Lesson Context: The song in today’s lesson comes from the book of Exodus, which is part of the Pentateuch, another name for the first five books of the Old Testament. The first song in the history of this new nation is a song of rejoicing because of the victory that the Lord obtained for the people.
l. The Song Introduced: Exodus 15:1-3
A. Recipient (v. 1). “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.” The remarkable song is assumed to have come spontaneously as Moses led the nation into the wilderness on the other side of the Red Sea. They sang this song when their salvation was real to them. They sang it when the power and the presence of God was real to them. (Enduring Word Bible Commentary)
B. Reason (vv. 2-3). 2a. “The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation.” This is a glorious phrase. It recognizes that we cannot save ourselves, but God must become our salvation. (Enduring Word Bible Commentary) 2b. “He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” The song removed any possibility of misidentifying the God of Moses’ ancestors. He is the single objective of the Israelites’ worship. For centuries, the people would exalt God for what He had done for them in exodus. (International Sunday School Lessons, KJV 2024-2025)
3. “The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.” The Old Testament describes the Lord as a man of war who would fight for His people. The Lord’s name as a divine warrior is expressed in the Old Testament by the phrase “Lord of hosts,” with hosts referring to angelic armies. (International Sunday School Lessons, KJV 2024-2025)
ll. The Song Continued (Exodus 15:11-13, 17-18, 20-21):
A. The Lord’s Guidance (vv. 11-13). “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?”
If the people of Egypt still did not know who the Lord was, the people of Israel did. They knew the Lord was not like any of the false gods of Egypt or Canaan.
(Enduring Word Bible Commentary) 2. “Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.” This verse uses a literary device called anthropomorphism, the practice of assigning human attributes to God. God does not have a physical body (John 4:24). The song uses this literary device to describe how the Lord conveys His power. (International Sunday School Lessons, KJV 2024-2025)
B. The People’s Inheritance (vv. 17-18): 17. “Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.” The Lord’s leading to bring the Israelites into the promised land demonstrates His provision and the permanence of His care. The land of Canaan is mountainous, unlike the flat, coastal region of Egypt where the Israelites had likely been enslaved. 18. “The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.” After such a great victory one can sense that Israel really believed this, and they were really ready to let the LORD reign over them. This state of victory and surrender did not last very long.