Exodus 15

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: "I will sing to the LORD. He has won a glorious victory. He has thrown horses and their riders into the sea.

2 The LORD is my strength and my song. He is my Savior. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will honor him.

3 The LORD is a warrior! The LORD is his name.

4 He has thrown Pharaoh's chariots and army into the sea. Pharaoh's best officers were drowned in the Red Sea.

5 The deep water covered them. They sank to the bottom like a rock.

6 Your right hand, O LORD, wins glory because it is strong. Your right hand, O LORD, smashes your enemies.

7 With your unlimited majesty, you destroyed those who attacked you. You sent out your burning anger. It burned them up like straw.

8 With a blast from your nostrils, the water piled up. The waves stood up like a dam. The deep water thickened in the middle of the sea.

9 "The enemy said, 'I'll pursue them! I'll catch up with them! I'll divide the loot! I'll take all I want! I'll use my sword! I'll take all they have!'

10 Your breath blew the sea over them. They sank like lead in the raging water.

11 "Who is like you among the gods, O LORD? Who is like you? You are glorious because of your holiness and awe-inspiring because of your splendor. You perform miracles.

12 You stretched out your right hand. The earth swallowed them.

13 "Lovingly, you will lead the people you have saved. Powerfully, you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

14 People will hear of it and tremble. The people of Philistia will be in anguish.

15 The tribal leaders of Edom will be terrified. The powerful men of Moab will tremble. The people of Canaan will be deathly afraid.

16 Terror and dread will fall on them. Because of the power of your arm, they will be petrified until your people pass by, O LORD, until the people you purchased pass by.

17 You will bring them and plant them on your own mountain, the place where you live, O LORD, the holy place that you built with your own hands, O Lord.

18 The LORD will rule as king forever and ever."

19 When Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and cavalry went into the sea, the LORD made the water of the sea flow back over them. However, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground.

20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women, dancing with tambourines, followed her.

21 Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the LORD. He has won a glorious victory. He has thrown horses and their riders into the sea."

22 Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.

23 When they came to Marah, they couldn't drink the water because it tasted bitter. That's why the place was called Marah [Bitter Place].

24 The people complained about Moses by asking, "What are we supposed to drink?"

25 Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD set down laws and rules for them to live by, and there he tested them.

26 He said, "If you will listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what he considers right, if you pay attention to his commands and obey all his laws, I will never make you suffer any of the diseases I made the Egyptians suffer, because I am the LORD, who heals you."

27 Next, they went to Elim, where there were 12 springs and 70 palm trees. They camped there by the water.

Exodus 15 Commentary

Chapter 15

The song of Moses for the deliverance of Israel. (1-21) The bitter waters at Marah, The Israelites come to Elim. (22-27)

Verses 1-21 This song is the most ancient we know of. It is a holy song, to the honour of God, to exalt his name, and celebrate his praise, and his only, not in the least to magnify any man. Holiness to the Lord is in every part of it. It may be considered as typical, and prophetical of the final destruction of the enemies of the church. Happy the people whose God is the Lord. They have work to do, temptations to grapple with, and afflictions to bear, and are weak in themselves; but his grace is their strength. They are often in sorrow, but in him they have comfort; he is their song. Sin, and death, and hell threaten them, but he is, and will be their salvation. The Lord is a God of almighty power, and woe to those that strive with their Maker! He is a God of matchless perfection; he is glorious in holiness; his holiness is his glory. His holiness appears in the hatred of sin, and his wrath against obstinate sinners. It appears in the deliverance of Israel, and his faithfulness to his own promise. He is fearful in praises; that which is matter of praise to the servants of God, is very dreadful to his enemies. He is doing wonders, things out of the common course of nature; wondrous to those in whose favour they are wrought, who are so unworthy, that they had no reason to expect them. There were wonders of power and wonders of grace; in both, God was to be humbly adored.

Verses 22-27 In the wilderness of Shur the Israelites had no water. At Marah they had water, but it was bitter; so that they could not drink it. God can make bitter to us that from which we promise ourselves most, and often does so in the wilderness of this world, that our wants, and disappointments in the creature, may drive us to the Creator, in whose favour alone true comfort is to be had. In this distress the people fretted, and quarrelled with Moses. Hypocrites may show high affections, and appear earnest in religious exercises, but in the time of temptation they fall away. Even true believers, in seasons of sharp trial, will be tempted to fret, distrust, and murmur. But in every trial we should cast our care upon the Lord, and pour out our hearts before him. We shall then find that a submissive will, a peaceful conscience, and the comforts of the Holy Ghost, will render the bitterest trial tolerable, yea, pleasant. Moses did what the people had neglected to do; he cried unto the Lord. And God provided graciously for them. He directed Moses to a tree which he cast into the waters, when, at once, they were made sweet. Some make this tree typical of the cross of Christ, which sweetens the bitter waters of affliction to all the faithful, and enables them to rejoice in tribulation. But a rebellious Israelite shall fare no better than a rebellious Egyptian. The threatening is implied only, the promise is expressed. God is the great Physician. If we are kept well, it is he that keeps us; if we are made well, it is he that recovers us. He is our life and the length of our days. Let us not forget that we are kept from destruction, and delivered from our enemies, to be the Lord's servants. At Elim they had good water, and enough of it. Though God may, for a time, order his people to encamp by the bitter waters of Marah, that shall not always be their lot. Let us not faint at tribulations.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 15

This chapter contains the song of Moses, and of the children of Israel, on the banks of the Red sea; in which they celebrate their passage through it, the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in it, and the glory of the divine perfections displayed therein, interspersed with prophetic hints of things future, Ex 15:1-19 which same song was sung by the women, with Miriam at the head of them, attended with timbrels and dances, Ex 15:20,21, an account is given of the march of the children of Israel from the Red sea to the wilderness of Shur, and of the bitter waters found at Marah, which occasioned a murmuring, and of their being made sweet by casting a tree into them, Ex 15:22-25 when they were told by the Lord, that if they would yield obedience to his commandments, they should be free from the diseases the Egyptians had been afflicted with, Ex 15:26, and the chapter is concluded with their coming to Elim, where they found twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees, and there encamped, Ex 15:27.