Key Verses: Exodus 15:2, 15:11, 15:26
Moses and the people of Israel sing a song of triumph to the LORD, celebrating His victory over Pharaoh: “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.” They exalt the LORD as their strength, their song, and their salvation, and declare, “The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.” The song rehearses how the enemy boasted but was consumed, and asks, “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?”-majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds. It looks forward, too, to God planting His people on His holy mountain, where He will reign forever and ever. Miriam the prophetess takes a tambourine, and all the women follow with tambourines and dancing, echoing the refrain of victory. Then the people journey into the wilderness of Shur and find no water for three days; at Marah the water is bitter, and they grumble. Moses cries to the LORD, who shows him a log to throw into the water, making it sweet, and there the LORD reveals Himself as “the LORD, your healer.” They then come to Elim, with twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and camp beside the water.
This first great hymn of Scripture models the response of a redeemed people: worship that magnifies God for His saving acts and His incomparable character. The song is not only backward-looking but prophetic, anticipating God’s people brought to His holy dwelling, a theme that finds its consummation in the new song of the redeemed before the throne, who sing “the song of Moses... and the song of the Lamb.” The bitter waters of Marah made sweet by a tree offer a rich picture of the gospel: through the wood of the cross, the bitterness of our condition is transformed, and God reveals Himself as the Healer. Jehovah-Rapha, “the LORD your healer,” points ultimately to Christ, by whose wounds we are healed. Elim’s springs and palms remind us that God leads His people through bitterness to refreshment, always providing for those who trust Him.
Key Terms & Words:
- רָפָא (rapha) - Exodus 15:26 - “To heal”; the LORD reveals Himself as Jehovah-Rapha, the God who heals, fulfilled in Christ
- גָּאָה (gaah) - Exodus 15:1 - “To triumph gloriously/be exalted”; God’s exalted victory over His enemies
- קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh) - Exodus 15:11 - “Holiness”; God’s majestic, set-apart glory, unlike any other
Cross-References:
- Revelation 15:3 - The redeemed sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb
- Isaiah 53:5 - By His wounds we are healed
- Psalm 118:14 - The LORD is my strength and my song and has become my salvation
- 1 Peter 2:24 - By His wounds you have been healed
- Exodus 3:15 - The LORD, the name by which He is remembered forever
Discussion Questions:
- What attributes of God does the Song of Moses celebrate, and how should victory shape our worship?
- How do you respond when, soon after a great deliverance, you meet the “bitter waters” of hardship?
- How does the tree that sweetens Marah, and the name “the LORD your healer,” point to Christ?