As soon as the children of Israel were safely over the Red Sea, then the waters returned, and every one of the Egyptians was drowned. In the same way, when the Lord has taken His own to glory, judgment will fall upon this faithless world, and no one will escape it.
Singing
The Israelites saw the great work which the Lord had wrought, and they believed on Him. The Red Sea is a figure of the death of Christ for us, and so we know that our victory has already been won. Let us rejoice and sing as they did. This is the first time we read of singing in the Bible, and the reason the children of Israel could sing is because they had become a redeemed people that they could sing. The world had its songs at this time, undoubtedly, for Jubal had invented the harp and organ long before. However, the redeemed are the only ones who have a reason to sing, and only such songs bring pleasure to the ear of God.
Israel’s song was for the Lord, and it was to the Lord. It told of redemption by power, and some of the expressions in it are really remarkable. They spoke of preparing a habitation for Him, and we know that on the ground of the work of redemption finished at Calvary, God will dwell with men (Revelation 21:3). God had come down in the Garden of Eden to seek the company of man, but Adam had sinned and he hid behind a tree. He was afraid of God. Not until God clothed him with coats of skins could he stand before Him. The tabernacle in the wilderness was a pattern of things in the heavens (Hebrews 9:23), and in it the only way of access into the presence of God was through the blood of the sacrifice. Our privilege of coming into the presence of God (by faith now, and soon by sight) is founded upon the one sacrifice of Christ, and through this wonderful and perfect work, God will dwell with redeemed men forever.
Glory to God
How beautiful it is to hear the children of Israel giving all the glory to Jehovah. They did not take any to themselves. Some Christian songs speak a lot about the singer, but God delights to occupy us with Christ, for He has done it all and He alone is worthy of glory.
They said, “Thou didst blow with Thy wind” (ch. 15:10). It is grand to think of this when the wind is blowing hard! It is God’s wind, and it is a fine thing to learn to see His hand in everything, for He controls all. They also said, “Thou hast guided them by Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation.” They were not in the habitation of Canaan yet, but faith can speak of future glory with as much certainty as it speaks of the past. No one can stop the fulfillment of God’s purposes. We who are saved not only hope to go to heaven, we know we are going there, because God says so. To doubt is to make God a liar (1 John 5:10), but faith does not doubt; it believes without question, for one reason only — God has spoken. Because they were God’s redeemed people, all the inhabitants of Palestine, the dukes of Edom, or the mighty men of Moab could not stop the children of Israel from reaching Canaan; God had promised to bring them there. Let us not forget that we trust in the living God, and He is going to fulfill His promises to us in spite of all man’s opposition.
Further Meditation
1. Why do we have the right to approach God?
2. What is meant by saying that “doubting makes God a liar”?
3. This chapter referred to the difference between singing about ourselves and singing about God. The Little Flock Hymnbook, though many of its songs require some careful thought, contains many hymns of true worship to God and is worth reading when you have some quiet time.