Exodus 15 :1-18
Monday, 11 March 2024
The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation; …..-Exodus 15 :2
A resounding victory for God’s people as they celebrate in song, of their deliverance from the clutches of their enemy. The Lord had brought them out from the land of their slavery and from their enemy’s hand with a mighty hand and outstretched arm! The nation witnessed the supernatural intervention of God in their lives.
Our reading today helps us meditate on:
• The Power of God
The display of the power of God is seen throughout the song. V. 6 says, “Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power;” The nation of Israel had been under the oppression of Pharaoh and they had cried out to the Lord to save them. The Lord demonstrated His power over them through the various plagues he brought on the land; yet their hard hearts couldn’t recognize his hand at work. As they were about to cross the parted Red Sea by the hand of the Lord, they saw their enemies in hot pursuit. But the Lord intervened and drowned them as His people safely crossed over—“The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” (V.1). Israel witnessed a victory over the enemy like never before and praised God: “Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?”(V.11)
How great and awesome is our God who works on behalf of His people who trust Him and seek His help against the enemy!
• The Powerlessness of the enemy
Pharaoh and his men had miscalculated the power of God working for His people and their thought and attitude is expressed in V.9:
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue,
I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be satisfied on them.
I will draw my sword,
My hand shall destroy them.’
The “I” of arrogance and pride is broken by God who brought their scheming to nothing! The Lord overturned their haughtiness and brought destruction on them. They sank like lead in the great sea.
It is good for God’s people to be reminded time and again in the troubled times we are living in, that the Lord is sovereign over the earth, over all authority- no one can withstand Him. Isaiah 40:15 reads: “Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales;..” His purposes over our lives and on the earth will prevail!
• The Preservation of God’s people
The final part of the song in our reading points to how God preserved His people and was leading them to the place He had chosen for them. V.17 says, “You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance…” The nations around watched in fear the mighty acts of God on behalf of His people and were stunned and silenced. That’s the power and greatness of God that will be witnessed by them who have no regard for Him or do not know His ways. The Lord’s timely intervention preserved His people from destruction and proved to them that He alone is GOD!
God may allow His children to go through a time of difficulty and trouble; yet all such experiences help them trust Him and call out to Him to help them. He does not take His eyes off His children but will come through for them— as the Psalmist wrote: “You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; but You brought us out to rich fulfillment.” (Psalm 66:12).
Dear brethren, if you are going through a tough time in life, the Lord speaks His word to you today to trust Him and stay close to Him, to see His deliverance on your behalf. May Christ who paid for you with His blood and made you His own— your Saviour, keep you as the apple of His eye to declare the praises of His salvation!
Promise: “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” (2 Cor.2:14)
Listen: 'The Lord is my salvation'