When the day broke over the sea, its waves, driven by the west wind, were washing up the corpses of the Egyptian army upon its eastern coast. The magnificent chariots and cavalry were destroyed, the might and the glory of Egypt had perished, “and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore” (Ex. 14:3030Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. (Exodus 14:30)). The incredible was realized, the impossible had come to pass, the enemy lay bruised and dead under Israel’s feet; Jehovah had gotten to Himself “honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen” (vs. 18). The king was “cut off” according to the warning word, he and his host were overthrown in the Red Sea (Psa. 136:1515But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever. (Psalm 136:15)).
Mace, sword and spear, and daintily-wrought dagger, were strewn in a harvest upon the shore; Israel could help themselves to weapons of war in abundance. The people came and gazed upon the slain, they looked with amazement upon their former oppressors, and they “saw that great work which Jehovah did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared Jehovah, and believed Jehovah and His servant Moses” (Ex. 14:3131And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses. (Exodus 14:31)).
The tradition of Pharaoh’s overthrow still lingers upon the borders of the Red Sea. Thus runs the Arab legend: “When our lord Moses had quarreled with Pharaoh, and determined to lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt, he found himself stopped by the salt sea, but at the command of God Most High, he raised his staff and smote upon the waters, whereupon they parted on the right hand and the left, and the Children of Israel found a dry passage in the bottom of the deep. Then Pharaoh and his soldiery essayed to follow, but when they had come midway, Moses again raised his staff, and, smiting the waters, said, ‘Return, O sea, into thy former course,’ and the waters closed over the Egyptians, and the Children of Israel saw the corpses of their enemies floating on the waves. But Pharaoh was a mighty man, and struggled with the billows; then seeing Moses standing on a rock above him, he waxed exceeding wroth, and gave so fierce a gasp that the waters boiled up as they closed over his drowning head.”
Border forts were close at hand, and the infantry was not included in the overthrow; hence it is easy to follow the recovery of Pharaoh’s body by his people. When Israel went on their way, the dead would be brought back for customary embalmment and burial. The scientific riflers of the tombs of Pharaohs and royal priests, have already unrolled the windings that were wrapped about at least one king’s corpse, the battered skull of which evidences death in battle. Until definite information is obtained, we may be content to consider the mummy of Meneptah, now lying at Gizeh, as that of the Pharaoh who perished in the struggle between Egypt and Israel.
Israel emerged from the Red Sea a nation. If Egypt has no history chronicling its birth, if it appears mighty and glorious upon the earth, whence and how we scarcely know, Israel arises out of death the nation of Jehovah born in a day, and its history can be read aright only in the light of the glory of God.
The deliverance was at once celebrated by a triumphal service of song, so organized that every Israelite might add his and her voice to the praise of Jehovah. “I will sing unto Jehovah, for He hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea” was its burden; and its refrain, sung by the women, and accompanied by timbrel and measured dance, “Jehovah hath triumphed gloriously” (Ex. 15:1-211Then 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. 2The 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. 3The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name. 4Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. 5The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. 6Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 7And 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. 8And 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. 9The 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. 10Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. 11Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. 13Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. 14The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. 15Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. 16Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. 17Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. 18The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. 19For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. 20And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. (Exodus 15:1‑21)).
Slavery was over. Hitherto no song to God from human lips had been recorded by the pen of Moses, but now, since men were blessed by divine salvation, a moral fitness marks the outburst of their joy in the Holy Scriptures.
In the early ages of the Church the spiritual application of the victory at the Red Sea was commonly taught, and truths now almost unheeded, or considered fanciful, delighted the hearts of the spiritual. The apostle instructed the Gentile believers of Corinth on the signification of the Jewish nation’s passage through the sea (1 Cor. 10:1-21Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (1 Corinthians 10:1‑2)) and we may be assured that the typical signification of Israel’s history, as the early Church understood it, arose from apostolic teaching. Christ’s “passage through the Red Sea of His passion, His rising again from the depths of the grave to a glorious victory, His overthrow of Satan, death and the grave, thereby, are not His triumphs only, but ours.” As Israel stood on the far side of the sea, their position of deliverance and victory pictorially illustrates these immutable verities which pertain to the redeemed people of God – “Dead with Christ” (Rom. 6:88Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (Romans 6:8)), “Buried with Him” (Rom. 6:44Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)), “Risen with Christ” (Col. 3:11If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)).
The magnificent triumph of Israel was not merely a song of salvation, or a hymn of praise for deliverance, it was more, even a grand celebration of the glory of God in the overthrow of those who had risen up against Him; it was, therefore, a song of judgment. Pharaoh had used magic and all the force of his kingdom against Jehovah, he pitted his power against that of the Almighty. In this the facts of the past are prophetic of the facts of the future. The strength of the united world, in conjunction with the power of Satan, shall yet make the supreme effort to wrench the earth’s kingdom from God, and to destroy His people. Satanic forces, great and marvelous, will be in evidence in the affairs of men (Rev. 13:1-71And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Revelation 13:1‑7)). What was enacted in Egypt will yet be enacted on a larger scale upon the earth, generally. The world, in the coming time, will be one in heart as one kingdom, and man will have arrived at unity of mind, to combine with Satan to “make war with the Lamb”... the “Lord of lords, and King of kings” (Rev. 17:1414These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. (Revelation 17:14)). At the end of the plagues and signs which will then visit the earth, the victors will sing the “song of Moses, the servant of God” (the song of judgment upon evil), and the “song of the Lamb” (the song of salvation). The similarity of the prophetic triumph of the future and the historic triumph of the past is most remarkable indeed, we can almost attribute these words to Israel at the sea: “Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of nations (see margin); who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy Name? For Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest” (Rev. 15:3-43And 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. 4Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. (Revelation 15:3‑4)).
The song by the sea opens with individual and appropriative faith – “My strength and song... my salvation... my God.” Each Israelite alike, whether the warrior or babe bound upon its mother’s shoulders, had alike passed through the sea. And in the joy of their deliverance, the faith of the people leaped onward, and with one voice Israel declared, “I will prepare Him an habitation.”
The peculiar title, “Jehovah is a man of war,” arose out of their very amazement at the triumph. They had cried out in despair, and the enemy had shouted, “I will destroy them,” when, suddenly, Jehovah’s arm got the victory. He was “a man of war,” warring and victorious over the gods of the heathen, and so again will He be known on the earth.
The song is arranged in three parts; at the close of the first, “The depths have covered them, they sank into the bottom as a stone,” most probably the women uttered the refrain, “Sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.” Miriam (or Mary), the prophetess, took her timbrel and, lifting up her voice, led the song of the women as Moses led that of the mete. Her praise was responsive to his. Moses is thus a figure of Christ risen from the dead, the Prince of the kings of the earth (Rev. 1:55And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (Revelation 1:5)) leading the praises of the Church (Isa. 22:2222And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. (Isaiah 22:22); Heb. 2:1212Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. (Hebrews 2:12)), and Miriam, responding to the song, is a figure of the Church.
The second part of the song is an intensification of the first. Each opens with ascribing glory to God, and extolling His power, and ends with a declaration of the absolute nothingness of His enemies. It is a great and noble testimony to divine rule over all things material, and over all worshippers of creation. At the divine word, the flowing sea became suddenly like a solid mound, its waves were bound together like walls of ice, and at the same word, the sea returned to its strength, and the wind drove the floods upon the host of the enemy, who “sank as lead in the mighty waters.”
At this point a pause occurs, and we shall hardly err in picturing Miriam and all the women of Israel giving utterance again to their refrain: “Sing unto Jehovah, for He bath, triumphed gloriously.”
The third, and last part of this grand praise-song opens with an outburst of wonder “Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? (Ex. 15:1111Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? (Exodus 15:11)). Only a few months before Israel’s suddenly given freedom, probably six, the very name of Jehovah was unknown on the earth, excepting a very few instances, and His people were slaves. It seemed as if the enemy had the kingdom of this world absolutely in his own hand. The names of the gods of the heathen were graven upon every temple, and were honored by all nations. According to the custom of Egypt, the slaves taken in war were given to the gods, and had branded into them with hot iron the names of the kings whose slaves they were, or those of the deities to whose service they were specially dedicated; thus on stone temples and on the temples of human flesh the mark of the demon prevailed; only a few months previously, Israel had quarried for and had dragged the monster stones for the temple-cities of these deities; now every god of Egypt was smitten and every temple was desolate. Branded as were their bodies, the people were free, and the unholy worship of the gods was laid low by Him who is glorious in holiness. “Who is like unto Thee, glorifying Thyself in holiness?”
Once more Israel’s faith sprang forward, and counted the things that are as though they were not. Faith bridged the way to Canaan; “Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation”! An expression remarkably akin to the triumph-strain in the Christian’s victorious song, “Whom He justified, them He also glorified” (Rom. 8:3030Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:30)). The powers that held the promised land or the entrance to it were regarded as the dead Egyptians “as still as a stone,” for thus did faith prevail, and in like manner faith still triumphs: “If God be for us, who can be against us?.... neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vss. 31-39).
As a matter of fact, “fear and dread” did fall on the inhabitants of Canaan when they heard of Pharaoh’s destruction – “As soon as we had heard these things our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man” (Josh. 2:1111And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. (Joshua 2:11)); so that at the moment of triumph, Israel, in following the inspired words given to them by Moses, expressed that which was literally true.
Yet we must not miss the deeper meaning of the song, or pass by its prophetic character. “Thou halt guided them by Thy strength unto the abode of Thy holiness,” refers not only to Israel’s entrance into the promised land, but to the divine purpose respecting that land, and Israel dwelling there the nation of God. “His holiness” Pharaoh was no more. The unholy religion and the unholy power that boasted themselves in sanctuaries, sacred deities, sacred priests and kings all of which were abominations in relation to the Eternal God were smitten and laid low. In like manner, “holiness,” and “holy,” whether relating to persons or things on the earth, which are opposed to the divine Word, will all be smitten and laid low in the time that is at hand. Pharaoh was not holy because he was designated “His holiness,” neither were the sanctuaries and shrines of his gods holy, because they were so regarded by Egypt, any more than sanctuaries, shrines, and deeds are holy now, because they are thus denominated by the world.
The song ends with the celebration of the establishment of the Sanctuary, and the glory of the coming kingdom, praising “the mountain of Thine inheritance the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in; the Sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever” (Ex. 15:17-1817Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. 18The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. (Exodus 15:17‑18)). How often through the Psalms occurs the echo of the last strain of this song, “The Lord shall reign forever and ever”! How frequently do the prophets of both old and new Testaments foretell that kingdom! “The Lord shall reign forever and ever,” is inscribed upon the banners of God’s people in all ages, and the faithful look forward to the coming kingdom, and ever and anon, in different eras of the world’s history, as they see what the hand of God accomplishes, they lift up their voices in praise-songs, anticipating His reign, while their constant prayer is, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”