Let us open our Bibles to Exodus chapter 14. The title of this message is A Miracle and a Song, referring to what may be among the best-known miracles in the Bible, the opening of the Sea. This song also refers to the Song of Moses, the first song in the Bible that the Israelites sung after God’s victory over the Egyptians. But now, how does this miracle and song, this ancient story, concern us?
Let me begin by telling you that it greatly concerns us for the simple reason that the same Song of Moses, will be sung by believers from all nations, at the victory of God after in the 7-year Tribulation time. These are the prophecies about to come, the ones we see on the rise.
We read in Revelation 15:3 that once the believers reached heaven, they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. The Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb are sung by those martyred saints who were victorious over the Antichrist, who did not worship his image nor take his number. This is how near and relevant the event and the message of Exodus is for us today. For the same God who led Israel to victory, will in the near future, again lead Israel and many believers of the nations through a similar victory.
Then, as Israel began her travels, the Lord made known Pharaoh’s intention to rise up against Israel. This is what Pharoah claimed to do as we read in Exodus 15:9
- I will pursue.
- I will overtake them.
- I will divide the spoil.
- I will gorge myself on them.
- I will draw my sword and destroy.
Notice here the five I will’s of Pharaoh, the same five that we find with Satan’s fall in Isaiah 14:13-14, when, he said, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
Birds of the same feather flock together. These three, Satan, the Antichrist and Pharaoh, are of the same seed. If this event is related to the Tribulation times as we read in Revelation 15, then Pharaoh is very much a type of the antichrist, the man who will attempt to do the same thing to Israel in the end. And they both are energized by the evil one as Revelation 13 tells us.
Furthermore, these words in Exodus 15:9 are striking words, for soon Moses will use many of these words as warnings in his prophecies of the Diaspora. Moses gave two important and similar prophecies of the current Diaspora. One was given before the 40 years in the wilderness in Leviticus 26 and the other in Deteronomy 28 as they were about to enter the land.
Notice the first word pursue, רָדַף rādap is used 3 times in Exodus to warn Israel about being pursued by the nations; Moses uses this word as a warning two times in Leviticus 26 and two times in Deuteronomy 28.
The word overtake נָשַׂג (nāśag) is found two times in Leviticus 26 and two times in Deuteronomy 28, again as a warning.
The last word, destroy is found two times in Deuteronomy 28 and once in the prophecy of Psalm 83 where we find 10 neighboring nations attacking Israel at once. It is there where they say, Let us possess for ourselves the pastures of God. Vs.12
And so, the Diaspora which happened to Israel, is the one she is now living through. This last word destroy is speaking of their possessions and not of their existence, for we know the promises of God and that the country will rise again and will be as God intended it to be. And this is when we come to the Miracle of the קריעת ים סוף Kriat Yam Suph, the Miracle of the Sea. See how simply it is given to us.
Exodus 14:21-22
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Do you see how simply and clearly the events are written for us? This is indeed another dream place for a preacher. There is nothing to explain, it is all in there; even a child would understand. Moses stretched out his hand and the sea opened up and then suddenly two huge walls of water formed and the floor of the sea became dry, and the Israelites walked into their freedom.
Let us pause for a moment. Perhaps the reason why it was given so clearly is to challenge the reader and ask them this very important question: Do you believe this? Do we believe that God did such a thing? This miracle defies reason and logic and appeals to faith because it is only through faith that we can believe such an account. Many have tried over and over to find some logical, scientific way to explain away this great miracle, but in order to understand God and His Word, one needs to believe. One needs faith.
The Bible defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.
Notice these two words, assurance and conviction, we have already studied these two words in our last mid-week bible study. Assurance, hypostasis in the Greek, conveys such certainty that it was what they called a legal document. Conviction, is a word used to describe what is already proved, tested, and crossed examined. This is how sure and real God is to believers. Faith is not a feeling or a floating thought. It is divine, it comes from above. It is a leap out of the darkness into the light because it is through faith that we can discover wonderful things from God.
And what is the Song of Moses about? It is a song about God and His goodness and His powers.
First, when we love someone, we repeat his or name very often. Here, the name of God fills this song. From vs. 1-18, the name LORD is mentioned 10 times. The name God is mentioned twice, once in singular and once in plural. The word atah, meaning you or your, is mentioned 18 times. Adding these numbers, God is referred to a total of 30 times just in these 18 verses. This is how the love for God grew in the heart of the nation. The number 30 is the number of beginnings and readiness as Israel was starting her journey in the wilderness. Yeshua was 30 years old when He started His ministry, and right away He was brought to the wilderness to be tested, as was Israel.
Click Here for the Teaching: Exodus Sermon 13: A Miracle and a song