Exodus 15

The account of Israel's Red Sea deliverance and the destruction of their enemies in the same mighty act of God was just concluded in Exodus 14. And it was appropriate and fitting indeed that such a colossal event should have been celebrated at once by those participating in it. And we entertain no doubt whatever that this chapter indeed records that immediate and spontaneous celebration. The critical nonsense of finding two or more songs here combined into one, and/or the ascription of this chapter to a period of time long afterward, and the groundless supposition that some unknown author wrote these lines is rejected. In the dramatic Red Sea deliverance, "God had glorified Himself as the God of gods and the King of the heathen."[1] The appropriate celebration of that triumph is given in Exodus 15.

The glory of this Song of Moses is imperishable. It set the tone and established the style of Hebrew poetry for all subsequent time. And, in the N.T., it is associated with the final triumph of the church (Revelation 15:3). This is the story of a nation's birth-hour. "It is an emphatic declaration that Israel did not simply happen, but was created. It is a mighty act of God."[2]

This song is not, as affirmed by Harford, "An exilic or post-exilic psalm implying the settlement of Canaan."[3] It is not, as claimed, "A point of beginning for the later song of Moses."[4] Why?

1. "In language and style, the hymn bears many marks of high antiquity."[5] The same author added that, "There can be little objection" to attributing the song to Moses.
2. "The emotional fervor and spirit of exultation of Exodus 15 can only be explained as spontaneous utterances of eyewitnesses of the great drama."[6]
3. "It is not like the Hebrew poetry written in the time of David or later; it is more like the poetry of Canaan in the period from 1700 B.C. to 1400 B.C."[7]

For those who might be interested in the critical efforts to fragment this chapter and assign it to various times and authors, we call attention to the magnificent and monumental work of Oswald T. Allis, which is a thorough and devastating refutation of the whole sprawling and contradictory web-work of the so-called "higher criticism" which, especially during this century, has been directed against the Holy Bible. We have room here for only one brief quotation:

"It would be a simple matter to break a crystal ball into a number of fragments and then to fill a volume with an elaborate description and discussion of the marked differences in the fragments thus obtained, and to argue that these fragments all came from different globes. The conclusive refutation would be the proof that when fitted together they form once more a single globe. Thus, it is the unity and harmony of the Biblical narratives as they appear in the Scriptures which is the best refutation of the theory that these self-consistent narratives have resulted from the combining of several more or less diverse and contradictory sources."[8]

That there is far more in this hymn than the commemoration of Israel's deliverance is proved by the Scripture which says:

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:

"Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God the Almighty; Righteous and true are thy ways, Thou King of the ages. Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy; for all the nations shall come and worship before thee; For thy righteous acts have been made manifest." - Revelation 15:3-4.

Thus, there is affirmed the typical nature of that great Red Sea deliverance. And, when, at last, the saints of God gather in that eternal kingdom, they shall sing both the Song of Moses, and the Song of the Lamb. There are therefore foreshadowings of the final and eternal deliverance from sin in the marvelous words of this glorious chapter.