God's people should be the the most joyful so that the world will see God's glory.
Exodus 15:1-2 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to
the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has
hurled both horse and rider into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my
song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him— my
father’s God, and I will exalt him!
We saw in the
previous post
that God saved his people from the sting of death that Egypt experienced
because of their hard hearts. The Egyptians were finally tired of fighting
against God and suffering the consequences so they finally sent God's people
away.
In no time Pharaoh was so convinced that he had done the wrong thing that he
defied God's will and went after God's people to bring them back into bondage.
All of the plagues that ruined the nation, and the death of their sons, did
nothing to convince his hard heart that he was not in control.
Pharaoh is a picture of Satan, he has always been against God and God's
children, no matter how much evidence is presented, he will never be changed.
Satan will go all of the way to the pits of hell refusing to submit to God's
authority.
But Pharaoh isn't the only one to think that it is all about him. God's people
also needed to learn that they were
saved for God's glory. It is hard to understand that Godis in control and he put his people in
this situation when Joseph was
sold into slavery
by his brothers and God was still in control when he moved his people into the
land that would someday make them slaves for hundreds of years.
After all of the torture, the hard labor, the beatings and the infanticide of
God's people they have been redeemed from their bondage to a new life of
freedom! No wonder they begin to sing!
Sing Because Of What God Has Done
The Egyptians saw the miracle of the water piling up and ignored it, instead of seeing this supernatural event and giving God the glory they kept moving forward with their plans and they perished.Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea.
Pharaoh drowned the helpless babies of God's people but God drowned
Pharaoh's mighty military men. It is a dangerous thing to ignore the
evidence when God is at work.
Sing Because Of Who God Is
When God's character is revealed to us through his work in our lives we
need to let it be known. How can we see such extreme holiness, goodness
and love and be unwilling to sing about him?
Exodus 15:11 “Who is like you among the gods, O LORD— glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?
God's loving kindness to incredibly inferior beings is so amazing. If we
have a proper perspective of God and ourselves then we will be so full of
joy that we cannot stop singing and dancing.
Sing Because Of What God Will Do
God has both the desire and the power to do exceedingly great things for
us so we can count on him to be on our side no matter how rough life is.
His love for us compels him to good works on our behalf despite our lack
of faith and loyalty to him.
Exodus 15:13 “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home.
No matter what we do, no matter what the world does, God will guide his
redeemed children to our sacred home! We long to get there soon but we
don't get to go straight away to the promised land, we will also wonder
around in the wilderness struggling to know why we are there.
As God's children learned more about him, they failed to put what they
learned into practice, they didn't rely on him very well even though he was
all that they had. They would be fearful as they looked at their
circumstances and whined to God for help.
The song of Moses will be sung again someday in a much better place. God's children have a glorious future as we look forward to the ultimate fulfillment of our redemption when we will live with him for eternity. All of the longings to be free from the effects of sin, all of the tears and sorrow will be gone forever as we live in his presence singing his praises! (Colossians 1:11-14, Revelation 21:3-4)Revelation 15:1-4 Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion. 2 I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them.3 And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations. 4 Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.”
How can I resist breaking out in song as I rejoice about his incredible
favor that I could never earn? The question is not, “Has God given me a
voice?” but “Has God given me a song?”
If God has redeemed you then you should be rejoicing as you look back toward
the kingdom of darkness on the other side of the Red Sea. A song of victory
should be your response as you stand there looking back at the sea that just
swallowed up your enemies!
