"I Will Sing to the Lord"

 

"I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea . . . (13) In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed."         

Now Moses sings of the Victory of God. Jim Bruckner entitles the chapter "Singing at the Sea." He says "Worshiping the Lord was Israel's transition to a new existence." They had been slaves. They would now be wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. They would inherit the Promised Land as the people of God. Worship is their transition to a new existence.

            So Moses begins to sing. It is a very personal song, "I will sing to the Lord." But it says all Israel joined in with him. Maybe the words were projected on a big screen in the wilderness. This is not a celebration, a song focused on the victory won by Israel.

            It is not: "Hail to the Alma Mater, Hail to the varsity, Hail to the blue and gold, boys, cheer them to victory."

            It is not a song describing Egypt's defeat and heaping scorn upon them.

            It is not: "Na, na, na, na; na, na, na, na; hey, hey, hey good bye."

Bruckner says the theme is praise. This is "a song to the Lord." The victory was not Israel's, it was God's victory. The defeat was not caused by the failure of Egypt; it was solely by the work of God. "He has triumphed gloriously."

            The song is also poetry. It is not a literal description of what happened. The chariots and riders were caught in the returning water, but the song says "Both horse and rider, The Lord has hurled into the sea." It is poetry. It speaks of the victory over Egypt and also of a greater victory.

            John Durham writes that this is the "praise of the incomparable Lord whose saving presence rescues, protects and establishes his people. The song celebrates the Lord present with his people and doing for them as no other god anywhere and at any time can be present to do." It speaks really of an ultimate victory of God and his kingdom. It leads us to some of the hymns in Revelation.

            So Moses, in his freedom, begins to sing, "I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted." Moses stands in the wilderness, outside of Egypt, and no army is pursuing him, and no Pharaoh is threatening him. He thinks back over his life as he sings. He remembers growing up in Pharaoh's house, and how as a young man he came upon the injustice of slavery, an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. He remembers fleeing the land for his life, wondering about his identity. Who was he? What would become of his life? Those were quiet years in Midian, forty years tending flocks. He was about to retire. He could not imagine that much more would happen to him. Then came the call of God, asking him to lead Israel out of Egypt. But that would be impossible. Surely he was the wrong one for such a task.

           Moses thinks back over his life, and then sings:

"The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him."

           Through the months of plagues in Egypt, Moses must have been discouraged. First the elders of Israel would not believe him, and then the workers blamed him for their extra labor, making bricks without straw. Then Pharaoh's heart was hard, even through one plague after another, and he would not relent. It seemed like there would never come a time when Israel might be free from the grip of Egypt.

            Moses remembers how hard it has been, and then sings,

"The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea."

           When Janis Carlson was putting together the new Missions bulletin board on Alaska a few days ago, she came upon some testimonies of those who serve in Alaska. One was written by our son, Timm, in 2006, reflecting on a youth retreat he attended in the far north, when he was at Alaska Christian College. He writes of meeting a young man at the retreat, a fellow who was engaged to one of the students at ACC.

            "He was going to caravan with us to Kotzebue and then stay behind as we flew back to Anchorage. In the morning, we hustled from church to the airport. It never occurred to me that my new friend had not been at church or at the airport to say goodbye. On the drive back to campus, we got word that he had met up with some friends that night and they began to drink. At some point he got angry and left the house, and he lost his jacket, and in the harsh climate of the far north, he froze to death. In the sad aftermath, I have often thought of the challenges that face young people of Alaska. Our campus pastor was so frustrated, he said, 'Here is another preventable, alcohol-related death, and nothing will change.' "

            Then he concludes, "This event stressed for me the importance of bringing Christ to the remote regions of Alaska. Jesus Christ is the answer, and the only answer. I have faith in that promise he gives us."

            Sometimes we go through periods of discouragement and failure, just like Moses, who only met resistance from Pharaoh. We say, "Nothing will ever change." Then we come to understand that the only hope for victory is in Christ. So for Moses it was through the Passover and being drawn out of Egypt that he realized the victory is in God alone.

            "Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed."

            Standing on the far shore, Moses realizes that God is able. He begins to sing, because he cannot help but sing. He sings and yet we know this is not the end to a "happily ever after" fairy tale. He sings and then will wander in the desert for 40 years. Then he will die before reaching the Promised Land.

            But the song he sings is not about his victory, it is about the victory of God. Because it is God's victory, it always goes beyond our own story, our small slice of a great long journey to God's kingdom and righteousness. This victory of God is not just about celebration, but also about judgment. Those who oppose God and oppress people will not share in the victory; they will not prosper or triumph. Those who use violence to enrich themselves at cost to others will be defeated.

            The reality of God's judgment strikes deeply into Moses' soul. He is able to sing of a victory that is deeper than what history can show, deeper than what the front page can report, deeper even than our limited experience in life. Life is hope and sorrow; it is gain and loss. If Pharaoh's army dies, Hitler's army takes up its work. If Communism collapses as a system, Russia now moves back towards a more repressive state. Our victories in this life are not permanent. But neither are they meaningless. Moses saw the victory at the Red Sea correctly. He saw beyond the moment to heaven, to the ultimate victory of God. He sang to the LORD,

"In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling."

          That is also the vision we find in Revelation. Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him be glory and power forever and ever.

            Sing with Moses. Don't be defeated by defeat. Don't be crushed by loss. There is a victory that belongs to God.

            "I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea."

            Amen.