April 11, 2019

Elaborate Praise Followed Quickly by Apparent Amnesia

Exodus 15

Jill Michaelis
Thursday's Devo

April 11, 2019

Thursday's Devo

April 11, 2019

Central Truth

God's people praise Him for the incredible, decisive deliverance from slavery in Egypt and give us a picture for how short-term our memory can be sometimes.

Key Verse | Exodus 15:2-3

The LORD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.
The LORD is a man of war;
the LORD is his name.

Exodus 15

The Song of Moses

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,

“I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    the horse and his rider 1 15:1 Or its chariot; also verse 21 he has thrown into the sea.
The LORD is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father's God, and I will exalt him.
The LORD is a man of war;
    the LORD is his name.

Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
    and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
The floods covered them;
    they went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power,
    your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
    you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
    the floods stood up in a heap;
    the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
    I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
    I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
10  You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
    they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11  Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?
    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
    awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
12  You stretched out your right hand;
    the earth swallowed them.

13  You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;
    you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
14  The peoples have heard; they tremble;
    pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15  Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;
    trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;
    all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16  Terror and dread fall upon them;
    because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,
till your people, O LORD, pass by,
    till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
17  You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,
    the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode,
    the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
18  The LORD will reign forever and ever.”

19 For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Bitter Water Made Sweet

22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. 2 15:23 Marah means bitterness 24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, 3 15:25 Or tree and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the LORD 4 15:25 Hebrew he made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, 26 saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.”

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.

Footnotes

[1] 15:1 Or its chariot; also verse 21
[2] 15:23 Marah means bitterness
[3] 15:25 Or tree
[4] 15:25 Hebrew he

Dive Deeper | Exodus 15

When you read this passage, did it strike you that maybe the Israelites had only a very short-term memory?  

They had just witnessed a crazy awesome display of God's power when He parted the Red Sea, and they crossed on dry land. What's more, they saw Him close the waters back over the enemy that was pursuing them. An incredible, decisive deliverance.

What erupted then from the crowd was an elaborate song of praise. Let me loosely paraphrase: "He just did that. You just did that! They thought they were going to defeat us and then BAM! There's no one like You. You are going to keep on leading us, and no one will be able to overtake us because of You. God, You are in charge forever."

Such awe! Such trust! Such clarity!

And then, three days later, they seem to have no recollection of the power of God as they grumbled to Moses at Marah. I know they were thirsty. Probably desperately so. But, people, did you not figure that the God who just pushed the sea into two walls could do something about the bitter water?  

But God, the "man of war" who brought them out of Egypt with a great display of His mighty power, gently reassures them. He shows Moses a piece of wood to throw into the water to turn it sweet and drinkable and tells them, “I am the LORD, your healer."(Exodus 15:26b)

Let me step back and just state the obvious here. I am just like them. I have experienced the Exodus in my life because Jesus' death on the cross has freed me from the power of sin in my life. He is my Savior, and He is the boss. I have also seen God work out an escape for me when I have found myself in hard situations in life. And yet, there are times when faced with a new dilemma or hardship that I panic first instead of realizing that God has a solution, and I just need to seek Him.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think that this song is included in the narrative of Exodus?

2. Can you make a list right now of God's amazing works?

3. What is a dilemma you are facing right now that you just can't figure out? Have you cried out to God, recognizing it as something within His power?