After the defeat of Pharaoh’s army in Exodus 15, Moses and the children of Israel sang to praise the Lord for His unchallenged victory. We call this chapter The Song of Moses. In verses 1 through 10, they sang of the defeat of the Egyptians in the Red Sea. Then, from verses 14 through 18, they sang confidently of the Lord’s future victories over the Canaanites and the fulfillment of His promises.
These stanzas bookend verses 11 through 13. While the other sections were written in the past and future tenses respectively, 11-13 is in the present tense. The crossing of the Red Sea gave them a new understanding of the relationship between themselves and God. What can we learn from this section of song?
In verse 11, Moses and the children of Israel sang, “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Is there any one like our God? His majesty far exceeds any false god imagined by man. We simply cannot imagine a being like our heavenly Father. We imagine gods like ourselves, capable of some good but flawed. Like us, we imagine them given to selfishness, lust and cruelty. But our God is infinitely kind, merciful and powerful (cf. Joel 2:13).
Then, in verse 12 they sang, “You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them.” With the Lord as our God, we do not need to fear any man or power. We can confidently go and proclaim His gospel knowing that He can overcome any force. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Last, they sang in verse 13, “You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation.” Just like the children of Israel, we too have been redeemed by our God but to an even greater promise than what is spoken here. Through Jesus Christ, the home we look forward to is one not made of hands (cf. 2 Cor. 5:1). We have not been redeemed from earthly bondage but from the bonds of sin. By the grace of God, anyone who puts on Christ and faithfully obeys His word has the promise of eternal life in heaven. Jesus said, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28-30).
Who is like our Lord? No one is! In Him, we have a kind, loving Father, a supremely powerful ally, and the promise of eternal life. Let us give Him our unique devotion and praise.