Exodus 15:1-20
“THEN SANG MOSES and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD...”
Exodus 15 is the first song ever sung which we hear of in the Word of God! The first song burst forth from the heart of Israel, and we find in it three distinct notes of praise.
The first is the LORD! Self is forgotten and the deliverer alone is seen. This is as it should be. “I will sing unto the LORD, for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation.” vv 1,2.
Next we have the enemy — those mighty forces whom He has subdued. “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath He cast into the sea... the depths have covered them:... they sank into the bottom as a stone.”
And last of all they turned to their own portion — the blessedness and inheritance of the people the Lord had redeemed. “Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation.” These are the three notes of praise. Here is the divine order, the manner in which the Spit of God would lead the full rich song. May we who have been redeemed know more of what it is to burst forth in song and joyful praise “unto Him that loves us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood... " Revelation 1:5.
How wonderful it must have been to hear all Israel — perhaps two million voices—standing on redemption ground and singing that magnificent song of praise to the Lord who had redeemed them! The passage of the Red Sea is a figure of the death of Christ, as also of His resurrection, the believer seen as in Him. It tells of the full redemption of the believer from the power of Satan, and separation from the life he formerly knew when walking “in the lusts of the flesh.” The Lord Jesus has not only provided cleansing for the believer’s sins through His precious blood, but also through His death and resurrection He has brought him out of his old condition, and put him in a new place in Him on the other side of death and judgment. He has been completely delivered from all that was against him, and therefore Satan has lost his rights over him. The Jordan also speaks of the death of Christ. There the believer is seen as dead and risen with Him, and claiming his full place of separation with his Saviour — crucified and risen with Christ.
In this song, for the first time mention is made of a habitation for the Lord with His people. He had saints before this, but not a people; and until redemption was accomplished He never dwelt on earth. He could not have a dwelling place in Egypt, in the territory of the enemy. And when His people have been redeemed out of Egypt and brought onto new ground, He can identify Himself with them, dwell in them, be their God and they His people. This is true now of believers. The Church is God’s present habitation on earth, and it is so with the individual believer. When he is cleansed with the blood of Christ his body is made a temple of the Holy Spirit.
ML-07/27/1969