February 9th, 2025
Message Text: Exodus 15:1-21
“Trust in the Lord”
Service Orientation: The Song of Moses is included in the historical account of the Exodus so we might trust and praise God by remembering Who He is and what He has done. God is faithful to keep His promise to destroy our/His enemies. Trusting God we can overcome any and all circumstances. If we do not trust God, we are our own worst enemy and that enemy God will seek to destroy.
The Phrase for the Day: Trust in the Lord
Memory Verse: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; {6} in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. {7} Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. — Proverbs 3:5-7
Background Information:
- Chapter 14 is the story of Israel’s salvation: the flight from Egypt, the passage through the sea, and so on. But salvation always demands a response–a response of praise that is most suitably expressed in song. Therefore, the Song of Moses–the song of salvation–was not merely appropriate at this point in the exodus–it was mandatory. (Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word: Exodus, Saved for God’s Glory, 402)
- We sing to remember good times and to take our minds off bad times. Singing changes our moods as well as simply reflects them. What we sing can have a tremendous influence in how we subsequently think or behave. Song can enter portals to our being that prose and logic cannot. The capacity to sing and to react to song is part of the human experience, so much so that without it, we would truly be less than human. (Peter Enns, The NIV Application Commentary: Exodus, 314)
What are some of the reasons the Song of Moses is included in the Book of Exodus?:
I. So we might never forget that even though God uses secondary means, He is sovereign and ultimately behind every good and perfect gift. (Ex 15:1, 4-5, 7-8, 10, 12, 19-21; see also: Lv 26:4-10; 1 Sm 2:7; 1 Chr 29:12-14; Job 12:23; Ps 34:7-10; 104:10-30; Prv 16:7-9; Eccl 5:19; Dan 2:20; Acts 17:24-26; 2 Cor 9:8-10; Phil 2:13; Jam 1:17)
The fact is, of course, that whether by wind and tide, or by giant walls of water which formed between a dry pathway through the midst of the sea, what is affirmed is the Lord’s Power over all power–human power as represented by Pharaoh’s host, and natural power as represented by the wind and waves (see Mt 8:23-27; Mk 4:35-41; Lk 8:22-25). (B. Davie Napier, The Layman’s Bible Commentary: Vol. 3, 54)
The issue here is the same one we have seen repeatedly in the plagues: Is this event a result of natural phenomena or an intervention into the natural order by God?
This example illustrates wonderfully that to ask such a question is foreign to the way ancient Israelites understood the relationship between God and nature. Israel’s God shows his mastery over creation not always by supervening natural processes, but by using them for his own purpose. To put it another way, the parting of the sea is miraculous precisely because it is the result of a strong east wind, and God’s snorting is a poetic way of communicating this message. This is a powerful image; and we should not think that ancient writers were any less adept at using such imagery than we are. To call the wind a nostril blast is to say that the wind is his. It is his to command as easily as we breathe in and out. (Peter Enns, The NIV Application Commentary: Exodus, 298-9)
II. So we might be reminded of the nature, attributes and character of God. (Ex 15:1-3, 6-8, 9-11, 13, 16-18, 21; see also: 1 Sm 2:6; 1 Chr 29:11-12; 2 Chr 20:6; Ps 24:1; 47:2; 115:3, 16; Jer 18:6; 32:27-28; Dn 4:3, 17, 35; Jn 19:11; Acts 17:24-25; Rom 9:19; 1 Tm 6:15-16)
If you do not believe in the sovereignty of God, you are by definition an atheist. For what makes God God is that He is sovereign. (PK with conceptual insight from R.C. Sproul)
“. . .there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: “Mine!” (Abraham Kuyper, A Centennial Reader, 488)
In one of his letters to Erasmus, Luther said, “Your thoughts of God are too human.” (Arthur W. Pink; The Attributes of God, 28)
Sometimes we call people great men/women of faith. What is the great accomplishment in that? If we truly understood Who God is and His nature, then we would understand that ANYBODY would have great faith in Him once they have a clear vision of His nature. The issue is not the faith we can muster in God. The issue is seeing God as he truly is and then simply believing in what we know about God. Our problem is we have a faulty or inadequate vision of God. (Paraphrase of Superintendent Thomas Ramundo’s message @ HFM 11-5-12)
. . .we are saved not because of our faith but because of God’s promises. True faith is receiving these promises and believing them on the basis of God’s character. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 1, 479)
III. To show us how God identifies and destroys enemies who are powerless to oppose Him/us: Even Death, even our sinful self. (Ex 15:9-10, 12, 14-15, 19; see also: Gn 50:20; Dt 20:4; 29:19; 31:7-8; Josh 1:9; 10:42; 2 Sm 22:36, 51; 23:10-12; 1 Chr 11:14; 2 Chr 13:18; Ps 18:35, 50; 21:1, 5; 44:3-4, 6-7; 60:12; 108:13; 118:15; 144:10; Prv 2:7; 14:12; 16:25; Isa 14:13-14; 21:31; 53:6; Jer 1:19; 15:20; 18:12; Dn 3:18; Mt 16:18; Lk 10:19; Jn 16:33; Rom 8:28, 37; 1 Cor 15:20-26, 57; 2 Cor 4:7-5:10; 1 Pt 1:3-9; 1 Jn 4:4; 5:4-5; Rv 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 17:14; 21:7)
Truly, the Lord’s victory on behalf of his people Israel is a picture of his glorious victory won for his redeemed people of all ages, including our own, and of the heavenly home which they will inherit as a result of it. (Wendland, The People’s Bible: Exodus, 99)
I think it would behoove to consider that the enemies of God are all those who insist on living life “Their own way” instead of submitting to the God of the Universe (Ex 15:9-10). For what is going our own way really but challenging the sovereignty, omniscience, goodness, love and integrity of God; thinking we know what is best for us instead of trusting God. —PK
Death is the godly man’s wish, the wicked man’s fear. —Samuel Bolton
Death is the supreme festival on the pathway to freedom. — Deitrich Bonhoffer
Worship Point: Worship the God Who loves you so much He will make sure that ULTIMATELY nothing “BAD” ever happens to you again no matter how much you may not see and accept that. (Gn 45:5-7; 50:20; Dt 23:4-5; 32:39-43; 1 Sm 2:6-9; 1 Chr 29:11-12; 2 Chr 20:6; Ps 17:13; 23:6; 33:4, 10; 75:6; 84:11; 105:17; 115:3; 135:5-6; Isa 10:5-6; 40:22-23; 64:4; Jer 18:6; 29:11-13; 32:40-41; 145:13; Lk 24:25-41; Jn 16:33; Acts 3:17-18; 5:38-39; 7:9-10; Rom 4:18-23; 8:28, 32; 1 Cor 1:9; 3:22-23; 1 Thess 5:24; Heb 10:23; 1 Pt 1:21)
“To see God’s providential hand with true certainty it is necessary first to know God Himself, to know Him in the outworking of His revealing and reconciling purpose in Jesus Christ, to know Him at the focus and center in the light of which His ways in providence may be discerned. The ‘smiling face’ of God is in the first instance the face unveiled at the cross and the empty tomb, where the God who seems to have averted His face from the sin-bearing Savior is the very God who is well pleased with the Son (Mt 3:17), who is well pleased with us in Him (Eph 1:5f.), and who has here worked out, in spite of all appearances to the contrary, the good pleasure of His grace. This God is also the God who preserves and overrules all creation with a view to the fulfillment of His gracious purpose. Hence we may be confident that even if providence is frowning, behind it is the smiling face of God.” (The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia; Vol. Three, 1025)
. . . God often works by contraries: when he means to give victory, he will allow us to be foiled at first; when he means to comfort, he will terrify first; when he means to justify, he will condemn us first; when he means to make us glorious, he will abase us first. A Christian conquers, even when he is conquered. When he is conquered by some sins, he gets victory over others more dangerous, such as spiritual pride and security. (Richard Sibbes; The Bruised Reed, 95)
God never promises that our lives will be free of obstacles, problems, crises, and adversities. He promises something better. He will use every obstacle in your life to bring to fulfillment the very purposes He has planned for your life. Every problem, every crisis, every adversity, every setback, and every sorrow will be turned around to bring breakthrough, blessing, and triumph. And in God, every mountain, every obstacle that has hindered God’s purposes in your life, will, in the end, be turned around and become a capstone to bring about the completion of those very purposes. (Jonathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries, Day 313)
We are but yesterday, yet we have filled all that is yours: cities, islands, fortresses, towns, meeting places, even camps, tribes, companies, the palace, the senate, the forum.
We have left you only your temples…
You say, we are vanquished. Yes, when we have obtained our wishes. Therefore we conquer in dying; we seize the victory at the very moment we are overcome. Bound to a stake, we are burnt on a heap of wood: this is the attitude in which we conquer, it is our victory robe, our triumphal entry…
Your cruelty, however great, is a better advertisement for us than for you. The more you mow us down, the more we grow. The blood of Christians is seed. — Tertullian
Gospel Application: The promises of God are only applicable to those who are “In Christ”. Do you have faith enough to believe God will do what He says He will do? (Nm 23:19; Jer 33:14; Acts 2:39; Rom 4:13-21; 2 Cor 1:20; Gal 3:14-29; Eph 1:13; 3:6; Heb 10:23; 11:1, 13-16, 39-40; Jam 2:5; 1 Pt 1:7-9)
You can’t break God’s promises by leaning on them!
Abraham put his trust in the promise of God. That is what it means to be a Christian. Our only hope in life and death is trusting in the Word of God. There is nothing else to trust in. Everything this world offers passes away. (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans,131)
There is nothing so insulting to God as not to believe Him. That is the terrible thing about unbelief, it is insulting to God. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapters 3:20-4:25, 225)
The only thing hopeless was the idea that the promise would not come to pass, because it is impossible for God to lie. It is impossible for God to break a promise. — RC Sproul
Spiritual Challenge: We must never forget that God is all-powerful (Jer 32:17), all-knowing (Psa 147:5), ever present (Psa 139:7), and Whose essential attribute is love (1 Jn 4:8, 16). Endeavor to evaluate all of life’s circumstances with these facts in mind and in light of God’s promises. (Josh 21:45; 23:14; 1 Kgs 8:56; 1 Chr 17:19; 25:5; Ps 106:12; 119:50, 76, 116, 140, 154, 170; 145:13; Acts 3:21; Rom 1:2; 8:31, 37; 15:8; 2 Cor 1:20; Heb 4:1; 8:6; 10:23; 11:11-17, 39; Jam 1:12; 2 Pt 1:3-4; 3:9; 1 Jn 4:8, 16)
God’s promises are greater than life’s problems.
God never made a promise that was too good to be true. (D. L. Moody, Christian History, 25)
Faith does not turn its back upon problems, it surmounts them. (Lloyd-Jones, 217)
The writer of this song has a different view from what we see elsewhere in the Old Testament because his purpose is different: He is teaching the Israelites to look at their circumstances from the ultimate frame of reference, God’s point of view, rather than from their own. It is a poetic expression of what we have seen in narrative form in 14:13: “The LORD will fight for you.” The battle is God’s; hence, from his vantage point, there is no struggle. To use the imagery of Psalm 2, even though the nations rage and conspire–and however disheartening this may be for those experiencing it–God sits in heaven and laughs. Even though the Edomites, Moabites, Philistines, and Canaanites confront the Israelites with military strength, they tremble and melt. (Peter Enns, The NIV Application Commentary: Exodus, 305)
So What?: We are all tempted to forget Who God is and the surety of His promises when life is not going “our own way”. BUT . . . remember: It is “our own way” that is completely contrary to the ways of God. By faith we must allow God to destroy “our own way” of thinking. We need to trust God has everything under control and that He will ULTIMATELY destroy our true enemies . . . including our incorrigible self. (Nm 15:37-41; 24:25; Dt 29:19; Ps 130:7; 147:4-5; Prv 2:6; 3:5-7; 14:12; 16:25; 18:2; 29:15; Isa 14:13-14; 40:13-14, 28; 53:6; 55:7-9; 56:11; 58:13; Jer 18:12; Dan 3:18; Acts 14:16; Rom 6:6; 8:12-13; 11:33-36; 1 Cor 5:5; 2 Cor 7:1; 10:5; Gal 2:20; 5:24; 6:14; Col 2:13; Heb 11:13-14, 39-40; Jam 4:13-14)
The God of the impossible (Mt 17:20; 19:26; Mk 9:23; 10:27; Lk 1:37; 18:27; Heb 6:18)
It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. — Edmund Hillary
Victory begins with the name of Jesus on your lips, but it will not be consummated until the nature of Jesus is in your heart. (Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds,18)
Do you mortify the self; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin, or it will be killing you. (John Owen, The Mortification of Sin, 28)
Depravity is man’s own way. (Chuck Swindoll James SERMON “How Fights Are Started and Stopped”)
A proud monk needs no demon. He has turned into one, an enemy to himself. — John Climacus
“Self always means defiance of God; it always means that I put myself on the throne instead of God, and therefore it is always something that separates me from Him.
All moments of unhappiness in life are ultimately due to this separation. A person who is in real communion with God and with the Lord Jesus Christ is happy. It does not matter whether he is in a dungeon, or whether he has his feet fast in the stocks, or whether he is burning at the stake, he is still happy if he is in communion with God.
. . . .holiness eventually means this, deliverance from the self-centered life.” (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Revival, 296)
Many of us pray, Lord make me stronger and stronger so I can become more patient and less vulnerable to sin. When in reality we need to ask the Lord to make us weaker and weaker. It is US that is the problem. Why in the world would we want to make US stronger? We should instead want to kill the sinful nature in us. Think about when you are least likely to think lustful, sinful thoughts. It is not when you are strong and life is going well. It is when you are fasting or when you are sick with mono or some other terrible disease that weakens us. It is when we are weak that helps to kill the sexual, sinful desires in you. We should therefore be concerned with asking the Lord to make us weaker and weaker, not stronger and stronger. — PK
Should we practice spiritual disciplines? Yes, we should. But we should do so with the recognition that these disciplines are primarily means of polishing the armor that God has provided, so that we see his power more clearly (Rom 13:12). Practicing these habits in order to overpower Satan by our own discipline and diligence actually makes us more spiritually vulnerable. We don the armor of God by faith, repenting of our own weaknesses and believing that each element of divine protection can resist the assaults of Satan as God has promised. (Bryan Chapell; Holiness by Grace, 155)
To presume that we can crucify our own flesh is vanity. If we were to crucify ourselves, all that we would have left is self-righteousness. We do not crucify ourselves, but rather we are crucified “with Christ.” (Rick Joyner, There Were Two Trees in the Garden, 145)