Exodus - Lesson Eight

I. Song at the Sea

A. Subject. This is a song of victory to Yahweh (V. 1) and about Yahweh. It is a response to what Yahweh has done.

B. Purpose. The purpose of the song is to praise God's destruction of His enemies.

C. Bridges. The song makes a number of linkages or bridges to other parts of Scripture.

1. It contains some topics that were also in the story of the plagues.

2. The song is the bridge that closes the first half of the book of Exodus and begins the second half.

3. There is a linkage between the song and the book of Genesis. V. 2 refers to "my father's God" and thus seems to tie the Israelites who cross the Red Sea with those who have gone before and who worship the same God.

4. VV. 5 and 8 contain another connection to Genesis. The word for "deep waters" used in V. 5 is the plural form of the word used in Genesis 1:2 to describe the deep chaotic waters that God tamed at creation.

D. Structure/Themes. Many commentators see the song as containing four stanzas. Maxie Dunnam (The Preacher's Commentary: Exodus) sees three movements in the song. Peter Enns sees three themes in the song, and it is those three themes that I want to explore with you this morning.

1. The Divine Warrior. The song taken as a whole is a prime example of the divine warrior imagery prevalent in the Old Testament.

a. Yahweh is a warrior (V. 3) who extends His right hand and "shatters the enemy" (VV. 6 and 9).

b. In Exodus 14:14 Moses had told the people that "the Lord will fight for you." One of God's names is "Jehovah-Sabaoth," which means Lord of hosts, Lord of armies, a title that is used 285 times in the Old Testament.

c. According to Peter Enns, the use of the divine warrior imagery in the song further serves to tie together the crossing of the sea with the battle against chaos at the time of creation.

2. The Creation Connection. Another theme is the creation connection which I mentioned earlier.

3. God's Viewpoint. According to the song, the nations and people referred to in VV 14-16 will "melt away" and will be "as still as a stone" until the Israelites pass by them. However, this behavior doesn't quite square with the battles we read about in Scripture. Peter Enns suggests that the writer of the song is teaching the Israelites to look at their circumstances from God's point of view and not their own.

"Throughout her history, checkered with stressful relation-ships against overpowering foes, Israel is constantly reminded to keep her focus on the God who rules these circumstances, not on the circumstances themselves. This is a lesson Israel will learn only imperfectly, yet God never grows tired of teaching it. We find this lesson taught in the Song at the Sea. The battle is the Lord's and is therefore ultimately cosmic. The end is never in doubt." (Peter Enns)

E. Focus/Conclusion. The whole focus of the song is on God who "will reign for ever and ever" (V. 18). The Lord's name is mentioned 10 times in the song.

F. Miriam's Song. Our lesson today concludes with the song as it is sung by Miriam. What is its purpose? Peter Enns believes that Miriam's song is repetitive of the song at the sea because "built into Scripture is the notion that the song should be repeated. The fact that it is repeated so soon after its premiere performance hints that it should be sung not just once more, but again and again. We have, in other words, a reminder of the liturgical and ritualistic function of the song. It is a repeated celebration of God's deliverance, of which God's people must be reminded continually."

II. Songs of Redemption

A. Old Testament Songs of Praise for Deliverance.

1. When we look at Scripture as a whole, we should not be surprised to find God's people singing at the sea. Many of the Psalms, for example, praise God for specific acts of deliverance.

2. The song at the sea occurs in the context of a narrative story. Another example of this is a song praising God for His provision of water in the desert in Numbers 21:17-18.

3. A close parallel to the song at the sea is found in Judges 5 containing the song sung by Deborah and Barak.

4. Another close parallel to the song at the sea is found in II Samuel 22:1-51, likely a song sung toward the end of David's life and praising God for his deliverance in a variety of circumstances. The imagery of David's song reminds us of the song at the sea.

5. There is a close theological relationship between the Exodus and the return from exile in Babylon. Isaiah 42:10-17 contains a "new song" that God's people are to offer to Him for His deliverance that will soon come to pass. The song praises God for victory over His enemies in a manner similar to the song at the sea.

"It is perhaps fitting that this great act of deliverance is accompanied by cosmic participation in singing praise to God. God used the cosmos to bring destruction to his enemies, whether the Egyptians or the Babylonians: mountains shake and waters dry up and form walls that come crashing down. We should recall here again the succession of ten cosmic upheavals, the plagues. Creation has been God's tool for destroying his enemies, but now it has ceased being an instrument of punishment and joins in jubilant praise to God." (Peter Enns)

6. A final example from the Old Testament is Hannah's prayer in I Samuel 2:1-10. The birth of her child is the initial act of God in installing His chosen king over Israel.

B. Songs in the New Testament

1. Hannah's song is often viewed in close connection to Mary's song in Luke 1:46-55. Just as God's acts of deliverance in the Old Testament are frequently accompanied by song, it is appropriate that Christ's coming should be also.

2. Our review of the role of songs in redemptive history comes to a climax in the last book of the Bible. Revelation 5:9 and 14:3 tell us of a "new song" sung to the Lamb. The song continues in Revelation 5:12. VV. 13-14 says that every creature in heaven, earth, under the earth, and in the sea joins in the singing.

3. The clearest mirror image of the song at the sea in the New Testament is found in Revelation 15:3-4 which is called "the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb".

"It is the joy of Christ, in ordinary or extraordinary times, that has created Christian hymnology. It is a unique phenomenon among the religions of the world. Christianity is the 'singingest' of all religions. The Pietists of Germany alone produced in excess of 200,000 hymns. There is a reason! It is redemption, salvation and deliverance that sets the heart singing. All the Psalms are words to songs. The roots of the phenomenon are in the Old Testament; the maturity is in the New Testament." (Bernard L. Ramm - God's Way Out)

III. Learning from the Song

A. Model for Worship. "I do not know whether God sings, but he has certainly woven song into the fabric of creation." (Peter Enns) What we see in the song at the sea and the other songs I've mentioned is worship. "Sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." (Col. 3:16)

B. Celebration of Joy. In his book "Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth," Richard J. Foster explores 12 disciplines or practices of the Christian faith.

1. Richard Foster says that celebration is at the heart of the way of Christ.

2. Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Celebration brings joy into life, and joy makes us strong.

3. Richard Foster continues: "One way to practice celebration is through singing, dancing, shouting. Because of the goodness of God, the heart breaks forth into psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Worship, praise, adoration flow from the inner chambers. . . . Singing, dancing, and noise-making are not required forms of celebration. They are examples only, to impress upon us that the earth indeed is the Lord's and the fullness thereof."