Exodus 15

1 Then Moshe and the people of Isra'el sang this song to ADONAI: "I will sing to ADONAI, for he is highly exalted: the horse and its rider he threw in the sea.

2 Yah is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God: I will glorify him; my father's God: I will exalt him.

3 ADONAI is a warrior; ADONAI is his name.

4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army he hurled into the sea. His elite commanders were drowned in the Sea of Suf.

5 The deep waters covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.

6 Your right hand, ADONAI, is sublimely powerful; your right hand, ADONAI, shatters the foe.

7 By your great majesty you bring down your enemies; you send out your wrath to consume them like stubble.

8 With a blast from your nostrils the waters piled up -the waters stood up like a wall, the depths of the sea became firm ground.

9 The enemy said, 'I will pursue and overtake, divide the spoil and gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.'

10 You blew with your wind, the sea covered them, they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11 Who is like you, ADONAI, among the mighty? Who is like you, sublime in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?

12 You reached out with your right hand: the earth swallowed them.

13 In your love, you led the people you redeemed; in your strength, you guided them to your holy abode.

14 The peoples have heard, and they tremble; anguish takes hold of those living in P'leshet;

15 then the chiefs of Edom are dismayed; trepidation seizes the heads of Mo'av; all those living in Kena'an are melted away.

16 Terror and dread fall on them; by the might of your arm they are still as stone until your people pass over, ADONAI, till the people you purchased pass over.

17 You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain which is your heritage, the place, ADONAI, that you made your abode, the sanctuary, Adonai, which your hands established.

18 ADONAI will reign forever and ever.

19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and with his cavalry into the sea, but ADONAI brought the sea waters back upon them, while the people of Isra'el walked on dry land in the midst of the sea!"

20 Also Miryam the prophet, sister of Aharon, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines, dancing,

21 as Miryam sang to them: "Sing to ADONAI, for he is highly exalted! The horse and its rider he threw in the sea!"

22 Moshe led Isra'el onward from the Sea of Suf. They went out into the Shur Desert; but after traveling three days in the desert, they had found no water.

23 They arrived at Marah but couldn't drink the water there, because it was bitter. This is why they called it Marah [bitterness].

24 The people grumbled against Moshe and asked, "What are we to drink?"

25 Moshe cried to ADONAI; and ADONAI showed him a certain piece of wood, which, when he threw it into the water, made the water taste good. There ADONAI made laws and rules of life for them, and there he tested them.

26 He said, "If you will listen intently to the voice of ADONAI your God, do what he considers right, pay attention to his mitzvot and observe his laws, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians; because I am ADONAI your healer."

27 They came to Eilim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and camped there by the water.

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Exodus 15 Commentary

Chapter 15

The song of Moses for the deliverance of Israel. (1-21) The bitter waters at Marah, The Israelites come to Elim. (22-27)

Verses 1-21 This song is the most ancient we know of. It is a holy song, to the honour of God, to exalt his name, and celebrate his praise, and his only, not in the least to magnify any man. Holiness to the Lord is in every part of it. It may be considered as typical, and prophetical of the final destruction of the enemies of the church. Happy the people whose God is the Lord. They have work to do, temptations to grapple with, and afflictions to bear, and are weak in themselves; but his grace is their strength. They are often in sorrow, but in him they have comfort; he is their song. Sin, and death, and hell threaten them, but he is, and will be their salvation. The Lord is a God of almighty power, and woe to those that strive with their Maker! He is a God of matchless perfection; he is glorious in holiness; his holiness is his glory. His holiness appears in the hatred of sin, and his wrath against obstinate sinners. It appears in the deliverance of Israel, and his faithfulness to his own promise. He is fearful in praises; that which is matter of praise to the servants of God, is very dreadful to his enemies. He is doing wonders, things out of the common course of nature; wondrous to those in whose favour they are wrought, who are so unworthy, that they had no reason to expect them. There were wonders of power and wonders of grace; in both, God was to be humbly adored.

Verses 22-27 In the wilderness of Shur the Israelites had no water. At Marah they had water, but it was bitter; so that they could not drink it. God can make bitter to us that from which we promise ourselves most, and often does so in the wilderness of this world, that our wants, and disappointments in the creature, may drive us to the Creator, in whose favour alone true comfort is to be had. In this distress the people fretted, and quarrelled with Moses. Hypocrites may show high affections, and appear earnest in religious exercises, but in the time of temptation they fall away. Even true believers, in seasons of sharp trial, will be tempted to fret, distrust, and murmur. But in every trial we should cast our care upon the Lord, and pour out our hearts before him. We shall then find that a submissive will, a peaceful conscience, and the comforts of the Holy Ghost, will render the bitterest trial tolerable, yea, pleasant. Moses did what the people had neglected to do; he cried unto the Lord. And God provided graciously for them. He directed Moses to a tree which he cast into the waters, when, at once, they were made sweet. Some make this tree typical of the cross of Christ, which sweetens the bitter waters of affliction to all the faithful, and enables them to rejoice in tribulation. But a rebellious Israelite shall fare no better than a rebellious Egyptian. The threatening is implied only, the promise is expressed. God is the great Physician. If we are kept well, it is he that keeps us; if we are made well, it is he that recovers us. He is our life and the length of our days. Let us not forget that we are kept from destruction, and delivered from our enemies, to be the Lord's servants. At Elim they had good water, and enough of it. Though God may, for a time, order his people to encamp by the bitter waters of Marah, that shall not always be their lot. Let us not faint at tribulations.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 15

This chapter contains the song of Moses, and of the children of Israel, on the banks of the Red sea; in which they celebrate their passage through it, the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in it, and the glory of the divine perfections displayed therein, interspersed with prophetic hints of things future, Ex 15:1-19 which same song was sung by the women, with Miriam at the head of them, attended with timbrels and dances, Ex 15:20,21, an account is given of the march of the children of Israel from the Red sea to the wilderness of Shur, and of the bitter waters found at Marah, which occasioned a murmuring, and of their being made sweet by casting a tree into them, Ex 15:22-25 when they were told by the Lord, that if they would yield obedience to his commandments, they should be free from the diseases the Egyptians had been afflicted with, Ex 15:26, and the chapter is concluded with their coming to Elim, where they found twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees, and there encamped, Ex 15:27.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible