Slices
Prepare
What worship songs help you focus on Jesus? Why not listen to a song before reading today?
Bible passage
The song of Moses and Miriam
15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
‘I will sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.
2 ‘The Lord is my strength and my defence;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3 The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, Lord,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
shattered the enemy.
7 ‘In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.
8 By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy boasted,
“I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.”
10 But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
11 Who among the gods
is like you, Lord?
Who is like you –
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
12 ‘You stretch out your right hand,
and the earth swallows your enemies.
13 In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.
14 The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people of Canaan will melt away;
16 terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone –
until your people pass by, Lord,
until the people you bought pass by.
17 You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance –
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
18 ‘The Lord reigns
for ever and ever.’
19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. 20 Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. 21 Miriam sang to them:
‘Sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.’
Explore
There are not many worship songs around today that contain the lyrics like those in today’s reading. This song is more akin to a heavy rock or blues song! The words retell stories of death, destruction and terror. The honesty in such a song should be refreshing for songwriters and those who gather to sing songs today. God wants us to retell his story, not simply to edit out the trials, the battles and the challenges, replacing them with love ballads.
Moses and Miriam retell the story of their deliverance with vivid details of its horrors, and of the amazing care and triumph of their God. Underpinning this narrative is God’s love for his people as he watches over them and defends them (v 6).
As God’s people reflected on his deliverance, they reminded each other of how God is their strength (v 2). Like the Israelites, we also need to reflect on God’s story and sing songs that speak of his truth, songs to help us remember and celebrate what he has done for us. We also cannot save ourselves; we need a saviour. God has sent Jesus to be our strength and defender (v 2).
Respond
‘Father God, thank you that we can sing of your faithfulness and your goodness to us. You are our strength and our defender. You alone can deliver us. Amen.’
Deeper Bible study
‘Fill thou my life, O Lord my God, / in every part with praise, / that my whole being may proclaim / thy being and thy ways.’1
The celebration of memorable moments or momentous milestones is often accompanied by music and, perhaps, by dancing too. In the sports arena, cheerleaders bring their own chants, cheers and dance routines to the field. When God so decidedly trounced the Egyptians and their gods (v 11), it is hardly surprising that an exuberant song of victory rings out.
The song has two sections: praising God for the past (vs 1–12) and affirming trust in him for the future (vs 13–18). The Israelites’ praises focus both on who God is (vs 1a,11) and on what he has done (vs 4–10). The deliverance they have experienced inspires confident hope for the future; and so the second part of the song affirms by faith what is still unrealised, what God ‘will’ do in the future (vs 13,17). The faith community sings with one voice (v 1), but note also the first-person pronouns, which make the song deeply personal: ‘I will sing’ (v 1) to the Lord who is ‘my strength,’ ‘my defence,’ and who has become ‘my salvation’ (v 2, emphasis added).
Music is a veritable power tool for praise. When Paul exhorts the Colossians to ‘Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly’, one way he recommends doing so is by ‘singing to God with gratitude in your hearts’.2 The Exodus event – commemorated by the annual Passover – foreshadowed the greater deliverance won by the ultimate Passover Lamb, Jesus. One day, beside ‘a heavenly Red Sea!’3 – for it ‘looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire’4 – the victory song of Moses will have an encore! In celebration of the final triumph of the Messiah, a remix of this song will be released under a tweaked title: ‘the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb’.5
‘This is my story, this is my song, / praising my Saviour all the day long.’6 What is your salvation story? What song will you bring to the Lord today?
1 Horatius Bonar, 1808–89 2 Col 3:16 3 M Kiddle, Revelation of St John, Hodder, 1940 4 Rev 15:2 5 Rev 15:3 6 F Crosby, ‘Blessed assurance’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Leviticus 6,7; Acts 6
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for the north staff team as they seek to implement the new Revealing Jesus mission framework, especially as they start to plan Edale Adventure holiday happening in the summer of 2021 and for Mission Enabler Sarah Davison as she plans the Rooted residential.
