadequate, but believed their inadequacies were more than made up for by the fact that the LORD was their strength.

3. When we are young we usually have a favorite song from time to time. Our favorite song at the time is the one that we sing in our hearts and minds and that resonates with us. The children of Israel were saying that the LORD was the song that resonated in their hearts and minds.

4. “he is become my salvation.” When the children of Israel looked for and longed for deliverance and faced the realization that they could not deliver themselves, then the LORD appeared to them and delivered them.

5. “he is my God.” Owning the LORD as our God does not make him our God, but it sure is good for us to own him as our God.

6. “I will prepare him an habitation.” What habitation will you prepare for the LORD? We should prepare our hearts and minds as an habitation for the LORD.

7. “My father's God.” The LORD is the same from generation to generation. The same God who was with our fathers is the same God who is with us today. For the children of Israel it was a recognition that the same LORD that had appeared and blessed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the same LORD that had appeared and blessed them.

8. “I will exalt him.” That should be a chief goal of our lives.

Verses 3-10

:3 “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. 4 Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. 5 The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. 6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. 8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. 10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.”

“The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.” While God is a God of peace he also is a man of war. In order to execute his covenant promises, war was necessary. The enemy had to be defeated. The Lord’s people have enemies, just like the children of Israel had Pharaoh, his servants and his host as enemies. We have as our enemies: death, hell, grave, Satan, and sin. The Lord has fought and conquered our enemies for us.

In verses 4-10 above the children of Israel in this song recounted the account of how the Lord defeated their enemies for them. In preaching the gospel, singing praises unto God and in prayer we often are recounting the account of how the Lord defeated our enemies for us. By giving notice to the life of Jesus and his death, burial, and resurrection and the effects of that atoning sacrifice we are recounting the account of how the Lord defeated our enemies for us and giving him praise.

“Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.” The “right hand” is used in the scriptures to denote strength. It is indicative of God’s almighty power. It is also used to denote the position of honor and exaltation. The Lord Jesus Christ is the “right hand of God.” The children of God are on his right hand in the resurrection (Matt 25). We should “honor and exalt” the Lord for his “almighty power” in delivering us from our enemies. The children of Israel were honoring and exalting the LORD for having delivered them by his strength from their enemies.

“Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power:” The great glory of the Lord Jesus Christ is that he has defeated our enemies through his mighty power in his death, burial, and resurrection. His taking up of the life he laid down is indeed glorious and to him we should give all praise, honor, and glory.

“And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.” Just like the LORD overthrew Pharaoh and his hosts that rose up against him and his wrath consumed them as stubble, so the Lord Jesus Christ rose up against our enemies and God’s wrath at the cross consumed them.

“The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.” The belief and attitude of Pharaoh and his servants was that they would be victorious over the LORD and the children of Israel. How similar we see the reaction of Satan and his host in their efforts to derail the life and work of the Lord when he walked upon the earth. How mistaken Pharaoh and his servants were and how mistaken Satan and his host were in their beliefs and attitude.

“Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.” Destruction came suddenly upon Pharaoh and the host of Egypt. Likewise destruction shall come suddenly upon Satan and upon the non-elect in the morning of the resurrection.