Exodus 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 15:3  The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
Exo 15:4  Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
Exo 15:5  The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.
Exo 15:6  Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 15:10  Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Exo 15:11  Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Exo 15:12  Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
Exo 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.
Exo 15:14  The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 15:18  The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.

We have covered the history of the nation of Israel during their last years of slavery in Egypt and God’s powerful and miraculous deliverance of them from that bondage. God did not act as He did because Israel repented toward Him. He acted as He did because He made a promise to Abraham, over 400 years earlier. God is never forced to act according to the demands of man. He acts in accordance with His holiness and His righteousness. His desire is that all people would know that: “I am the LORD”. That is the great need of our country today, whether that be our politicians, or our police force or our doctors and nurses. All people need to come to see and acknowledge the truthfulness of Who the Lord is. The Bible warns that for many that will acknowledge this fact, it will be too late. They will be condemned to the lake of fire because they rejected this reality during their lifetime.
We have noticed that this was the reality for Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt. Those who followed Pharaoh’s lead drowned with him in the Red Sea. They were finished. There was no further opportunity for them to be saved. Now they were in torment in hell and would await the final resurrection where they will stand at the great white throne judgment and as the books will be opened, they will be shown how they continued to defy the true God and then they will be cast into the lake of fire.
In chapter 15 we are shown the response of Moses to the LORD’s dealings. A godly leader reminds his people of the LORD’s goodness. He does not look to see if that will be popular. He does so because it is the right thing to do. We see that for the moment the children of Israel were willing to join Moses in expressing praise and gratitude to the true God.
Moses reminded the children of Israel that it was the LORD who had triumphed gloriously. Moses could not take any credit for this great deliverance. He was a reluctant vessel that the LORD used to show Himself strong before both the Egyptians and the children of Israel. Moses reminded the people that the horse is no match for the LORD and neither is the rider.
It is important to have the LORD as your own personal Saviour and God. He needs to be your all in all. It does not matter whether life is going good for you, or whether you are facing some trial that you really don’t know the way through; if you know the true God as your God, you can trust in Him and you can rejoice in Him. Those who have this right relationship with God honour Him.
As we follow the history of the nation of Israel, we see a people that behaved as though they were on an intense rollercoaster ride. The valleys were of longer duration than the high points. They give us a very clear picture of the Pentecostal/charismatic movement. There are more downs than ups in that false religion. There is also a rewriting of Biblical theology within that movement.
In our text, God had blessed the children of Israel in a great way. The descriptive words used in this section are true of the LORD. Moses led the nation in this song of praise. Right after this song of praise, the nation would be tested and they would fail miserably. They had no substance to their expression of faith.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

We need substance to our faith. We need to know the true God as our own personal God and Saviour. For those in whom this is real, we have many examples given to us in Hebrews 11 that help us to see what substance looks like. It is real. It is not that fluff that blows away in the wind. It is a reminder to both the recipient of that true faith and to those who are on the outside looking in, that the true God is real and He is faithful to Himself. Those who know Him, are recipients of His greatness.
As Moses stated in verse 11 of our text, there is none like unto the true LORD. The false gods of Egypt melted like butter. They had no substance. Those who clung to them were sadly disappointed. Israel had the opportunity to see all of this. They would continue to see the mighty hand of the LORD at work.
It is important to note that in verse 18 Moses reminded the people that the LORD shall reign for ever and ever. There is no end to the reign of the true LORD. Those who are saved can walk with confidence. We can exalt Him at all times because He is worthy of exaltation.
God gave us this passage to help us to see the importance of knowing Him and truly exalting Him. Israel needed to know the way of blessing is in knowing the true God and walking with Him faithfully. Mankind needs to know this today as well. There is no hope outside of knowing the true God. Trust in Him today and you too will be able to rejoice in Him regardless of your circumstances. He is able to change your circumstances as well. He wanted to do that for Israel, but they refused His many offers. He remained the glorious LORD through it all. They were the ones who robbed themselves of great blessings by refusing to trust Him and follow Him faithfully.
Pastor Bartel