YHWH has saved the Israelites from the Egyptians. Moses and Miriam celebrate in song. Praising YHWH in song is an explicit part of worship, as proven by the book of Psalms. (See Psalm 90 for another song of Moses.)
Exodus 15: 1-5, The song of Moses
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:
"I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.
The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.
The LORD is a warrior;
the LORD is his name.
Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone."
This song/psalm shows typical Hebrew poetry themes -- thought rhymes -- where a brief thought is repeated or amplified, in a repetitive rhythm. There is poetic imagery: horse and rider "hurled" as if by a might hand.
(Reminder: The "Red Sea" throughout the Old Testament, is really, in Hebrew, the Sea of Reeds; I will cease with this reminder shortly.)
Exodus 15: 6-8, A blast from YHWH's nostrils
"Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power.
Your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.
By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood firm like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea."
God is personified in nature, a blast of his nostrils creates a wind that piles up the waters.
Exodus 15: 9-10, The enemy boasted... but ...
"The enemy boasted, `I will pursue,
I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.'
But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Six lines are given to the enemy's boasting, followed by a reaction with God's "breath". The enemy here need no longer be the Egyptians; this is a song about YHWH's protection against all enemies. When the enemy raises his sword, YHWH responds with wind and sea.
Exodus 15: 11-12, Who is majestic in holiness?
"Who among the gods is like you, O LORD?
Who is like you-- majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
You stretched out your right hand
and the earth swallowed them.
Of all the ancient gods, only one is truly God: YHWH.
Exodus 15: 13-16a, The nations will hear
In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people of Canaan will melt away;
terror and dread will fall upon them.
The news of this will go before the Israelites as they move east and north towards Canaan.
Exodus 15: 16b-19, YHWH's people planted in their home
By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone--
until your people pass by, O LORD,
until the people you bought pass by.
You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance--
the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.
The LORD will reign for ever and ever."
YHWH has a covenant plan for His people, planting them in their home, YHWH's inheritance, in Canaan. (NIV footnotes: the people "bought" in verse 16 might be "created".)
Exodus 15: 19, Pharaoh's men drowned; Israelites walk on dry ground
When Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea,
the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them,
but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
The miracle of the passing across the Sea of Reeds is repeated. Imes emphasizes that although our modern culture tends to downplay the songs and instead look to the history for theology, we should do the reverse. The history is often a recording of events, sometimes without commentary; the true commentary appears in the songs. In addition to the exhilaration of salvation and destruction of the enemy, we also see here a statement that YHWH has a sanctuary place prepared for Israel.
Exodus 15: 20-21, The women sing
Miriam sang to them:
"Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea."
Miriam takes a tambourine and leads the women in singing and dancing, singing the song above. (Only the first line of the song is repeated.) Imes says that the Hebrew word translated "tambourine" is really a drumhead and that singing at the end of a battle was often done by the women (see I Samuel 18: 6-7.) Miriam takes the lead in spreading this song across Israel.
Fretheim suggests that the women, in their dancing, singing and drumming, are reenacting the story in the song. Can you see the women dramatizing the foreboding sound of the wind and water, the disaster of the Egyptians, the joyous praise at the end?
The Israelites will continue to praise YHWH in song throughout the Old Testament times. The book of Psalms includes many of these (including a psalm by Moses) but these songs occur in other places. For an overview of the many songs in scripture (both Old and New Testaments) see this site by OverviewBible.
We note here that Miriam, like her brother Aaron (see Exodus 7:1), is called a prophet. A "prophet" in Scripture is one who passes on the message of YHWH. Both Aaron and Miriam pass on YHWH's message as it is given to Moses.
Exodus 15: 22-26, Marah
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"
Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them.
He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."
The Hebrew word "Marah" means "bitter". Moses (or is it YHWH?) repeats the previous promises: stay committed to YHWH and you will be kept safe. Fretheim argues that many of the earlier plagues have positive echoes in the wilderness -- in Exodus 7: 20-24, Moses struck the water with his wooden staff to make it undrinkable, here he tosses in a special piece of wood that makes the water sweet.
Fretheim claims that natural solutions have been suggested here -- a branch from a particular tree, with a particular type of bark, placed in a certain type of bitter water might "sweeten" it. His point is that YHWH may be guiding Moses to natural solutions.
Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.
Finally at Elim they have rest and oasis, among 12 springs and 70 palm trees. (We see the appearance of favorite Old Testament numbers, 12 and 70.)
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