Exodus 15 records a song which Moses teaches and sings with Israel after the salvation through the Red Sea. Chapter 14 records the historical narrative while chapter 15 is a poem based on that history. Because it is poetry, we should not understand its imagery to be literal. It is a poetic description of what happened. Let’s keep that in mind whenever we study biblical poetry.
I WILL SING TO THE LORD – 15:1-6:
Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, compiled and sang this song, along with Israel, to glorify Jehovah God. Notice that Moses is not praised in the song at all. He is not the one to praise. Jehovah God is. Verse 1 states that God “lifted up” the horse and its rider – these would refer to the chariots (14:26-29) of Pharaoh and God cast them into the sea. Remember, this is poetry, not historical prose.
YOU OVERTHROW THOSE WHO RISE UP AGAINST YOU – 15:7-11:
Having defeated the whole pantheon of Egyptian gods, Moses reflects on the unique (“holy”) nature of Jehovah God in verse 11: “Who is like you among the gods, Jehovah?” The implication is that no god is like Jehovah God. Moses is not stating that these gods exist. He is simply emphasizing that there is no god that compares to the True and Living God. He is holy. He is fearful. He is to be praised. He performs wonders. He extended His right hand and caused the earth to swallow them (ver. 12). Remember, this is poetry; it is not describing the events in a literal way.
GOD’S LOVINGKINDNESS – 15:12-16b:
God led Israel through His “loving loyalty” (ver. 13), the people whom He had redeemed (see 6:6). God did what it took; He paid the price to buy (obtain) His firstborn son out of the hands of the Egyptians. It was by His strength that He led them to the “pasture of His holiness.” Moses will picture God under several different images in this poem; here He pictures God as a shepherd leading His people as sheep (see Genesis 48:15; 49:24). This pasture is a spiritual pasture, not a literal pasture. It is the pasture “of His holiness.”
THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD’S INHERITANCE – 15:16c-18:
God brought His people, His firstborn, and He “planted” them (as He had planted the garden of Eden; Gen. 2:8) in the “mountain of His inheritance,” a place for Israel to dwell (ver. 17). There was a “sanctuary,” a holy place, which Jehovah’s hands had established. God’s sanctuary might be Mount Sinai, the land of Canaan, the tabernacle, or the future temple on Mount Zion. Of course, eventually God’s “sanctuary” is found in Jesus Christ (John 1:14; Col. 2:9).
After Moses had sang this song with Israel, celebrating the power of Jehovah God, then Israel sang and danced. When you and I experience and are reminded of the power of God, we too should respond with singing in praise of our omnipotent God and His omnipotent Son, Jesus Christ.
And, we should remember that that power works in us to accomplish what God wishes to accomplish in us and through us (Eph. 3:20).
Paul Holland
