seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Exodus 15:12 “You stretch out your right hand,
and the earth swallows your enemies.
13 In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.
14 The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people[c] of Canaan will melt away;
16 terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, Lord,
until the people you bought[d] pass by.
17 You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
and the earth swallows your enemies.
13 In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.
14 The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people[c] of Canaan will melt away;
16 terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, Lord,
until the people you bought[d] pass by.
17 You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
c. Exodus 15:15 Or rulers
d. Exodus 15:16 Or created
The first verses of this song were all about the Egyptians and how God had taken care of them. Now the song is shifting to a bigger view. The song is now talking about how God will clear away all the enemies for them. I figure these people have been in slavery for so long, they are enjoying not having to fight. On top of that, they don't know how or when to fight back.
I have heard that one of the reasons the Jews did not accept Christ as the Messiah was that they were looking for a fighting leader who would clean out their enemies. If Jesus was going to be the King of the Jews, then he must be ready to make nations melt away in terror and dread. Jesus didn't do that. Perhaps these verses in this particular song are the inspiration for this physical requirement the Jews would hold their future leaders to.
I got this from the Blueletterbible.org site.
Some forty years later Rahab the prostitute from Jericho told the Israeli spies: For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt (Joshua 2:10). The people of Canaan did hear of what God did for Israel and some responded with godly fear.
I got this from Bible.org.
There is a play on words evident in the second half of the “Song of the Sea,” which takes up some of the same expressions or imagery employed to describe the defeat of the Egyptians and uses them to apply to the defeat of the Canaanites. For example, the Egyptian soldiers were said to have sunk “like a stone” in the Red Sea (15:5). Now, the terrified Canaanites are prophesied to become “as still as a stone” (15:16). As the arm of the Lord enabled Israel to pass through the Red Sea, so the Israelites will pass through their enemies (15:16).
I hitch hiked across country a couple of times back in the late 70's and very early 80's. I also traveled from PG County to McPhearson Square to go to work. It could be pretty intimidating sometimes. When those times occurred, I would imagine the arm of God around my shoulders. I could almost feel that warm weight on my neck and back. When I could summons that image, I felt safe and brave.
