14:1-19:2, The journey to Mt. Sinai.
14:1-31, Freed Hebrews crossed Red Sea by God's miracle.
15:1-21, Moses and Miriam sang praise to God's power.
15:1 THEN 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.
**THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER: Literally, "his driver," as chariots and not cavalry seem to be the object of God's wrath.
15:2 THE 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.
A.THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND SONG: Jehovah was the reason for the song of Moses and the Israelites.
B.HE IS BECOME MY SALVATION: "He has delivered me out of the hand of Pharaoh, and saved me from destruction."
C.AND I WILL PREPARE HIM AN HABITATION: The original Hebrew can be translated this way, or as perhaps better in the NKJV, "And I will praise Him," or "I will glorify Him."
15:3 THE LORD [IS] A MAN OF WAR: THE LORD [IS] HIS NAME.
A.THE LORD IS A MAN OF WAR: This is anthropomorphism (speaking of God in human terms), showing that God is mighty in battle in that He had destroyed the greatest army of that day.
B.THE LORD IS HIS NAME: He is Jehovah, the one Who has always existed by Himself, and will always do so.
15:4 PHARAOH'S CHARIOTS AND HIS HOST HATH HE CAST INTO THE SEA: HIS CHOSEN CAPTAINS ALSO ARE DROWNED IN THE RED SEA.
**PHARAOH'S CHARIOTS AND HIS HOST: All his army, with specific reference here to those who were in the CHARIOTS.
15:5 THE DEPTHS HAVE COVERED THEM: THEY SANK INTO THE BOTTOM AS A STONE.
A.THE DEPTHS HAVE COVERED THEM: The water roared back to its original position, and...
B.THEY SANK INTO THE BOTTOM AS A STONE: Chariot warriors wore coats of mail, composed of bronze plates sewn on to a linen base, and overlapping one another. They would have been very heavy, so would have dragged the man like a rock to the BOTTOM of the Sea.
15:6 THY RIGHT HAND, O LORD, IS BECOME GLORIOUS IN POWER: THY RIGHT HAND, O LORD, HATH DASHED IN PIECES THE ENEMY.
15:7 AND 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.
15:8 AND 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.
A.WITH THE BLAST OF THY NOSTRILS: God was so furious that He used the mighty East wind to blow the waters back; Here the poetic words of the song speak of that as being the BLAST of His NOSTRILS.
B.THE FLOODS STOOD UPRIGHT AS AN HEAP: The sea piled up as a wall on either side.
C.AND THE DEPTHS WERE CONGEALED: The waters became firm.
15:9 THE 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.
A.I WILL DIVIDE THE SPOIL: The Egyptian soldiers knew the people had taken a vast treasure with them out of Egypt, and now the soldiers thought they would bring it all back.
B.MY LUST (DESIRE, NKJ) SHALL BE SATISFIED: Their DESIRE would be to have their rage and hate satisfied in the conquering of the Israelites.
15:10 THOU DIDST BLOW WITH THY WIND, THE SEA COVERED THEM: THEY SANK AS LEAD IN THE MIGHTY WATERS.
**They were swallowed by the ocean waves.
15:11 WHO [IS] LIKE UNTO THEE, O LORD, AMONG THE GODS? WHO [IS] LIKE THEE, GLORIOUS IN HOLINESS, FEARFUL [IN] PRAISES, DOING WONDERS?
**Jehovah is to be recognized as superior to any and all pagan deities -- He is the "Miracle Worker" Who is GLORIOUS, and is to be reverently praised.
15:12 THOU STRETCHEDST OUT THY RIGHT HAND, THE EARTH SWALLOWED THEM.
**It took only the signal from God for the enemy to perish.
15:13 THOU IN THY MERCY HAST LED FORTH THE PEOPLE [WHICH] THOU HAST REDEEMED: THOU HAST GUIDED [THEM] IN THY STRENGTH UNTO THY HOLY HABITATION.
**UNTO THY HOLY HABITATION: This may be Mount Moriah, and the temple to be built there later. Moses knew by revelation there would be a place in the Land of Canaan where God would "put His Name" - Deu 12:11, "Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD;" Deu 16:6, "But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt;" etc.
15:14 THE PEOPLE SHALL HEAR, [AND] BE AFRAID: SORROW SHALL TAKE HOLD ON THE INHABITANTS OF PALESTINA (PHILISTIA, NKJ).
A.THE PEOPLE SHALL HEAR, AND BE AFRAID: All of the neighboring tribes and nations would hear of God's works in Egypt, and then how he divided the Red Sea and led His people across in safety. They would be in fear as the Israelites approached, and would offer them no opposition.
B.SORROW (ANGUISH, NKJ) SHALL TAKE HOLD: They would shake in horror to think of mistreating people whose God could do this to His enemies.
C.THE INHABITANTS OF PALESTINA: This is a Greek form of the word PHILISTIA (the strip along the Mediterranean which was occu-pied by the people called the Philistines).
15:15 THEN 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.
A.THEN THE DUKES OF EDOM SHALL BE AMAZED (DISMAYED, NKJ): The leaders of EDOM and MOAB also would be in fear. So if Israel had gone up to conquer the Land at the time they had the first opportunity, the conquest would have been easily accomplished. Actually, when the opportunity came for Israel to stand forth and march into the Land, they refused, and had to stay out in the wilderness for 38 years. Then by the time they did ap-proach the borders of Edom, kings (instead of DUKES) had taken the authority in Edom, and they resisted the Israelites and refused them passage through their borders - Num 20:14-21, "20:14 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us: 15 How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers: 16 And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we [are] in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border: 17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink [of] the water of the wells: we will go by the king's [high] way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. 18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. 19 And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without [doing] any thing [else], go through on my feet. 20 And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him."
B.THE INHABITANTS OF CANAAN SHALL MELT AWAY: Although the Israelites had lost much of their power, this prophecy was fulfilled in that the Canaanites still were afraid of them when they finally did come into the Land - Jos 5:1, "And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which [were] on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which [were] by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel."
15:16 FEAR 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.
**WHICH (whom) THOU HAST PURCHASED: What God did for them in bringing them out of Egypt was in effect a purchase of them.
15:17 THOU 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.
A.THOU SHALT BRING THEM IN, AND PLANT THEM: They would be given possession of the Land, and fixed firmly in it, so as to take root (be planted) there.
B.IN THE MOUNTAIN OF THINE INHERITANCE: Canaan was mountainous, and God had chosen this Land as the home for His people.
C.IN THE SANCTUARY, O LORD, WHICH THY HANDS HAVE ESTABLISHED: By the eyes of faith Moses could see the temple already built, and God dwelling in it.
15:18 THE LORD SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER.
**This may look to the final result of all God's temporary arrangements in the Old Testament -- To the establishment of the Kingdom of Christ - cf Mt 28:18.
15:19 FOR 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.
15:20 AND 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.
A.MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS: She is the first woman to be called a prophetess (one who speaks for another).
B.THE SISTER OF AARON: Compare Num 26:59, "And the name of Amram's wife [was] Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom [her mother] bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister."
C.TOOK A TIMBREL: The word means the same as TAMBOURINE.
15:21 AND MIRIAM ANSWERED THEM, SING YE TO THE LORD, FOR HE HATH TRIUMPHED GLORIOUSLY; THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER HATH HE THROWN INTO THE SEA.
15:22-16:3, On the march to the Desert of Sin, the people complained against God.
15:22 SO MOSES BROUGHT ISRAEL FROM THE RED SEA, AND THEY WENT OUT INTO THE WILDERNESS OF SHUR; AND THEY WENT THREE DAYS IN THE WILDERNESS, AND FOUND NO WATER.
**No doubt they had water skins on their animals to provide water for the people, but their animals must have suffered a great deal for lack of water.
15:23 AND WHEN THEY CAME TO MARAH, THEY COULD NOT DRINK OF THE WATERS OF MARAH, FOR THEY [WERE] BITTER: THEREFORE THE NAME OF IT WAS CALLED MARAH.
A.COULD NOT DRINK OF THE WATERS OF MARAH: Verse 24 says the people MURMURED AGAINST MOSES, and that we have a hard time comprehending; but think about the bitter water and the situation of the people in these words from PULPIT COMMENTARY:
This was a keen and poignant disappointment to them -- "sorrow upon sorrow." As usual, it drove the people to murmuring, and Moses to prayer. Bear gently with their infirmity. Do them the justice of remembering that there is no record of their murmuring during the three past days of their great privation in the wilder-ness. It was this disappointment at the well of Marah which fairly broke them down. Would many of us have borne the trial better? It is easy to sing when the heart is full of a great fresh joy. But let trial succeed trial, and disappointment follow on disap-pointment, and how soon do the accents of praise die away, to be replaced by moaning and complaint! The "Song of Moses," which was so natural on the banks of the Red Sea, would have had a strange sound coming from these dust-parched throats, and fainting, discouraged hearts. The note of triumph is not easily sustained when the body is sinking with fatigue, and when the wells to which we had looked for refreshment are discovered to be bitter."
B.NAME OF IT WAS CALLED MARAH: The Hebrew word means "bitter."
15:24 AND THE PEOPLE MURMURED AGAINST MOSES, SAYING, WHAT SHALL WE DRINK?
**THE PEOPLE MURMURED (COMPLAINED, NKJ): As they did on the western shores of the Red Sea, and as they would often do in the wilderness.
15:25 AND HE CRIED UNTO THE LORD; AND THE LORD SHEWED HIM A TREE, [WHICH] WHEN HE HAD CAST INTO THE WATERS, THE WATERS WERE MADE SWEET: THERE HE MADE FOR THEM A STATUTE AND AN ORDINANCE, AND THERE HE PROVED THEM,
A.A STATUE AND AN ORDINANCE: See Verse 26.
B.THERE HE PROVED THEM: He tested them to see if they would obey Him by keeping His laws and teachings.
15:26 AND SAID, IF THOU WILT DILIGENTLY HEARKEN TO THE VOICE OF THE LORD THY GOD, AND WILT DO THAT WHICH IS RIGHT IN HIS SIGHT, AND WILT GIVE EAR TO HIS COMMANDMENTS, AND KEEP ALL HIS STATUTES, I WILL PUT NONE OF THESE DISEASES UPON THEE, WHICH I HAVE BROUGHT UPON THE EGYPTIANS: FOR I [AM] THE LORD THAT HEALETH THEE.
**NONE OF THESE DISEASES: See Deu 7:15, "And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all [them] that hate thee."
15:27 AND THEY CAME TO ELIM, WHERE [WERE] TWELVE WELLS OF WATER, AND THREESCORE AND TEN PALM TREES: AND THEY ENCAMPED THERE BY THE WATERS.
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