The cry of the Israelites had finally turned into praise. In eighteen verses, Yahweh is mentioned more than 40 times—eleven times by His name Yahweh; once in the shortened form, Yah; and then in other ways. This is a song of high praise focused on the Person Yahweh as triumphant and mighty. Yahweh was praised for the great victory He had won over the Egyptians; He was praised in anticipation of His future steadfast love for His people, and He was praised in expectation of bringing the people He loved into their holy abode, the land of promise.

The song was written for Yahweh, then sung by the once enslaved people to Yahweh as their only God (1a).

The song has three divisions. Yahweh was praised:

• as a holy Warrior (1b-3)

• for the Red Sea victory (4-12)

• for His covenant love (13-16)

• for His promise fulfilled (17-18)

Yahweh as Warrior (1-3)

Yahweh had exalted Himself in Israel’s midst. “Triumphed gloriously” is really one word, meaning He had become to them the highest Being of praise and honor. His actions had lifted Him to the highest place of honor in Israel’s life (1b, c).

The author of the song, likely Moses, then declared God as his strength, song, salvation, God, and his father’s God. 

The nation was singing a powerful truth. Yahweh was not just strength to them. He was their strength. He was not just the object of their song, nor someone who had saved them—He was the Song personified, and He was Salvation personified. Salvation was not something done for them—salvation is a Person, Yahweh. Yahweh was not just a god—Yahweh was Israel’s God, and their God was the same God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yahweh now had Israel’s exclusive praise (2). 

Yahweh was someone they had never imagined Him to be—a warrior—and now Yahweh was not some title or label they gave to some God, but Yahweh was God’s covenant name to Israel (3). 

Yahweh, the Red Sea Victor (4-12)

As a warrior, Yahweh had two weapons, and the first was amazing: the sea. 

Yahweh “cast (them) into the sea,” “sunk (them) in the Red Sea,” and “covered them … into the depths.” The power (chariots) of the greatest military in the world was defeated by Yahweh with the weapon of water. The most excellent military strategists in the world were beaten by Yahweh’s use of water (4-5).

Yahweh’s second weapon was His right hand (Moses). Moses, in Yahweh’s right hand, became His hand and was glorious. When Yahweh raised His right hand through Moses, Yahweh’s staff in Moses’ hand shattered the Egyptians to pieces (6).

Yahweh had looked from the pillar of fire, His face flush with heat not for Pharaoh’s rejection of Yahweh but because of Pharaoh’s callous indifference for life. The purity of Yahweh’s fiery anger destroyed the powerful who sought to abuse like stubble (7).

From the storm cloud of Yahweh’s presence came a great breath, and His breath caused the waters to thicken like resin and pile up from the very heart of the sea. Most likely, the opening of the sea was not what we imagine. The sea likely congealed with walls of thickened gel on each side. If this is the case, Israel would have walked as if on solidified water through to the other side. To have the sea open up all the way to the bottom in a The Ten Commandments-movie kind of approach was unlikely. Imagine the cavernous path to the bottom of the Aqaba Gulf. Imagine the cavernous path up out on the other side. For a million people to pass so quickly isn’t the way it was explained. Imagine more that the sea dried and congealed, and Israel was marching across on a highway. The word “congealed” in Hebrew means to thicken or become rigid (8).

The adversary of Yahweh, full of willful greed and blind ambition, said, “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil … I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them” (9).

From the cloud, the breath of God came again, the sea slowly changed form, the resin substance like fluid became water, and the adversary of God sank like lead. The army was not covered with water as much as they sank like lead from on top (10).

Watching the entire event left Israel breathless; there was no god like Yahweh—holy, glorious, amazing (11).

It was like watching the earth swallow up the enemy. The waters went fluid and swallowed the Egyptian army as Yahweh’s hand in Moses was raised (12).

Yahweh’s Covenant Love (13-16)

Israel recognized Yahweh’s character was hesed—Yahweh’s word for a strong, binding, covenant love. Yahweh would finish what He had started at sea, bringing Israel all the way into the land He had promised. The land was holy because Yahweh would make His home right there with Israel (13). 

What Yahweh had declared He would do, He had done. Nations had heard of Yahweh, and they were seized with pangs of fear—Philistia, Edom, Moab, and Canaan. Those in and around the land promised to Israel had been served notice—Yahweh lives. Overwhelming anxiety and a foreboding anticipation of doom had incapacitated those nations from moving against Israel. Israel had clearly been purchased; they belonged to Yahweh. When Israel passed by those nations on their way to Sinai and then on into Canaan, those nations remained motionless in fear of the One who fights for Israel, Yahweh (14-16).

Sadly, all Yahweh did in preparing the nations with dread for Israel’s peaceful passage into the Promised Land was lost, as the generation of warriors who sang this song was stopped in unbelief, and a generation later, Israel entered.

Praise for Promise Fulfilled (17-18)

Then Israel praised Yahweh for bringing them to His mountain and planting them on Mt. Sinai—His mountain, His home on Earth, His sanctuary, and the place His hands made for Yahweh to dwell with His people. 

At Sinai, Yahweh would have Israel construct a tent so they could take Sinai with them (17).

The song concluded: Yahweh was their undisputed King, and His reign over them would be eternal (18).

Miriam's Response (19-21)

Miriam was a noted leader in Israel and was called a prophetess. Miriam had been absent from this entire story, however, up until this point. As the sister to Moses, she had watched Moses’ ark in the Nile and courageously secured their own mother to be his nurse. Here, Miriam stepped up and led the women’s choir in echoing what the warriors had just been singing. She sang with the tambourine, followed by the women raising their voices when they came to the famous chorus: “Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea” (19).

It is as though she, with the women, invited the entire nation, “Sing, sing to Yahweh. This chorus is not too wordy; let’s all jump in on this simple chorus and sing our hearts out together” (20-21).

Five Problems Needing Resolutions (15:22-18:27)

As Israel crossed the Red Sea and entered the wilderness, they encountered the first of five problems God was going to have to solve. Yahweh had taken them to a place with absolutely no provision, a place where they were to learn dependence, with thanksgiving, on the hesed covenant love of Yahweh. 

1. The Problem of Water

   • The People Grumble (22-24)

     Israel was just three days’ journey from the Red Sea in the wilderness of Shur and came upon some water, which turned out to be the same as their own hearts, “bitter.” They named the place Marah because it became to them a place of bitterness (22-23). Instead of calling on the name of Yahweh, Israel grumbled against Moses, looking to him, not Yahweh’s leadership, to solve the problem (24).

   • Moses Prays (25)

     Moses turned to God, and God showed Moses a log, which he was to throw into the water. Moses did, and the water was made sweet (25). There is no historical evidence that this was or has been a means to purify bitter water. It was likely an act of faith, just like Moses’ raising his staff. It’s important again to recognize the earthly act of faith connected with God’s response from Heaven. 

   • Yahweh Promises (26)

     Here, Yahweh gave the Israelites not only sweet water but, more importantly, a sweet promise that if they became those devoted to spending time waiting on and listening to His voice, they would discover a life of miraculous health. This promise was given to them as a test. “You can live before Me as those who wait on Me and thrive, or you can live before Me as grumblers and experience the kind of life everyone else experiences, disease-infested.” It was Israel’s choice and test (26). 

   • Yahweh Guides (27) 

     God then led them on from there to Elim, an oasis—resort accommodations—before they pushed on to Sinai (27).