The waters have just settled. On one side of the sea lies Egypt – its false gods outed, its Pharaoh defeated, its armies silenced, and chariots swallowed. Egypt has been broken.
On the other side of the water stands Israel – a people who, only days before, were slaves to these Egyptians. Yet they are now free.
Exodus 15 recounts Moses and the people of Israel standing on the far shore of the Red Sea and reflecting on what the Lord has done for them. The path through the waters has closed. The threat is defeated. They have been delivered and in this moment Moses and the people respond with bold and joyful singing. Not of their own achievements, of which there were none, but of the Lord’s.
“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;”
Exodus 15:1
This is the song of a redeemed people to their Redeemer. Those who have seen first-hand the mighty, saving power of God for His people with their own eyes. It’s a song born from deliverance, filled with adoration for the glory, might, and wonder of God’s salvation, and anchored in the character of the God who saves.
But it isn’t the last time this song is sung. In Revelation 15, the scene shifts from earth to heaven. The apostle John saw what appeared to be a sea like glass, mingled with fire, and gathered beside it were those who had conquered and been delivered, standing in the presence of God Himself. What is the response being offered up to the Lamb upon the throne? They sing. They sing the same song: “the song of Moses… and the song of the Lamb.”
“And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!”
Revelation 15:2-3
What began on the shores of the Red Sea has not been left in the sand. Instead, it’s repeated and sung again in glory. The first song of redemption from God’s people becomes the eternal song of the redeemed. From shore to shore, the people of God are united in song by one thing: they have been redeemed by the Lord.
The continuation of this song reveals fundamental truths about God and His people:
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever
The song of Moses sung in Exodus and the song of the Lamb sung in Revelation both show one unmistakable attribute: God is immutable. He does not change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
What Israel witnessed on the shores of the Red Sea wasn’t a one-time display of divine power, as though God acted and then withdrew. The God who delivered His people then, delivers His people now and will bring them home.
When Israel sings in Exodus 15, they aren’t just rejoicing in what God has done, but also in who He is.
“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?”
Exodus 15:11
This is the heartbeat of the song and the worship of God’s people through the generations. God is matchless in holiness, He is unrivalled in power, and steadfast in His love. And because God doesn’t change, neither do His ways or promises.
Israel did nothing to earn their deliverance from Egypt, they didn’t rebel against their captors, or swim across the sea to escape their pursuers; they were rescued because God remembered His covenant, heard their cries, and acted in compassion, grace, and mercy.
And how much clearer does this become in Christ? At the cross, Jesus brings His people out of slavery from sin and death. Just as the sea was split to make a way for Israel, He tore the curtain in the temple in two to make a way for sinners to come into the presence of God.
In both, God makes a way where there was none, so that His people might be with Him.
“You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; You have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.”
Exodus 15:13
God rescued His people Israel for Himself, to serve Him, dwell with Him, and bring them into relationship with Himself.
This was true for Israel as they were led towards the promised land, just as Christ makes it possible for us to come into the Father’s presence as sons and daughters. One day, God’s people dwell with Him forever, no longer slaves to sin, no longer separated, but at home in His presence.
He was the Redeemer at the Red Sea.
He is the Redeemer at the cross.
He will forever be the Redeemer on the throne.
The story doesn’t change because God doesn’t change.
God’s people will always sing of His salvation
If God is unchanging and faithful to keep His promises to save, then God’s people will always have reason to sing.
From the very beginning, God’s redeemed people have been a singing people.
On the far shore of the Red Sea in Exodus 15, Moses and the people of Israel lift their voices to rejoice. Not merely because they are free, but because of who has set them free and how He has done it:
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously… The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
Exodus 15:1-2
It’s not a song of how they’ve earned their rescue, or their own worth. Their rescue was an act of grace and mercy from the Lord. God remembered His covenant to Abraham, He brought low the ruler of Egypt, Pharaoh; The sea that once blocked their escape has become the very means of their salvation. God has acted decisively, powerfully, and completely.
God didn’t bring them out of Egypt and leave them to themselves – He brought them out that they might be with Him.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me”’”.
Exodus 9:1
“They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.”
Exodus 29:46
The purpose of God’s salvation is to bring His people into relationship with Him. And so they sing words that carry on long after they have left the shores of the sea. It’s only the first verse of a much greater melody; one that reaches its climactic moment at the cross.
There, God acts in the greatest expression of His grace and mercy as He delivers from far more than earthly slavery. The death of the Lamb of God – the Lord Jesus Christ – took the wrath of the Father upon Himself due to the cost of our sins, that we might go free.
And the only way God’s people can possibly respond is to rejoice in the completed and eternal salvation accomplished for us by singing the song that never ends.
As God’s people sing, we remember:
We were slaves, but God set us free.
We were dead in our sin, but God has raised us to life.
We were far off, but God has brought us near.
So as God’s people continue to gather in worship, we sing with joy and reverence. We join the voices of the redeemed across every age and every land as we sing of the God who saved us, brought us to Himself, and will be praised forevermore.
For He has triumphed gloriously, and His people have sung, are singing, and will sing for all eternity.
