Read Exodus 15:1-27.

Introduction⤒🔗

Betsie and Corrie Ten Boom, two Dutch sisters who were taken prisoner by the Nazis because they had been sheltering Jews, were transported to the infamous concentration camp of Ravensbruck. There, in the company of countless other prisoners, they were marched along a wide cinder avenue and then into a narrow street of barracks.

At each barracks building the marching prisoners would be halted, a list of prisoner numbers would be read, those prisoners whose numbers were called would fall out, and the rest would march on to the next barracks. At last, as the march came to a halt before Barracks #28, Corrie and Betsie heard their numbers called: Prisoner 66729, Prisoner 66730. They stepped out of line with about a dozen others and stood before their new living quarters.

As they were escorted into the building, with half of its windows broken and replaced by rags—creating an eerie twilight-like atmosphere—they were immediately repelled by the stench of backed up plumbing. While the two hundred residents were working, these new arrivals were directed to their beds; which were no beds at all, but simply long straw-covered platforms three tiers high. The guard barked some final orders and departed, leaving Betsie and Corrie alone, lying on their second-tier platform. Suddenly Corrie sat up, striking her head on the bottom of the third-tier platform; something had pinched her leg.

Fleas!” she screamed. “Betsie, this place is swarming with fleas!”

The two of them scrambled across their second-tier platform, jumped onto the floor, and sought a patch of sunlight filtering in through one of the still intact panes of glass.

“Betsie!” Corrie wailed, “How can we possibly live in such a place?”

“Corrie!” she responded excitedly, “The LORD has given us the answer. It’s found in the Bible passage we read this morning!”

Glancing down the long aisle to make sure no guard was in sight, Corrie pulled out the little pocket New Testament they had managed to conceal in their prison dress. She read from 1 Thessalonians 5, “See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus...”

“That’s it, Corrie. That’s His answer!” interrupted Betsy. “Give thanks in all circumstances. We can thank God right now for everything about this new barracks!”

“Such as what?” asked Corrie.

“Such as being assigned here together. Such as what you are holding in your hand. Such as the crowded conditions, since we’re packed so close together, many more will hear! And for the fleas!”

The fleas!?! This was too much!

“But,” Betsie insisted, “it says, ‘Give thanks in all circumstances,’ and the fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”

And so the two of them stood there between tiers of makeshift bunk beds and gave thanks, even for the fleas. This time Corrie was sure that Betsie was wrong. But was she?

We tend to be like Corrie; and like the Israelites. We praise the LORD when we see His evident works of grace, but our praise turns to complaint when we encounter hard times. But because He is our faithful covenant God, we are to praise the LORD at all times. From this passage of Exodus 15, let us consider Three Keys to Consistent Praise.

Praise the LORD at All Times, By Remembering His Works of Grace←⤒🔗

The children of Israel have passed safely through the parted waters of the Red Sea, they have arrived at the distant shore, and when the last one of them steps out of that dried seabed they hear behind them a mighty rumble. They turn around and behold the wall of seawater collapsing and crashing down upon Pharaoh’s army, swallowing them up. The scene Israel witnessed is described in Exodus 14:30 as follows, “So it was that on that day the LORD delivered Israel out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore.”

Exodus 15 now begins with these words: “Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD: ‘I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea!’”

The first half of chapter 15 is a “recording” of the song of praise offered up to the LORD by the people of Israel. When you “play it back” you hear statements like these:

The LORD is my strength and 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! vs. 2

Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? vs. 11

Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously! He has hurled the horse and its rider into the sea! vs. 21

The nation of Israel has just witnessed a mighty act of God; the people have been the beneficiaries of His grace, and they praise Him accordingly. We should surely do the same when we see and experience God’s works of grace on our behalf: answers to prayer; victories over sin; the advancement of the gospel; the person and work of Christ our Savior, for which the Apostle Paul exclaims, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15)

Just as Israel’s passage through the parted waters of the Red Sea is a type, (that is to say, a living model), of the Christian’s safe passage through death; so, too, Israel’s encampment on the distant shore is a type of the Christian’s arrival into heaven. Praise is the chief occupation of heaven—note Revelation 4:9-11, a passage that describes the heavenly presence of God and the activity of His angels and the redeemed:

⁹As the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, to him who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say, ^11'You are worthy, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and to exercise the power, for you created all things, and because of your will they were brought into being, indeed, they were created.' Rev. 4:9-11

Note: The twenty-four elders represent all of the redeemed.

In heaven, before the throne of God, the church universal shall be led in praising God by Christ Himself, even as Moses, the servant of the LORD, led the people of Israel in singing praise. Note Psalm 22:22, a Messianic passage in which the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is speaking, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.”

The theme of our praise shall be the triumphant work of the LORD our God. The words of Exodus 15:2, “The LORD is my strength and 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,” are an example of what is yet to come; note Revelation 15:3-4 and Revelation 11:17,

³...they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb. They sang, 'Great and marvelous are your works, O LORD God, the Almighty; righteous and true are your ways, O King of the ages. ⁴Who shall not fear you, O LORD, and glorify your name?—for you alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.' Rev. 15:3-4

¹⁷We give thanks to you, O LORD God, the Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have asserted your great power and have begun to reign. Rev. 11:17

Just as Old Testament Israel gave praise to the LORD for His wonderful triumph over His and their enemies, so shall the church eternally praise God for His triumph:

• His triumph over the devil:“¹⁰Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ; for the accuser of our brethren, he who accuses them before our God day and night, has been flung down!’” (Rev. 12:10)
   
• His triumph over sin and death: “⁵⁵Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:55-57)
   
• the triumph of His grace over us: “¹⁴thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ” (2 Cor. 2:14)

Praise the LORD at all times, by remembering His works of grace. Let us praise Him for...

• the spiritual blessings we possess in Christ Jesus: “³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).
   
• the access to the throne of God the Father we possess in Christ Jesus: “¹⁸through [Christ] we have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Eph. 2:18).
   
• the presence of the Holy Spirit, who inspires the Christian’s heart to praise the LORD: “¹⁸be filled with the Spirit—¹⁹speaking to each other with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and praising the LORD in your heart, ²⁰always giving thanks to our God and Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for all things” (Eph. 5:18-20).

Praise the LORD at All Times, by Realizing His Purpose in Bringing Hard Times←⤒🔗

In the first half of Exodus 15, we hear Israel lifting up their voice in praise to the LORD. In the second half of Exodus 15, we again hear Israel lifting up their voice, but this time it is not in praise, it is in protest. It is not exalting the LORD, it is murmuring against His servant, Moses.

Some scholars believe that the place where Israel initially encamped after crossing the Red Sea is the place presently known as “The Springs of Moses.” It was the only green spot in this entire region, a place where fresh drinking water was readily available. But now, following the pillar of cloud and fire, the people must break camp and head out into the wilderness of Shur.

They journey three days into this desolate wilderness without any sign of water. Things are getting serious; by now their water supply is just about used up and you cannot live very long in the wilderness without water. But by the conclusion of the third day’s travel, they finally arrive at a place called Marah. Here is a source of water, what a relief! At long last they can refresh themselves and replenish their supply of water for the next leg of their journey. But the water proves to be so bitter that it is quite undrinkable. They spit it out of their mouths in disgust and raise their voices in protest against Moses: “The people grumbled against Moses, asking, ‘What shall we drink?’” (vs. 24)

What happened to their hymn of praise?

A hymn of praise in which they professed allegiance to the LORD:

²The LORD is my strength and 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! vs. 2

A hymn of praise in which they confessed the LORD’s lovingkindness and faithfulness:

¹³By your lovingkindness, you have led the people whom you redeemed; by your strength, you will guide them to your holy dwelling place.vs. 13

A hymn of praise in which they expressed their confidence in the LORD:

¹⁷You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance—the place, O LORD, you have made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands have established.vs. 17

A hymn of praise that closed with this shout of adoration:

¹⁸The LORD shall reign forever and ever! vs. 18

After the LORD miraculously sweetened the waters, He explained to the people the reason and meaning of this bitter experience: “There [the LORD] made a statute and a decree for them, and there he tested them” (15:25b).

There at the waters of Marah, the LORD presented to His people a divine “principle” (or, statute), teaching them how He would deal with them, and a divine “right” (or, decree), teaching them what they could expect from and claim from the LORD their God.

The LORD was saying to them, “Throughout your life, I will lead you; I will direct your path. At times, I will bring you into difficult situations that are beyond your control and ability, but I will always prove Myself to be your all-sufficient God: trust Me.” Israel, as the people of God, was being taught that, as Christians, the whole course of our lives is divinely designed to nurture us in God-sufficiency in place of self-sufficiency.

Furthermore, there at the waters of Marah “he tested them.” By means of this test the LORD was posing the question, “Will you still trust Me and love Me and serve Me, no matter where I put you and no matter what I see fit to bring into your life?”

The experience at Marah was intended to test the genuineness of Israel’s words recorded in Exodus 15:2, “The LORD is my strength and 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!” At the same time, the experience at Marah was intended to demonstrate to Israel that they could sing those words with complete confidence.

Praise the LORD at all times, by realizing His purpose in bringing you into hard times, namely, 1) to transfer your faith and confidence from yourself to Him; 2) to monitor and develop your trust and confidence in Christ; and, 3) to prove that He is worthy of your complete trust and confidence.

Praise the LORD at All Times, by Recognizing His Faithful Provisions←⤒🔗

At Marah, the LORD faithfully provided for His people by miraculously sweetening the water by means of a piece of dead wood: “Moses cried out to the LORD. Then the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the waters and the waters became sweet” (vs. 25).

After Marah the LORD led His people to the refreshing oasis of Elim; there they found twelve springs of good water (one for each tribe) and seventy palm trees. We are told, “they camped there by the waters” (vs. 27).

Was Betsie mistaken in thanking the LORD for the fleas? Or were even the fleas a part of His faithful provision for His children?

After their “supper,” which consisted of nothing more than a ladle of turnip soup, Betsie and Corrie would make their way back to their sleeping quarters where they held an evening “worship service.” Corrie described those times as being “services like no others,” no other times could compare with the communion with God and with one another that was experienced there in Barracks #28.

At first, Betsie and Corrie conducted these “services” with great timidity, fearing that the guards might come in and disrupt them and punish the women at any time; but no guard ever came near to entering the dormitory of Barracks #28.

One day Betsie and Corrie learned the reason why. On that particular day, the knitting brigade assigned to work in the dormitory of Barracks #28 was confused about their assignment, so they asked the supervisor to come and instruct them. But she would not. She would not step through the door. Neither would the guards. None of them would set foot in the dormitory of Barracks #28. Why?

Because of the fleas! “We’re not coming in there!” they yelled, “That place is crawling with fleas!” Corrie’s mind rushed back to their first hour in that place. She remembered Betsie’s bowed head, she remembered Betsie’s thanks to God for those little creatures for which she herself could see no use.

As Christians, let us imitate Betsie and praise the LORD at all times, recognizing His faithful provisions.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

Although we may praise the LORD when we see His works of grace, our praise should not turn to complaint when we encounter hard times. Because He is our faithful covenant-keeping God, we should praise Him at all times.

Let us bear in mind these three keys to consistent praise: 1) Remember the LORD’s works of grace; 2) Realize the LORD’s purpose in bringing hard times and tough situations; and, 3) Recognize the LORD’s faithful provisions.

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. What theme is prominent in the song Israel sings to the LORD? Note Ex. 15:1, 3-4, 6 Do we reverently acknowledge this warrior aspect of the LORD’s character? Is it not because our God is a righteous Warrior that we have our redemption from the devil and from our own sinful nature?

¹Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea! Ex. 15:1

³The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name! ⁴11e has hurled Pharaoh’s chariots and his army into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. Ex. 15:3-4

⁶Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic with power. Your right hand, O LORD, has smashed the enemy to pieces. Ex. 15:6

2. Against whom does the LORD rise up in battle? See Ex. 15:7 Do we solemnly recognize the fact that the LORD will not tolerate any challenge or defiance to His sovereign rule over all His creatures and all creation? See Psl. 2:1-4, 10-12 What counsel does the Apostle Peter give us? 1 Pet. 5:5-6.

⁷By the greatness of your majesty, you have overthrown those who rise up against you. You unleash your wrath and it consumes them like stubble.Ex. 15:7

¹Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? ²The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, ³Let us break their bonds in pieces, and cast away their cords from us. ⁴11e that sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision...¹⁰Now, therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. ¹¹Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. ¹²Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, when his anger is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in him. Psl. 2:1-4, 10-12

Note: “Kissing” the Son is an act of homage and submission to Him, acknowledging His divine authority and Lordship.

⁵God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. ⁶Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. 1 Pet. 5:5-6

3. For the Christian, what solace is there to be found in the knowledge that the LORD is the all-mighty Warrior? See Ex. 15:9-10; note, too, 2 Thess. 1:6-10.

⁹The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake them, I will divide the spoils; my desire shall be satisfied against them, I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.' ¹⁰But you blew with your breath and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Ex. 15:9-10

⁶...it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, ⁷and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. ⁸in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power,¹⁰when he comes, on that Day, to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at by all those who believed... 2 Thess. 1:6-10

Note: To “not know God” means to not have a saving relationship with Him.

4. What testimony do the people of Israel make in Exodus 15:13? But what attitude do they express in verse 24? In what circumstance do they now find themselves? See Ex. 15:22-23 Like Israel, does our “tune” change when we encounter an adverse change in circumstance? How may the Psalmist’s testimony (Psl. 34:1) become our testimony? Note Psl. 34:6-7.

¹³By your lovingkindness, you have led the people whom you redeemed; by your strength, you will guide them to your holy dwelling place. Ex. 15:13

²²Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they came to the wilderness of Shur. For three days they traveled through the wilderness without finding water. ²³When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of that place, because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. ²⁴The people grumbled against Moses, asking, 'What shall we drink?'Ex. 15:22-24

¹I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth...⁶This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. ⁷The Angel of the LORD encamps round about those who fear him, and delivers them. Psl. 34:1, 6-7

5. Why has the LORD brought Israel to Marah? See Ex. 15:25b Where does He lead them following the lesson learned at Marah? See Ex. 15:27 Do we recognize the divine principle by which the LORD governs His people: “At times, I will bring you into difficult situations that are beyond your control and ability, but I will always prove Myself to be your all-sufficient God. Trust me.”? Do we realize the purpose and intent of this divine principle: As Christians, the whole course of our lives is divinely designed to nurture us in God-sufficiency in place of self-sufficiency?

²⁵There at Marah, the LORD made a statute and a decree for them, and there he tested them. ²⁶He said, 'If you will diligently pay attention to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight and listen to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.' ²⁷Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters. Ex. 15:25-27