Josh King

God Saves, We Sing (Exodus 15:1-21)

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang…

I will sing to the LORD, for…

—Exodus 15:1

God saves, Israel sings, this is the story of salvation.

God saves, we sing, this is the Christian faith. Certainly there are some vital qualifying adjectives, but nonetheless, this is the essence of our faith. The Christian faith is not we sing, then God saves. We see this in other religions. God is not looking down from heaven on our show responding, “Great performance! Now here’s some salvation. Keep up the good work.” In false religions, and false Christianity, worship isn’t a response, but an attempt to elicit one. Mantra and chants are a performance hoping to get a hand from God. True worship is a response because God has given a hand. Not a helping hand, but a nail scared hand that saved us when we were dead, in bondage, and without strength.

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.

—Exodus 15:2

If Jesus isn’t your song, you don’t know His salvation. The saved, the rescued, the pardoned, the forgiven, the redeemed, the ransomed, the delivered, the justified, and the reconciled SING!

Some folks, of the highly educated sort, think this song is odd in its placement. This is ridiculous on a number of levels. Where else would you put it? Would you like Moses to insert it following the instructions for the golden lampstand? Further, such persons reveal they not only know little of salvation, they know little of life.

“It’s not natural for this song to be here.”

“Have you ever eaten an exquisite steak?”

“I don’t follow.”

When you experience something good you want to praise it. Lewis observed, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.” Praise is a response to the praiseworthy. Songs of praise are a response to the exceptionally praiseworthy. Israel had reason to sing. She had to sing. We have reason all the more. The “then,” “for,” and “because” of our singing have been more fully revealed. Because of the incarnation, the perfection, the death, the resurrection, the ascension, the session, and the promised return of Christ, let us sing. Because of the redemption, ransom, salvation, propitiation, regeneration, reconciliation, justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification we have in Christ, let us sing.

The history of salvation is sometimes described as a drama—the drama of redemption. However, this drama is actually a musical. It is impossible even to conceive of Biblical Christianity without songs of praise. —Phil Ryken

The Winning Hand (Exodus 14)

Let’s look at a lot of Scripture.

^“And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly.” —Exodus 14:8 (ESV)

“Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.” —Exodus 14:16 (ESV)

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.’ ” — Exodus 14:26 (ESV)

“So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.” —Exodus 14:27 (ESV)

“Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.” —Exodus 14:30 (ESV)

“Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.” —Exodus 14:31 (ESV)

The same Hebrew word appears in all six of these verses from chapter fourteen of Exodus. Can you identify it?

Having problems? Maybe these two alternate translations for the first verse and the last verse will help.

“And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.” —Exodus 14:8 (KJV)

“And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” —Exodus 14:31 (NIV)

If you answered “hand,” give yourself a hand.

Israel leaves with a high hand. This gesture can mean defiance and insult (Numbers 15:30), or power and triumph (Micah 5:9). But more important that what is who. Whose hand? Israel went out with a high hand, but was it her hand?

More Scriptures:

“But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.” —Exodus 3:19 (ESV)

“Then Moses said to the people, ‘Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place.’ ” —Exodus 13:3 (ESV)

I believe the mighty hand Israel is going out by is Yahweh’s.

The middle passages where “hand” is clearly translated all deal with Moses’ hand save one. Moses’ hand holds a staff (Exodus 14:6). That staff represents God’s power, or, God’s hand. When Moses strikes the Nile with the staff, it is God striking the Nile with the staff (cf. Exodus 7:17, 25).

One more hand is mentioned, and that is the hand of the Egyptians. God delivers Israel from the hand of the Egyptians by a mighty hand.

I don’t care how well you believe the deck is stacked in your favor, you can’t beat Yahweh’s hand. I don’t care how badly you may think the cards are stacked against you, Yahweh’s hand cannot be beaten.

The hand of the Lord is to be feared, and those who fear it are to trust it.

More than Good Directions (Exodus 13:17–22)

God doesn’t defeat the enemies of His people and redeem them, only to wave goodbye from the steps of His embassy in the defeated nation, giving them good directions to make it the rest of the way home on their own. The God who comes down to His people goes with them.

Modern evangelicals are not allergic to all doctrine. There’re some doctrines they’re fond of. One of them is guidance. Unfortunately, we’re severely misguided concerning guidance. Culpably, we are misguided because we don’t like where Biblical guidance goes.

Where does God lead His people? He leads them to a mountain, and then to the promised land. He leads them to a mountain where they receive His law, that they might know how they are to live in that land unto Him. God leads His people into holiness and He leads them home. Holiness is the path home, for home is a place of holiness.

A young man struggling with pornography asks what God’s will is for his life. What he want’s to know is where to go to school, what career to pursue, and who to marry. He want’s to know how to live in a sweet spot so that he can live Disney ever after. Many evangelicals have tried to baptize prosperity theology and make it clean. Such a pursuit of God’s will is nothing but idolatry. What is God’s will for the young man? Stop looking at pornography. Be holy.

We want to be Christian Jedi Knights, in touch with the Spirit, traversing a mine field of danger with supernatural knowledge. We think we’re guided by the Spirit when we miss a traffic accident. True enough. But you were also guided by the sovereign God when you had a traffic accident. God’s guidance isn’t something passive, but active. He is guiding. He faithfully guides His redeemed people into holiness until they come all the way home.

God guides His people into Egypt where they’re oppressed. He guides Moses back, and heavier loads are laid on them. He delivers them and lead them south away from the promised land. He leads them by the Sea where there is no retreat. He leads them in the wilderness. And He leads them home. God’s guidance comes with cloud and fire. It is omnisciently wise and gloriously peculiar. It is an unfailing, active, consistent guidance. It comes not at a distance, nor quietly. It is near and clear.

If your notion of divine guidance causes you more anxiety than peace, you’re doing it wrong. As is often the case, many sing their theology better than they confess it:

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
—John Newton

The Penning Pastor: Pleasure and Duty

From “We Were Once as You Are”

Our pleasure and our duty,
   Though opposite before;
Since we have seen his beauty,
   Are joined to part no more:
It is our highest pleasure,
   No less than duty’s call;
To love him beyond measure,
   And serve him with our all.

—John Newton, Works

Exodus Moving Company (Exodus 13:1–16)

The front of the U-Haul is highly organized. It’s the back that’s in such a state of pandemonium you’re terrified to upon the door to unload. One might think we’ve come to the back of the U-Haul as the Israelites prepare to move, but God is packing, and the last items are a perfect fit. The tail isn’t loose and dangerous, nor are odds and ends haphazardly smashed in. These aren’t random leftovers. Note God’s fine packing skills, His organizational genius.

First, Exodus 11:1–13:16 concern the last wonder and their exodus. Where has the emphasis been? Not on how Israel was saved by judgment, but how she was saved from judgment. The emphasis isn’t on the judgment that falls on Egypt so much as the feasts of commemoration centering on how Yahweh saved them from the same judgment. So the end of this section emphasizes again what has been emphasized. The ending fits the same pattern of organization at the front of the U-Haul.

Second, another repeated pattern is that Yahweh speaks (v. 1) and then Moses speaks (v. 3). When Moses speaks he speaks what Yahweh spoke. See, packing skills displayed undiminished all the way through.

Third, both Unleavened Bread and the lambing, kidding, and calving of their livestock are spring events. They mark fruitfulness. Lambs are being born, wheat is being harvested (13:4). The God who slew the firstborn of Egypt, both man and beast, is the God who made Israel fruitful in Egypt and redeemed them. Further both the consecration of the firstborn and the feast are to be perpetuated from father to son, and God gives a sample liturgy tying both to the exodus (13:8–10, 14–15). Also, the further instructions are concerning how these things are to be observed in the land (13:5, 11).

Finally, these rites remind us these events are not just to be read historically, but theologically. By ending this section with the consecration of the firstborn and the redemption of Sons, great clarity is given as to the meaning of God’s redemption of Israel as His firstborn (Exodus 4:22–23). God provides a substitute for His people that He does not for Egypt. He purchases his son back unto Himself out of judgment by the shedding of a representative’s blood.

Jesus is the firstborn of many brothers. Jesus, the firstborn, represents the family. But for Him there was no substitute. He didn’t need one. We did. He is the substitute. Jesus is as the firstborn of Egypt that we might be as the adopted firstborn of Israel.

God packed these last so that they’d figuratively be the first things unpacked when they got to the promised land. God isn’t tired, haphazardly throwing in a few last odd shaped items. As they leave, they leave with feasts and rites to be perpetuated so they’ll remember His redemption.

Exodus Moving Company: Family owned and operated. Father, Son, and Spirit expertly moving souls out of the bondage of Egypt, paying the full price for the move in an unmatched display of glory.

The Penning Pastor: Pleasing Grief and Mournful Joy

From “Looking at the Cross

With pleasing grief and mournful joy,
My spirit now is filled;
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by him I killed.

—John Newton, Works

Missing the Feast for Choking on the Numbers (Exodus 12:29–51)

Why the additional Passover instructions trailing the report of the Exodus (12:43–51)? To understand one reason, dial these digits: 600000 (12:37). Add in estimates for women and children and we’ve got a nation of approximately 2 million leaving Egypt.

Attempts are made to shrink this number, even by conservative evangelicals who own up to all that’s proceeded. The best efforts demonstrate how the word for thousand here is translated a variety of ways including cattle, clans, divisions, families, and tribes. Indeed. Then they pontificate what we really have is six hundred divisions of fighting men; thus bringing the estimated total down to a manageable thirty five thousand. It’s funny to see a scholar deal so deftly with this text, but then so dumbly with Exodus 38:26 where we get the more exact figure of 603,550. Their prime retort being to quietly mumble “I dunno?” They have an even harder time with the census figures in Numbers 1, 2 and 26 where Moses shows his work and teases this out in greater detail.

Israel left big and they left big just as their big God had promised. God had promised Abraham descendants as the sand and stars (Genesis 13:16; 15:5). God told Jacob that it was in Egypt that He would make him a great nation (Genesis 46:3). Exodus begins by telling us “the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them (Exodus 1:7).” Pharaoh tries to stomp the vine of Yahweh to death, but he only plants more seeds. “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel (Exodus 1:12). It’s laughable to see one own up to a river turning to blood, frogs covering the land, dust turning to gnats, flies filling houses, livestock dropping dead, boils tormenting flesh, hail devastating crops, locusts finishing off what was left, darkness terrifying for three days, and the firstborn being stricken dead, but then choke on the number 600,000. The point of the big number is to show us again God’s big faithfulness and big sovereignty by making Israel a big nation.

But how does this relate to the Passover? This big group leaving Israel wasn’t solely comprised of ethnic Israelites. “A mixed multitude also went up with them (Exodus 12:38).” The new Passover material concerns who may partake of the Passover. While no foreigner may (vv. 43, 45) a slave, stranger, or sojourner who wishes to, may, if he is circumcised identifying with the people of Israel. This isn’t racial bias, it’s religious bias. This is a feast for Israel (cf. Romans 2:29), the people of God, and thus, it is a feast for the nations.

Centuries later a centurion would express faith in Jesus. Jesus responded, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:10–12).” When foreigners were excluded from the Passover it wasn’t ethnic prejudice. When Israelites are barred from the feast of the kingdom, it’s not ethnic prejudice. A great host from every tribe, language, people, and nation is being redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. This isn’t biased prejudice, it is gracious election, and it is big because our God is big.

The Penning Pastor: We Praise because We See

From “The Name of Jesus”

Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see thee as thou art,
I’ll praise thee as I ought.

—John Newton, Works

The Penning Pastor: The Offense of Small Prayers

From “Ask What I Shall Give Thee”

Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For his grace and pow’r are such,
None can ever ask too much.

—John Newton, Works

The Blood Can’t be Drained Away, but It Can Be Applied (Exodus 12:1–28)

The Passover is a sacrifice-feast. No one would contend that it’s not a feast. Besides the eating, it’s explicitly called a feast twice in Exodus 12:14. Thus, no one contends that the Passover isn’t a feast, but some do want to say that it’s not a sacrifice. While no one could argue that Passover isn’t a feast, no one should argue that it’s not a sacrifice. The feast looses it’s significance if it isn’t a sacrifice-feast. Blood isn’t just drained so as to prepare a meal to eat. It is smeared and applied. The blood is a sign. Further, the Passover is explicitly called a feast in Exodus 12:27.

You can be certain that those who toy with the shadow do so because they hate the One who casts it. Academics and theologians revise the historical Passover because they hate the Passover Lamb who fulfilled it. They might say they like Jesus, but they’ve revised Him too. Why do they exert such mental muscle to cook up a Passover that’s nothing more than a commemorative meal celebrating deliverance? Not because they hate the idea of Passover as sacrifice, but because they hate the idea of the cross as sacrifice.

In 1993 at a “Protestant” conference one speaker said, “I don’t think we need a theology of atonement at all; I don’t think we need folks hanging on crosses and blood dripping and weird stuff.” Others say penal substitutionary atonement is “a form of cosmic child abuse.” Drain the blood, on the with the feast.

R.C. Sproul was once invited by a Quaker community to lecture on the relation of the Old and New Covenants. As he was unfolding the curse motif of the Scriptures and spoke of how Christ, as a substitutionary sacrifice bore the curse, someone in the back of the room yelled, “That’s primitive and obscene.” Stunned he asked, “What did you say?” With great hostility he repeated, “That’s primitive and obscene.” Sproul recollects, “At that point, I had recovered from my surprise, and I told the man I actually liked his choice of adjectives. It is primitive for a blood sacrifice to be made to satisfy the justice of a transcendent and holy God, but sin is a primitive thing that is basic to our human existence, so God chose to communicate His love, mercy, and redemption to us through this primitive work. And the cross is an obscenity, because all of the corporate sin of God’s people was laid on Christ. The cross was the ugliest, most obscene thing in the history of the world. So I thanked the man for his observation. But my point is that the man was extremely hostile to the whole idea of the atonement.”

Why do men hate it so? It isn’t because of refined and enlightened tastes. This isn’t like those who lash out against blood and gore in film and video games. The same chap who loves those games can hate the idea of the cross as sacrifice. Why do they hate it so? Because the Passover as sacrifice, pointing to the cross, undermines all human pride and gives all glory to Christ.