Christ in all the scriptures Exodus 15 The song of Moses

  Christ in all the scriptures

  Exodus chapter15

The Incomparable Christ

"Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?  Who is like thee , glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?"

Israel, released from bitter bondage, saved from a vicious enemy, learn not only the nature of their deliverance, but the character of their deliverer.  They break out into spontaneous song, both Moses and the whole camp of Israel to praise the Lord for His goodness to them.  This is the song of redemption, which will continue on through the ages, until we find it sung again in a future day- Revelation 15v3, "They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb...".  Then they will sing the victory song to the God who has delivered them from all enemies.  The song in Exodus 15 was sung by the Red Sea; the song in Revelation 15 will be sung by the Sea of Glass before the throne of God.  This inspired song encouraged more songs throughout the centuries as God's people rejoice in deliverance time and again.  Their expression of exultation was to the God of their salvation, of His incomparable character demonstrated in mighty power over man and nature.  So it was then, so it will be in the future, in the downfall of the kingdom of the Beast; so let it be in our day, that we praise and adore the God who saved us.  

The praise is to the Lord, not to Moses, or any man, or any group of men.  They acknowledge that it was all of God, as in reading the song through it is all of what God has done.  We know that Jesus is one of the Godhead three and it was the angel of God who came between the Egyptians and Israelites-Ex. 14v9.  Scholars are generally agreed that the Angel of God, the Angel of the Lord, is a pre-incarnate theophany of Christ.  Notable references are: Genesis 16v7, 9, 10, 11; 21v17; 22v11; 48v16; Exodus 3v2; 14v19; 23v20; Numbers 22v22; Judges 2v4; 6v21.  Again, Paul referred to Christ in connection with Israel, as "The Spiritual Rock that followed them"-1st Cor.10v3.  Thus the superlative attributes ascribed to God in the song apply to Christ.  Important to note the song focuses more on the Saviour than it does on their salvation.  This is vital for the saved to understand, that our primary occupation should be with the Lord, above every other consideration.  The song brims with His superior excellencies.  How much have we experienced of  His greatness? and what we have known to date is but the beginning, there is much more to come.  It is one thing to know Him mentally, it is a greater thing to know Him experimentally, and this is what inspires this beautiful song of praise.

"The Lord is my strength and my song, and He is become my salvation..."  Exodus 15v2.  The life of faith requires strength, but in my own strength I fail.  In His strength I am victorious in every situation, and every new challenge inspires a new song.  It is in victory people sing, and in Him we will always sing.  As Paul wrote "...according to the riches of His glory...strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man..."; the power of the Lord is available to us at all times.  What strength these people needed for all that they endured; the same Divine strength is with us.  Again as Paul wrote "If God be for us, who can be against us?"-Romans 8v31.

The Lord is a man of war; Jehovah is His name   Exodus 15v3

Hardly the concept of "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild", which is the acceptable public perception, however it it not the whole truth.  The reality is we live in a world of evil and corruption, dominated by unseen powerful forces of evil.  The longsuffering and patience of Almighty God is legendary, but His holiness demands He crush the evil, and crush it and exterminate it He will.  Whenever puny man confronts Him, and opposes His will, they will be met with the same ferocity as the hordes of the Pharaoh of Egypt.  When Jesus returns to this earth to establish the kingdom of God, He comes as a warrior, as the prophetic writings affirm in Revelation 19v11-16, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat on Him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war...and He hath on His vesture a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."  He will subdue all opposition to God, He will put all enemies under His feet; just as He did with the empire of Egypt, so He will do to all who rebel against His authority.  He will use whatever means necessary to rid His universe of evil.  He will cleanse the earth and the heavens, He will purify the universe.  Note the language of the chapter:  "Thy right hand, O, Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.  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 rubble."  There is nothing unjust or immoral about this.  He is the God who created all men, whom He has sustained.  His judgments are right and true, as in the face of Divine mercy shown, they continue in rebellion.  He has a Divine right to judge, and He will in His own time and in His own way. 

"Who is like unto thee O Lord among the gods?"   Exodus 15v11

The declaration is clear, that among all the dignitaries in heaven and earth, the Lord is higher, greater, supreme, without compare.  Pharaoh said in defiance, "Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?"-Exodus 5v2.  The whole camp of Israel sang "Who is like unto thee?"  This theme of Divine supremacy is repeated throughout scripture-1st Kings 8v23 Psalm 35v10; 89v6; 113v5-6; Jeremiah 49v19; 50v4.  Isaiah, the royal prophet takes up the theme-40v18, ""To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?"  40v25, "To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal saith the Holy one?"  44v6-8, "Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and His redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God...Is there a God beside me? yea there is no God; I know not any".   46v5, "To whom then will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me that we may be like".  The prophet Micah, whose name translates "Who is like unto Jehovah", wrote in chapter 7v18, "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?  He retaineth not His anger forever, because He delighteth in mercy."  He is without compare in all existence, He is the incomparable Christ.  Three aspects of this are unfolded to describe this in v11:

Glorious in holiness   Holiness is probably the least understood attribute of God.  The perception is of the absence of evil, however it is much greater than that; it is the presence of all that is right and good.  He is the standard of all that is good, hence the name God; God and good are inseparable.  The words used for holiness in the bible, simply mean "apart".  In all things God is "apart" from His creation, He is superior. greater, higher than all.  No matter what aspect of Him we consider, He is apart from all.  He is wiser than all, more powerful than all, more just than all, more merciful than all, kinder than all, more gracious than all, more fearful than all, more beautiful than all.  We could go on, there could be no end to our deliberation.  In His holiness, He is glorious, He is compelling, He is awesome, just read of the adoration of angels who live in His presence, recorded in Rev. 4-5.

Fearful in praises   The Israelites had witnessed awesome things; the plagues on Egypt, the destruction of the pursuing army in the same sea they had crossed on dry land.  Their praise to God was tempered with reverence and awe, as they pondered the character of God.  I recall studying the meaning of grace in the bible; there are many aspects of it but one stood out (unfortunately I cannot remember the source), one commentator described it as "compelling excellence"-that is such excellence that compelled the recipients to respond.  There is something compelling about God, that draws us to worship Him on many occasions.  Revelation chapters 4/5 give the vision of heavenly worship, when all the inhabitants of heaven spontaneously respond to the God of creation, and the Lamb of redemption.  This praise was reverential acknowledging the worth of God and the Lamb.  Much of what passes for worship today is little more than showmanship, which is grossly out of place before the throne of God and the Lamb.  There is a reverence about true worship from the heart which utters glory to Him and not to men.  We are a praising people, but not to draw attention to ourselves, there is One incomparable, He alone is worthy. 

Doing wonders      The God who is glorious, who compels His creatures to praise Him, is the God of action, who acts in decisive fashion, when necessary, and with supernatural effect.  Wonders are extraordinary things, miracles, things that only God can do.  The Psalms are brim full of expressions of the marvellous works of God.  The prophets proclaim the wonders He will do in the future.  Israel came to expect amazing things of God.  Their continued existence today, amid many nations who have avowed their extermination, is testimony alone to the miracle nation which is Israel.  All believers today can enter into the excellent greatness of our God.  We should expect great things of Him.  What He has done in the past, He will do in the future.  The continuation of this song in verses 14-18 predicts that "sorrow shall take old on the inhabitants of Palestina"; that "the dukes of Edom will be amazed"; that the men of Moab will be overcome by trembling; that "all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away"; "Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of God's arm, they will be helpless until His people pass over, in their journey to the sanctuary, in the mountain of their inheritance.  And what of Christ, who will remove the church to heaven, demolish the kingdom of the Beast, and establish Israel as head of nations?  Witness the signs and wonders of Jesus in His public ministry, and the same delegated to His apostles.  We should be in expectation of His wonders in all generations.  This is our God, He does wonders, and compels us to wonder.  

Such was the elation that Miriam, Moses' and Aarons' sister, gathered the women to rejoice and dance in expression of worship to the Lord.   He wrought another miracle in sweetening the bitter waters of Marah, even though they complained.  He promised His presence with them in healing all their diseases.  He was Jehovah-Ropheca, the Lord that heals them, there being no hospitals or the like in the desert.  He settled them in Elim, the grove of palms, where there was plenty of water.   How like fickle people to complain about a lack of water in the face of such power demonstrated among them.  The Lord warned them to expect further tests of their loyalty.

He is the Lord who puts us to the test     Exodus 15v25