Exodus 15:1-27
The Song of Moses and Miriam
1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.
2 “The Lord is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3 The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, Lord,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
shattered the enemy.
7 “In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.
8 By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy boasted,
‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
11 Who among the gods
is like you, Lord?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
12 “You stretch out your right hand,
and the earth swallows your enemies.
13 In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.
14 The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people of Canaan will melt away;
16 terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, Lord,
until the people you bought pass by.
17 You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
18 “The Lord reigns
for ever and ever.”
19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. 20 Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. 21 Miriam sang to them:
“Sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.”
22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
25 Then 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 fit to drink.
There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.
As Moses and the Hebrew people wandered the desert for forty years, I bet it was often uncomfortable...The desert is a hot and dry place where one might always be praying for water and food....A prayer for some comfort in the stifling heat, would also might be of order...I used to wonder why God chose Mount Sinai to introduce Himself to Moses...And why He wanted His people to wander the desert for forty years from Egypt to the Promised Land of Abraham?...And why did He choose the Promised Land to be nation and country of Israel?...It is a special place for God, because He chose the Promised Land to Abraham many years ago...
And as God's people walked the desert, we can only wonder why He had chosen a wilderness and desert and not a more fertile place of green, and a place of plentiful trees, flowers, and other plants and life for His people...But this is the way that God must think...I think now that He looks for places that lacked fertility and that lacked in the plentiful...I sometimes think He wants us to experience some discomfort and learn from it...And learn to seek Him for our uncomfortable places...Maybe if His people had an abundance of food and water around things may have been different...Maybe we have less need for Him, and have less thoughts of Him, when we easily have and get all the things we need and want...This is not so in the desert...We can actually see the harshness and the need around in that barren wilderness...
With the harshness of heat and tiring, and a general lack of food, I know I would be praying to my Father for some help, and some water and some nutrition...Barrenness and lack of water would do that to me...And I think I might become tired and maybe grumpy as the travels continued on and on and on and our water dried up...I do not know what might get me to sing, but I can see that knowing that the LORD was near, would be a great reason to sing to One who is Exalted and is with us in our trials and helping us...
Perhaps the memories of the past generations and their relatives reliving these stories over and over with God, sustained them...God sustained both the Hebrew people and these burnt in memories of the Exodus from Egypt to their homeland...These memories would not only sustain the Hebrew and Jewish culture about the Exodus and through today, but God would sustain them...The people of Israel and all people could reflect on these things and what God had done in the desert...Maybe we can better see God's Power in a desert, than other places...
And the people would sing...Music played a role in the desert traveling...Moses and his sister Miriam sang to the LORD...We can remember God in song...
Today, it seems, we place a lesser value on reflection of sacred and holy things that our ancestors held on to, and we place more value on working and wealth and keeping busy...His Presence is better seen in some of the different and unexpected places we choose to be...And still we remember Him...