TITLE: SING A SONG OF CELEBRATION
TEXT: EXODUS 15:1-21
INTRODUCTION:
- We’re continuing our study through the book of Exodus.
- As we go through this study, we’re asking the question, “What can I learn from this passage about honoring God?”
- Last week, we looked at the folly of the wicked.
- We saw that the wicked are blinded by their anger, the wicked complain against God, and the wicked make foolish decisions.
- We read about God parting the Red Sea, making a dry path so that the Israelites could cross over to the other side.
- Pharaoh and his Army foolishly chased after them and it ended in their destruction as God caused the waters to cave in on them, thus drowning him and his Army.
- Today, we’re going to look at what the Israelites did immediately after this happened…
- They sang a song of celebration.
- It’s one of the ways we worship God, is through music.
- Music is a way for people to express themselves and their feelings in a creative way.
- For example, back in High School, my brother Steven became friends with some guys that liked to play music and write songs.
- One of the types of music he got involved in was rap music.
- He became known to others as “Balliver…” because he played basketball and he rapped.
- Kids at school were always saying, “Oh, you’re Balliver’s brother! He’s so cool. He makes great music.”
- One day, another kid, Andrew Roussel, challenged my brother to a rap battle.
- I’ll never forget that day…
- I was walking down the hall, and somebody said, “Hey, did you hear? Your brother is about to have a rap battle with Andrew!”
- I couldn’t believe it!
- I thought maybe he might be involved with a fight if it went south, so I headed over to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid.
- Well, it drew a big crowd, but as I got there, so did the School Principal, Mr. Aaronson.
- Mr. Aaronson was known to be pretty tough, so I thought, “Uh oh, Steven’s in trouble.”
- Instead, Mr. Aaronson smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll be the referee!”
- If you knew Mr. Aaronson, then you’d know how funny it was for him to say this, but he was serious.
- So, Mr. Aaronson said, “Alright, we’ll start with Andrew, and then it will be Steven’s turn. We’ll have them go back and forth a few times, and we’ll determine who the winner is by the cheers.”
- So, Andrew began, and I don’t remember what he said, but I do remember my brother had a smirk on his face.
- After Andrew was finished, the crowd cheered, and then it was my brother’s turn.
- Off he went with his rap, and I remember thinking, “Wow, he’s a lot better than I thought he was!”
- After he was finished, they went back and forth a few times, and once they were done, Mr. Aaronson said, “Okay, great job guys. Now let’s see who the winner is…if you think Andrew won, let out great cheer!”
- There were some cheers, but it wasn’t that loud.
- “If you think Balliver won, let out a great cheer!”
- The cheers for Steven were much louder, so he won the rap battle, and for the rest of his time in High School, he was remembered for his rap battle with Andrew.
- Obviously, that’s a silly little story, but I think it shows us that people sing songs to express themselves in many ways, on all sorts of different occasions.
- That’s where we find Moses and the Israelites here in Exodus 15.
- They have just been miraculously delivered from their bondage in Egypt, and they watched their enemies perish at the hands of God.
- Now, they take the time to sing a song of celebration to the Lord, a song the Jews title, “The Song at the Red Sea”.
- So let’s look at three reasons the Israelites are singing this song to the Lord.
FIRST: SING BECAUSE GOD IS VICTORIOUS- VS 1-10
- One of my favorite movies when I was a kid was “The Mighty Ducks.”
- It’s about a junior hockey team with kids that have a lot of talent, but at first, they don’t know how to play as a team.
- Their coach takes the time to teach them how to play as a team, and they start winning.
- The movie was so good that they made a 2nd one.
- In that movie, they get to play as Team USA in the World Junior Goodwill games.
- My favorite scene from the movie is the final scene when they are all around a campfire, celebrating together because they just won the world championship game.
- They start to sing the song, “We are the champions!”
- They’re all smiling, and hugging, and just having a great time together, not just as a team, but also as friends…
- And they’ve got all the reason in the world to be celebrating because their victory meant they were the best junior hockey team in the world!
- Here in Exodus, the Children of Israel have all the reason in the world to be singing because God has freed them from their bondage to Egypt…
- On top of that, God just eliminated their enemies right in front of their eyes.
- So, we see in vs 1, Moses and the children of Israel come together and sing a song to the Lord!
- Don’t miss that…
- They’re not just singing a song to memorialize what just happened…
- No, their song is being sung to the Lord Himself…
- So, their audience is God Himself, not one another and not the nations around them…
- No, this is a heartfelt song, directed to God Himself!
- God has shown them that His salvation is real, and His power and His presence were with them, and they are His people.
- So, first, in vs 1, they give God the glory for the victory…
- They say, “God has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!”
- Remember last week, we saw that the Israelites were afraid because they saw Pharaoh and his army coming, and they were trapped with no way out.
- Now, they can look back and see why God allowed that to happen…so that He could miraculously make a way for them to escape from their enemies, and at the same time, destroy their enemies.
- In vs 2, we see that because God is their strength, He is also their song.
- That’s why they’re singing now…they’re overwhelmed by God’s strength and goodness, and the best way to express that is through this song.
- I like what Charles Spurgeon points out about this song.
- He says, “Notice, the song is all of God; there is not a word about Moses. Read this song through, and neither Moses, nor Aaron, nor Miriam are in it: God is all in all.”
- In the next part of vs 2, they point out that their salvation is personal… “God has become my salvation…He is my God, and I will praise Him…my Father’s God…”
- They could have looked back and thought, “God showed Himself to our fathers, the Patriarchs, and spoke with them directly. He was their salvation, and their God, and they praised Him. That means He is our people’s salvation, our people’s God, and our people will praise Him…”
- Yes, that’s true that God was the God of their fathers, and of their people, but here, they’re saying that He is more than that…
- It’s even more personal than that…individually, He is my Salvation, He is my God, and I will praise Him!”
- In vs 3-10, they then describe God’s victory over the Egyptians…
- Last week, we looked at this event as the Egyptians chose to pursue the Israelites through this path in the sea.
- It was a foolish decision because God worked against them, he troubled the wheels of their chariots, slowing them down, not even letting them get close to the Israelites.
- Once the last Israelite was on the other side, God caused the waters to come crashing down on them and the Egyptian army was drowned.
- The imagery the Israelites use in this song to describe how God crushed the Egyptians is amazing…
- We won’t look at every part of this in depth because it would be repetitive, but there are some parts that stand out to me.
- God is described as “…a man of War…”
- That’s not a popular picture of God, because more often, God is described as a God of love, but it’s true…
- God is just as much a man of war as He is a God of love…neither of them contradicts one another…one isn’t greater than the other…
- Here in this song, it’s proper to describe Him as a man of war because the Egyptians were at war with Him.
- All of God’s enemies are at war with Him, but they don’t stand a chance because He is a man of war, a warrior…
- The difference between a man of war here on Earth, and God Himself as a man of war is that God is All Powerful, and no one can stand against Him, no one can defeat Him, & no one can even slow Him down!
- Then in vs 6, the Israelites say, “Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power…it has dashed the enemies to pieces…”
- In ancient Jewish culture, the right hand was thought to be the hand of skill and power.
- So, this work of destroying the Egyptians was a work of God’s skill and power.
- Obviously, no words can give justice to God’s skill and power, especially here, but at least it gives us a picture of His skill and power.
- So, we’ve seen that this part of the song celebrates God being victorious over His enemies.
- What does this mean for us as Christians, though?
- Recently, I was talking with a man who was concerned with things happening in our world.
- He seemed to think that God has no power or control over the powers of evil and forces of darkness in our world.
- Thankfully, he’s wrong.
- Jesus told His disciples in Luke 10:18, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven.”
- In order to understand what Jesus was talking about, we have to go back to the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel…
- Turn with me please to Isaiah 14:12-17…
- As you can see, Lucifer, Satan, thought he could become like God, but he was dead wrong!
- Instead, he was cast out of Heaven, cut down to the ground!
- Go with me now to Ezekiel 28:11-19…
- As you can see, Satan was a beautiful angel in Heaven, but when he sinned, he was cast out, thrown down.
- Some people make the mistake of thinking that Satan is the opposite of Jesus…that he’s just as powerful as Jesus but is wicked instead of good.
- So, they think Satan has the same kind of power as God.
- That’s the furthest thing from the truth…Satan is a created being, created by God as an angel, but then corrupted by sin, so thrown out of Heaven by God.
- He has no power against God Almighty!
- That means He has no power against you and me…he can’t snatch us out of Christ’s hand and steal our salvation, He can’t kill us, He can’t force us to sin…
- Did you know that he can’t even be in more than one place at once?
- God’s presence is everywhere, but Satan can only be in one place at a time…he’s not omnipresent.
- Anyways, as Christians, you and I can sing a song of celebration because God has always had the victory over Satan…
- Then, Jesus won the victory for us over Satan at the Cross, defeating his power over us as Christians.
- We’re told in Hebrews 2:14-15, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
- Then, in Romans 16:20, the Apostle Paul says, “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.”
- So, Satan is still going about, Scripture says roaring like a lion, seeking whom he may devour…
- And as Christians, we are in a battle, as Ephesians 6:12-13 tells us… “We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and the rulers of darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
- So, Satan can fight, but Christians can live in Christ’s victory.
- Then, one day, we will see Satan, our defeated foe be cast into the lake of fire for all of eternity.
- Revelations 20:10 says, “…the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
- Martin Luther described it well when he said, “His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure.”
- Brothers and sisters, you and I can sing a song of celebration now because we’re living in Christ’s victory.
- Then, one day, after Satan is cast into the lake of fire, we will be able to sing a new song of eternal victory, praising and glorifying our Great God, the King of kings and Lord of lord!
SECOND: SING BECAUSE GOD CARES FOR HIS PEOPLE- VS 11-16
- I remember when I was in Middle School, my father bought guitars for me and my brother Steven, and then paid for us to get guitar lessons.
- The goal was for us to learn so that we could play guitar with him at church.
- I’ll never forget those lessons, and I’ll never forget those times we spent with dad practicing over and over again.
- Once we learned the basics, we started practicing hymns.
- We took the hymnals and wrote the chords in them and what fret the capo needed to go on.
- Then, we played with dad at church…
- He had his 12 string Taylor Guitar, I had my guild acoustic, and Steven had his classical guitar.
- It was special, and we played and sang at church with dad because we were thankful and cared about him, since he cared about us enough to buy us the guitars and get us lessons.
- Here in Exodus, we see the Israelites singing the next part of this song of celebration because they knew that God cared about them.
- In vs 11, they start by pointing out that none of the world’s false gods are anything like the One True God.
- Remember, Egypt worshipped a lot of false deities, and through each of the plagues, God showed them that those gods were nothing, and they couldn’t protect them.
- God was far superior to any of them and He proved it to them over and over again.
- In the next part of vs 11, the Israelites point out that God was glorious in holiness, exalted in the majesty of holiness…
- He was also fearful in praises, which means he was revered in praises, or full of praiseworthy acts.
- When the Gentile nations looked at Israel, they would look in awe because of the mighty deeds God did for Israel.
- Through every part of the deliverance, God was showing the world that He cared for His people Israel.
- In vs 12, He showed He cared for them by stretching forth His right hand and causing the earth to “swallow” the Egyptians…literally, as the waters fell down on them and they disappeared into the depths of the sea, they were swallowed.
- In vs 13, He showed He cared for His people by leading them in His mercy and love, redeeming them, guiding them, upholding them in His strength!
- Rabbi Kalitsch says these are “…prophetic images [of] the providence of God for the Israelites, shielding them until they have overcome the dangers of the desert, conquered the nations of Canaan, and erected the sanctuary on Zion.”
- In vs 14-16, God shows He cares for His people by bringing fear and sorrow to the people of Canaan.
- That’s because He will be giving the land to the Israelites, and its inhabitants were trembling…
- They knew that the same God who sent 10 devastating plagues on Egypt was the same God who parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross through…
- He was the same God who then caused the waters to fall in on the Egyptian army, killing them all…
- That same God, the God of the Israelites, was Powerful, and the Canaanites knew He was about to display His power against them.
- Imagine, an army of Jews who have no combat experience coming into a land full of warriors and giants…
- Yet those warriors and giants were afraid, not because of the Israelites themselves, but because of God Almighty who was with them.
- Forty years later, this is confirmed to the Israelites through the harlot Rahab in Jericho.
- In Joshua 2:8-11, she tells the Jewish spies, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”
- I think it’s important for us to note here that this song is being sung before the Israelites have encountered any of the people in the Promised Land.
- They’re singing this song of celebration in faith, knowing that because God cares for them as His people, that He will make this happen.
- The people in the Promised Land will have fear and dread fall on them, and be still as a stone, unable to fight against God and His people.
- What about us as Christians?
- Can we sing because God cares about us?
- The answer is yes.
- 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to “…cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
- Think about what that says…cast all your care on Him!
- No matter how big or small our burdens are, God tells us to cast them on Him because He cares for us!
- I remember the first sermon I preached here at Baring before you called me to be your pastor.
- It was taken from Matthew 11:28-30… “Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest!”
- I preached that text because of how much it meant to me.
- God brought me through a lot during my time in Iraq and my transition back to civilian life…
- He took my burden and gave me rest, and I still look back and say, “Thank you Lord!”
- What are your cares or burdens this morning?
- Finances? Family? Work? Health?
- Those are just a few examples, but the list goes on and on of things that become burdens to us, things that pull us away from Christ and weigh us down!
- In the book of Philippians, we’re told, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God, and the Peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord!
- Brothers and sisters; give your burdens to Him this morning.
- Let Him guard your heart and mind.
- He cares for you…think about how special and amazing that is!
- He cares about the little things and the big things in our lives.
- He cares…
- I remember one day, I lost my keys and couldn’t find them…
- That seems small, and really not that big of a deal, but I was stressing out over it.
- It seemed like I couldn’t find them anywhere!
- Finally, I managed to say a little prayer, and wouldn’t you know it, God helped me find my keys.
- He cares!
- I hope you can leave here this morning and sing a song of celebration, because you are His child, and He cares for you.
- Don’t ever forget that!
THIRD: SING BECAUSE GOD DELIVERS HIS PEOPLE- VS 17-21
- There’s a kid’s cartoon movie called “The Prince of Egypt” that I used to watch when I was a kid.
- It’s the story of Moses and the Israelites in Egypt.
- There’s a scene where it shows the Israelites slaving away, trying to build a huge pyramid for Egypt.
- As they’re working, they’re singing a song to the Lord.
- At the beginning of the song, the Egyptian guards are yelling at the slaves and whipping them, shouting, “Mud...Sand...Water...Straw...Faster! Mud...And lift...Sand...And Pull! Water...And raise up...Straw...Faster!”
- The slaves respond by singing, “With the sting of the whip on my shoulder, With the salt of my sweat on my brow. Elohim, God on high, Can you hear your people cry: Help us now This dark hour...
- Deliver us, Hear our call. Deliver us, Lord of all. Remember us, here in this burning sand, Deliver us. There's a land you promised us. Deliver us to the promised land...
- Deliver us, Hear our prayer. Deliver us, From despair. These years of slavery grow too cruel to stand. Deliver us, There's a land you promised us. Deliver us. Out of bondage and Deliver us to the promised land...
- Send a shepherd to shepherd us, And deliver us to the promised land.”
- That song was probably pretty close to some of the songs that the Israelites were singing while still slaves in Egypt.
- Now, God has answered their many years of prayer for deliverance, and we see them singing about it.
- He’s delivered them from Egypt, giving them freedom, and now He’s going to bring them in to the Promised Land.
- Vs 17 says, “You will bring them in and plant them…”
- They say this with confidence, knowing that God has promised it and God will deliver!
- On top of that, in vs 18, they realize that this deliverance is not temporary…
- They know that “The Lord shall reign forever and ever!”
- God’s Kingdom is eternal!
- When I was a kid, my father introduced me to the famous “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah.
- I love it when the people sing, “King of kings, forever and ever, and Lord of lords, forever and ever, Hallelujah! And He shall reign forever and ever! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, forever!”
- When I think of Heaven, I picture us singing songs like that, where we’re just praising the name of God forever!
- In Revelation 15:3-4, we see a multitude gathered together in Heaven that has come from great suffering, and God has given them great victory by delivering them, so they sing a song of celebration as well.
- We’re told, “They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.”
- I imagine that song will be even more wonderful than the Hallelujah Chorus, and I can’t wait to hear it!
- Anyways, the Israelites are affirming the fact that God will reign forever over His people whom He has delivered, and that’s worth singing about!
- Then, in vs 20, we see Miriam start to lead the women in worship as they sing and play tambourines and dance, celebrating God’s deliverance of their people.
- It was a special and joyous occasion, and all of Israel was involved in it.
- And they keep the focus on God, where it belongs…
- “Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider, He has thrown into the sea!”
- What about us as Christians?
- In Romans 6, we see that we’ve been delivered from our slavery to sin.
- Vs 18 says, “having been set free from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.”
- If you don’t believe the Apostle Paul, then listen to the words of our Savior…
- Jesus told us in John 8:36 that whoever the Son sets free is free indeed!
- Brothers and sisters, you and I shouldn’t be walking around, looking defeated and mopey and be thinking, “Woe is me! I’m such a wretched sinner!”
- No, God has delivered us from sin, and death, so you and I have every reason in the world to be rejoicing!
- He’s delivered us from the judgment of Hell, and instead has given us the Promise of eternal life in Heaven!
- Nothing, absolutely nothing, will ever separate us from Him and His love for us.
- So, if you’re a Christian, that means you’re delivered, so live your life in His victory.
- Why would you want to go back and be a slave to sin once again?
- That wouldn’t make any sense!
- The sins of this world bring nothing but pain and suffering…just watch the news, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
- You are delivered, so live a delivered life for God’s glory.
CONCLUSION:
- In closing, if you’re here today or watching on tv, and you’ve never given your life to Jesus Christ, then that means you are not living in God’s victory but are defeated instead.
- It means that even though God loves and cares for you as one of His creations, you aren’t under His care as one of His children in the family of God.
- It means that instead of being delivered from sin and darkness, you instead are a slave to sin, and are living without hope.
- I’m here to tell you today that you don’t have to stay there!
- Jesus loves you, He gave His life on the Cross for you, for the sin of the world, and if you call out to Him today, if you turn to Him, He will welcome you into His family with open arms.
- If you turn to Him today, you will have new life in Him, and the promise of eternity in heaven with Him.
- You’ll be able to sing a song of celebration because of God’s victory in your life, because of God’s care for you as His child, and because of God’s deliverance.
- Make that decision today.
- Let’s pray.
