The Song of Salvation

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Intro

-The title of today’s message is “The Song of Salvation” and the primary passage is found in Exodus chapter 15.

-How I arrived at this passage took some time.

-When I was asked, I was contemplating what to dive into, and had the thought of going through my journal where I recollected a time where we were visiting my father-in-law. We were flying over the Sinai peninsula on our way to the red sea, and I got a mile high view of the whole region.

-And in the middle of this vast and desolate desert, the only thing I saw was a single road splitting the sand, a way in the wilderness.

-It instantly brought to mind the Exodus Narrative as I tried to visualize how such a large group of people managed to navigate the difficult terrain and yet the Lord, in His faithfulness, carved a path for His people.

The Exodus was..

-Where God’s servant Moses is leading God’s people onward to escape bondage in Egypt, learn the Law of the Lord, and journey to the Promised Land.

-From the echoes of Eden to parallels of judgement in Revelation , it’s a rich text that has implications throughout the whole of Scripture

-But the pinnacle of the story is certainly found with Moses & the crossing of the Red Sea

-From Moses birth being carried by a basket placed in the water, basket literally translated ark, an allusion to Noah and the flood narrative, to the place he was rescued among reeds.. foreshadowing to the Red Sea, which near the time of this event was known as the Sea of Reeds. All of this alluding to a climatic moment in the history of Israel. Although we don’t have time to dive into every aspect this morning, I would encourage you to revisit and reflect upon this account.

-it’s a well known but vitally important piece of Scripture that has great biblical, historical, and spiritual significance, which extends to us today

-Even at that time we see it’s impact in Joshua, where Rahab tells the spies how she’s heard about the work of the Lord some 40 years later

-It’s mentioned repeatedly over the course of the Old Testament, again a millenium later in the New Testament and even today where it is daily recounted around the world.

WHY? Why so much emphasis on this one particular moment?

-One local preacher referred to this event as “perhaps one of the most beautiful depictions of salvation within Scripture”

-It’s the 1st ACT of salvation by God directed towards His people.. Israel

-As I explored this passage further through the lens of salvation, what stuck out to me most and what I’ll be focusing on today is what occured immediately after the Israelites cross through the Red Sea and were saved, a poem known primarily as the Song of Moses

The Song of Moses

Song of Moses vs. Song of the Sea

-I’d like to clarify here if you look this passage up, sometimes it’s also refereed to as the ‘Song of The Sea’. Historians still ascribe authorship to Moses, but if you search it, it might point you to what is “technically” the 2nd song of Moses in the book of Deuteronomy

-Regardless, many scholars concur that the poem here in Exodus is likely one of the earliest writings in the entire Old Testament added into the Exodus account when it was fully transcribed later.

-The song of moses (Al Yashir) is actually recited daily in traditional Judaism to this day along with the Shema.

Context

-Even though it’s a familiar story, I’d like to just recount a few details leading up.

-The Israelites were released and led out of Egypt, a place of slavery & bondage

-Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and with the full strength of his army pursued them chasing them down in the desert and eventually surrounding them with their backs to the Sea. Their destruction was imminent.

-God, through His servant Moses, made a way and led the nation to walk straight through the Red Sea.. from death to life.. while God held back the waters of judgement that ultimately befell the pursuing Egyptians

The Response

-We know the story. Even the kids upstairs were able to tell me what happened. We can explain the details, but can we exemplify the response to God’s act of salvation found here in Exodus 15, the song of Moses.

Exodus 15:1–21 NASB 2020

Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying: “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. “The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name. “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. “The waters cover them; They went down into the depths like a stone. “Your right hand, Lord, is majestic in power; Your right hand, Lord, destroys the enemy. “And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You; You send out Your burning anger, and it consumes them like chaff. “At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up, The flowing waters stood up like a heap; The depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. “The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoils; I shall be satisfied against them; I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ “You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters. “Who is like You among the gods, Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? “You reached out with Your right hand, The earth swallowed them. “In Your faithfulness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation. “The peoples have heard, they tremble; Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. “Then the chiefs of Edom were terrified; The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have despaired. “Terror and dread fall upon them; By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone, Until Your people pass over, Lord, Until the people pass over whom You have purchased. “You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, The place, Lord, which You have made as Your dwelling, The sanctuary, Lord, which Your hands have established. “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.” For the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea. Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam answered them, “Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.”

-We see the men singing these words written by Moses.. a song exalting God followed by the women responding in turn with dancing, playing, and recital.

-The response they have to God’s salvation is Praise

-This is indeed a powerful picture of the fullness in response that salvation ought to bring about.

-This praise-filled reply reverberates throughout the Psalms and Prophets. And actually I would recommend reading through some Psalms with God’s salvation in full view.. to see how they bring praise to God THE savior and to God THEIR savior.. it’s personal.. it’s transformative.

Psalm 95:1–11 “Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord, Let’s shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let’s come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving, Let’s shout joyfully to Him in songs with instruments. For the Lord is a great God And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are also His. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let’s worship and bow down, Let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

SALVATION BASED PRAISE

-Praise is gratefully glorifying God. An offering of thanksgiving to the One who created, sustains, and saves.

-Therefore the source of praise cannot be extracted from preference. If that was the case I would’ve been out once Meriam pulled out the tambourines.

-But seriously, how ridiculous in this context to think that there would’ve been focus on the medium instead of the mediator, the one who made a way, their Savior, their God.

-How often is our focus not in the right place when it comes to our own praise & worship.

-In that regard, I think our praise can be a good diagnostic tool to evaluate where our own heart is at.

-James tells us that the lips speak what the heart is full of. What are we filling ourselves with in order to let a song of gratitude flow forth.

-If there’s an issue of praise, the answer isn’t found in preference, it isn’t found in emotional tricks, or gimmicks to “feel worship” in a new way. It isn’t staunchly sticking to the liturgical songs you most enjoy, the lyrically or musically grand or verbose. The answer is only found in going back to what ought to be the source of all praise.. salvation.

What’s the source of your praise this morning?

-Let us not allow our hearts to be dulled or hardened towards the work of God, recall that the hardened hearts in this account were the ones swept away by the sea.

-Instead let us recall God’s work of salvation in our own lives, be filled with awe, and not hold back in fully pouring out thanksgiving to the God who saves.

-This is further contrasted by the nations of the world falling to fear.. described in verse 16 as becoming “motionless as stone” while God’s people danced with joy. Are you moved by His saving work?

-I want to be clear, it’s not the elaborate expressiveness of praise that makes it “more spiritual” or “true” in so much as it’s the inward response to the work of God outwardly manifested as genuine and joy-filled thanksgiving. We see countless examples in scripture of heartless and empty expression and tradition, but here in this passage we see a heart filled response rooted in salvation.

What is your heart filled up with today? Distraction or thanksgiving?

Exegesis

-Going back to the beginning of this passage, I’d like to highlight a few things.

-Within the first few verses, I see 3 things clearly. His work, His way, & His Name.

v1 (work)

“I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider He hurled into the sea.”

-First we see an individual decision to sing out to the Lord followed by praise for His enthroned position and the miraculous work He has done

-I also want to comment on the difficulty at times to understand the work of God’s judgement. “The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.” What did the horses do?

-But in reality, they were the vehicle the enemy used to pursue the people of God.

-Therefore, in understanding the full doctrine of salvation, we must note the necessity of His judgement. For God’s people here weren’t JUST saved, but the enemy was also destroyed and could pursue them no further.

v2 (way)

“The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; This is my God and I will praise Him; My father’s God and I will exalt Him”

-The Lord IS my strength. Sometimes we misconstrue and limit this to only empowering our own strength.

-But His power is perfected in our weakness. Surrendering our ability and replacing it with His. Have your way oh Lord.

-And He made the way to saved through His strength, therefore He has became MY salvation and my song.

-A personal praise for the corporate work of God.

v3 (name)

“The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name.”

-I think of knighthood. An honorary title given to those who performed an extraordinary feat in battle. A Sir, always followed by a name to identify the author of the act

-The identity of the one who provided a way and who accomplished this incredible work is revealed.

-“The Lord is His name.”

-Honor the name of the Lord for WHO He is and WHAT He’s done.

Salvation is found Christ

-Speaking of names, we know there’s one name above all others.. and it’s actually found here in this passage.

-When death and destruction was imminent, and the people of Israel were backed up against the Red Sea, Moses says them in chapter 14: “Do not fear! Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today”

-The word for salvation here in Exodus is Yeshua.. literally the Hebrew word for the name of Jesus. Look it up!

-Recall back to the horse and its rider because salvation is not JUST an escape, ultimately it’s a defeat. The Scripture points to the culminating work of the cross and the resurrection of Christ as the defeat of death and sin once and for all.

-In the New Testament we find instruction to collectively and constantly remember this work of salvation in the form of communion, Eucharist. The word there literally meaning “to give thanks” in Greek. An act of Praise sourced in the saving work of Christ.

-Although not intentional, I think to when we partake in communion here at Life In Christ, we all walk up through the middle of a sea of pews to find ourselves at a place of remembrance, a place of thanksgiving unto the Lord.

-I mentioned before that the Red Sea account was the 1st ACT of salvation by God towards His people. Like any play, the 1st ACT typically concludes with a cliffhanger and is followed by an intermission, an anticipation to direct the audience towards the final portion of the story. And that’s where we find ourselves now, racing towards the finale.

-Just as Moses raised his hand to split the waters and again to bring about the destruction of the enemy, Jesus also was raised twice. First on the cross to split the sea of time and provide a way where there was no way, and secondly raised from the grave defeat death. The final Word for people of God. Salvation.

-I heard another pastor once state it very definitively when they said.. “salvation is seminal”. All-important, all-influential. Something with the power to develop other things.. and provide those things with the power to do the same. His miraculous resurrection power that Ephesians tells us is still working in us who believe today.

-Seminal.. very similiar to the Spanish word for seed.. Semilla.. and they both share the same latin root, which unsurprisingly means seed.

-Christ is the promised seed of Abraham to bring forth the blessing of salvation to the whole world.

-Just like much of the Old Testament is contextualized around the formation and deliverance of Isreal; ALL of Scripture is framed around Jesus; the Savior, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.

What are you framing your own life around? Family? Work? Christ?

Conclusion

Exodus 15:2 ““The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him..”

-My Yeshua, my Jesus, my Savior.

-This was the moment in Israel’s history when their God became their salvation.

When did God become your salvation?

-not simply the God you hear about, learn about, know about.. but the God that saved you. personally.

When did the Lord become your strength & song?

-are we seeking and praising Him just to escape our situations or truly exalting Him as the only source of our salvation?

And where do you find yourself in your journey?

Are you..

-still in Egypt, the land of bondage. Stuck without hope. Respond to God’s leading. He will provide you the way.. the truth.. and ultimately provide you with a new life in Christ.

-Maybe you’re walking through the sea of sanctification. Do not lose faith. Behold He’s doing a new thing, don’t dwell upon what’s behind. Keep your eyes fixed ahead and see the work of the Lord to it’s completion. Allow the cleansing work of Christ bury the old things that once held you captive never to be seen again.

-Or perhaps you’ve crossed through, and after the initial joy settled in, you’ve found yourself in that desert place. Consumed with circumstance, you’ve forgotten the mighty act of God in your own life. Call upon His name. Meet Him again on the banks of that shore, look out and remember the God who saved you. Allow Him to fill your heart with gratitude once again, and burst forth with a new song.

But regardless of situation..

-I will admonish you all with the word of the Lord to Moses in Exodus 14

Exodus 14:15 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.”

-It’s time to go forward. As C.S. Lewis poetically penned, let us go “further up and further in”.. with His strength and His song, through the waters, by faith, step by step on the dry land. And when you find yourself on the other side, continue to reflect upon the the amazing work of the Lord your God, your Savior as He leads you to His place of promise.

-Go forward with joy and jubilation, following Christ wholeheartedly and allowing the song of salvation to pierce your heart and overflow within you this morning.

-I’d like to invite the musicians back up at this time.

-As the song of Moses concludes, we see God IS leading His people to the place He has for them..

Exodus 15:13–18 NASB 2020

“In Your faithfulness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation. “The peoples have heard, they tremble; Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. “Then the chiefs of Edom were terrified; The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have despaired. “Terror and dread fall upon them; By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone, Until Your people pass over, Lord, Until the people pass over whom You have purchased. “You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, The place, Lord, which You have made as Your dwelling, The sanctuary, Lord, which Your hands have established. “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”

-At the end of Scripture, we see a glimpse at what’s ahead for all God’s people, eventually led to a place of dwelling with Him. Protected by His power, purchased by His blood, and planted at the mountain of His inheritance. Brought before the Lord in His holy sanctuary as He reigns forever on high.

-In Revelation 14 we see the Lamb standing on His mountain, Zion. We hear the sound of harpists and those who had been purchased from earth singing a new song before the throne. The song of the Lamb.

-And in Revelation 15 we see those who were victorious standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.

Revelation 15:3–4 NASB 2020

And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! “Who will not fear You, Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For all the nations will come and worship before You, For Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

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