Exodus 15:2

AMP – “The Lord is my strength and my song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

NRSVUE – The Lord is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

VOICE – The Eternal is my strength and my song, and He has come to save me; He is my God, and I will praise Him. He is the God of my father, and I will exalt Him.

River-Parting God

God is our source of strength and joy. In the context of Exodus 15, we’re reading part of the Song of Moses, sung after the Israelites’ escaped from the Egypt reign through the Red Sea. Strength connects to God’s power and might – the source that delivered them from their enemies. A “song” is a response of worship and gratitude through God’s actions. Overall, we see Moses praising god for His deliverance and protection. God’s deliverance lead into their personal salvation. The Israelites got to experience physical salvation from slavery and imminent death. Through the ministry of Jesus, we find the ultimate salvation through Jesus, who delivers us from sin and death.

There’s a personal acknowledgment and acceptance of God’s power and authority. This was a radical mindset because the cultural contexts surrounding them worshiped multiple deities. The commitment to praise God shows how grateful they were for Yahweh’s deliverance. Their worship continues the faith in Yahweh that their ancestors had built upon throughout many generations. The act of exalting (lifting up) God is a response of God’s faithfulness and might acts.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: God is our deliverer through our bondage to sinful behaviors and its consequences. How has God helped guide to through your Red Sea to find salvation?

Breaking the Chains

Salvation is not just a historical event that happened, but it’s a real-life reality for all of us. However, this story is a great example how God’s salvation works. The Israelites were enslaved to the Egyptians. The chosen lineage through Abraham was rescued through Joseph and found refuge in the Egyptian community during an intense famine. Over time, the Israelites continued to grow and prosper, which made the Egyptian leadership become defensive. The rescued community became enslaved shortly thereafter. There pleas of rescue and safety were heard, and the deliverance plan was set in place. Through God’s divine intervention, and Moses’s leadership and commitment, the Israelites were rescued and saved from their bondage to the Israelites.

We may not be enslaved to people like the Israelites were, but we can be enslaved to systems. Capitalism enslaves us to provides our services for payments and resources to survive, which often aren’t equal throughout the social hierarchy. Social media enslaves us to comparison and isolation, trying to one-up the strangers that we see and yearn for a life that we cannot achieve. Even the systems that we try to use to receive resources for survival (food, insurance, medical care, disability payments), we’re forced to enslaved to because we must stay committed to expectations that can feel both realistic and unrealistic. What we can walk away from is that God’s guiding us through these systems to the other, and there will be victory. It may not be immediately. It may not be how we want. God’s plan still ensures victory. God will provide for what we need, and will guide us to people that can help us achieve what we need. We are never alone in our journies through life and we can find other’s to walk with.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT. Think about what’s got you chained down right now. How can you break those chains?