Thursday: The Song of Moses and Miriam
Daily Lesson for Thursday 7th of August 2025
The whole Egyptian army was overthrown; no one survived, including Pharaoh (see Psalms 136:15). It was a stunning defeat for the Egyptians and a complete victory for God’s people. No wonder all through their history, and even to this day, the Jews recount this story.
Read Exodus 15:1-21. What is the content of Moses’ song?
This song praises the Lord because He is a mighty warrior who defeated those who opposed His people. Moses personally elaborates on this theme by stressing that the Lord, his God, is also his strength, song, and salvation. No one is like Him, “ ‘majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders’ ” (Exodus 15:11, NIV).
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Moses’ song is all about God, about who He is and what He is doing. The Lord is exalted, praised, and admired for His outstanding work for His people. Gratitude and worship are natural outcomes of God’s goodness toward us. Appreciation for His love is the prerequisite of a vibrant spiritual life. God’s steadfast love is especially emphasized and glorified because He will lead the people whom He has redeemed, and He will guide them to the holy abiding place. Moses predicts that God will establish the sanctuary on the mountain of His inheritance (Exodus 15:17), all pointing ahead to Zion and to the temple in Jerusalem.
In Revelation 15:2-4, the redeemed sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Can you imagine how this will sound in heaven, this praise to God for His great and marvelous deeds, praise to God for His just and true judgments, and praise to God for His righteous acts and His holiness?
Notice the last line of the song. “ ‘For all nations shall come and worship before You. For Your judgments have been manifested’ ” (NKJV). That is, when all of God’s judgments—especially His judgments upon the evil and oppression that have for millennia gone unpunished—have all been made manifest, the redeemed of the nations will praise Him for those judgments.
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Immanuel Kant said that if God is just, then there must be some kind of afterlife. Why is that statement so true, and how can we learn to trust that one day the justice so long lacking here will come? How can you draw comfort from that hope? |
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“Sing unto the LORD, for He has done glorious things.” – Isaiah 12:5
Singing is not only a spiritual act but also a scientific therapy. God designed singing to bring healing, upliftment and a strong sense of community. The impacts of singing on a person’s spirituality should never be underrated. For instance, the scripture records the following benefits when a believer sings to the Lord:
a) Singing invites the presence of God - Psalm 22:3
b) Singing strengthen a believer’s faith in God - Colossians 3:16
c) Singing promotes a true spirit of worship - Psalm 104:33
d) Singing bring inner healing and peace of mind - Job 35:10, Isaiah 61:3
e) Singing release spiritual power and victory - 2 Chronicles 20:22, Acts 16:25–26
f) Singing rejuvenates the mind and helps a believer to focus on God - Psalm 96:2
g) Singing promotes a strong sense of community - Ephesians 5:19
“Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful” - Psalm 147:1 (NKJV)
May our Christian experience put a new song in our mouth as we praise God for the spiritual victories He has given us through Christ Jesus our Lord (Psalm 40:3).
Immediately after the Israelites are rescued from the hands of the Egyptians army by safely going through the Red Sea. The first thing Moses and Miriam did was to lead a worship service....they stopped everything and worshipped. There are those moments in our lives that God comes through for us- our response should be praise and worship. Moses and the people began their song with a bold commitment: “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously"-Exodus 15:1-2. God had given them a new song, and they couldn’t hold it in. The Lord performed a mighty act that moved them so deeply that they declared, “The Lord is my strength and my song.” Through the Red Sea miracle, God became their song. There are other moments like this in the Bible with post-victory worship, where praise follows breakthroughs like the defeat of Sisera by Barak and Deborah (Judges 4–5), after Samuel’s birth to Hannah (1 Sam. 1–2), and David’s victories, especially over Goliath (1 Sam. 17–18) and throughout his reign (2 Sam. 22; Ps. 18). The pattern continues in the New Testament with Mary’s praise after Gabriel’s announcement (Luke 1) and Zechariah’s song at John the Baptist’s birth (Luke 1). Each story reminds us that God’s victories are worthy of a song.
Today's lesson is a bit of a tough one. There are two reactions to this song that we need to think about seriously:
So here are some starters:
Christianity has never come with a list of prepackaged answers. It is a growing spiritual experience.
Thank you for this comment.
I appreciate your reference to the paradox.
The Bible is rich with paradoxes—apparent contradictions that reveal deeper truths when explored. As noted, the victory song in Exodus 15 celebrates God’s triumph over Israel's enemies, yet Jesus in Matthew 5:44 calls us to love our enemies. This tension, like others (Grace/Law, Faith/Works, strength/weakness), is not a flaw but an invitation to dig deeper.
A paradox, by definition, involves conflicting principles that coexist, challenging us to look beyond surface-level contradictions.
The Danger of Ignoring Paradoxes: Avoiding these tensions risks derailing our faith when challenged, as agnostics might use such songs to dismiss scripture’s validity.
The Risk of Misusing Them: Some, as you mentioned, misuse these texts to justify modern conflicts, focusing on one principle (victory) while ignoring the other (love).
The Path Forward: Mature, Christ-focused dialogue, open to uncertainty, helps us navigate these paradoxes, avoiding the “gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat” (Roosevelt), where echo chambers stifle growth.
If one is so affected by the celebration of the victory, what is their opinion of the victory itself? Apparently, if it had been highly educated theologians who had been so delivered, they might have castigated or chastised God instead of celebrating Him? That might be a reason why there were few such in the New Testament Corinthian church (1 Cor 1:19-30)?
Christ’s first coming, He said, was to save the world not to judge the world (Jn 3:17; 12:47) - there was God’s manifestation of grace, lovingkindness, mercy…
But God told Abraham that He would judge the nation holding his descendants in slavery (Gen 15:13,14). That is what God did to Egypt in Moses as a type of the future judgment of Satan and his kingdom.
It is understandable for agnostics to misunderstand God’s ways until they come to the knowledge of God, like all believers. Look at the religious zealot Paul’s reaction to Christ and His way - the way of saving people not destroying people (Acts 26:9-1; 1Gal 1:12-16; 1 Cor 15:8-10; 1 Tim 1:12-16). But God saved him and there was great rejoicing in heaven, for sure, and rejoicing later among christians. God saves agnostics too as only He can. Scripture does not indicate that we need to entertain doubt with respect to God’s ways. We ought to grow in confidence with every experience. Of course as humans we err but we ever acknowledge God as eternally righteous and just.
Consider all the rejoicing and singing hallelujahs over the judgment of Babylon, the whore, beasts, Satan and his kingdom. They even sing the song of Moses at victory over the beast and his image (Rev 15:2-4; 18:20; 19:1-6).
There have been times in my life when mere words weren't adequate to express the deepest sorrows or joys of my heart. In those moments all I can say is, "Lord, you know!" Inevitably a song will come into my mind to comfort, encourage, and to praise God for being with me through both the lowest of times when walking through the valley of the shadow of death, or in the mountain top experiences of life, when I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my precious Lord has raised me up and delivered me from calamity, tragedy, or utter defeat to glorious victory. It is in those moments when my heart is so crushed by sadness, or so overflowing with gladness that a song spontaneously flows from my lips accompanied by a torrent of tears from my eyes. It is a total God thing and it is a beautiful experience. I'm sure that others have had a similar experience.
Therefore, I can understand singing a song of victory of the Lamb. Imagine going through the darkest time of earth's history and then Jesus appears to deliver us. "In the darkest of night came the brightest of light, and we were going home." God will certainly "make a way when there seems to be no way." I believe that is why Israel of old and the people of God at the end of time, have, and will burst into a song of gratitude and praise to the Great God Whom has delivered them. "As we march along we can't stop singing His song, singing the song of the Lamb."
With all due respect to Kant, who was a great thinker, my first reaction to that quote was that if God is just we'd all be dead because that's what we deserve. So as much as I want justice in many situations, I'm glad for God's grace. Of course, God will set things right, but He could easily set me right too. So I hope to be humble about these things.
Some things we do not understand! It’s sad to see how deep in evil people can be. We hope to trust entirely on the Lord, even when sin seems to win.
Maurice, this would be my response to those with objections: It’s important to distinguish celebrating God's justice from rejoicing in another's downfall. Proverbs 24:17 warns, “Do not gloat when your enemy falls.” In the case of Exodus 15, the Israelites were not personally gloating—they were worshiping God for His power, faithfulness, and salvation.
While modern readers may feel uneasy about the celebration of an enemy’s defeat, the victory song at the Red Sea is best understood as a response to God's righteous intervention on behalf of the oppressed. It is a call to praise—not for violence—but for the faithfulness of a God who rescues, defends, and ultimately judges justly.