Exodus 15: Yahweh is a Warrior
Quotable Quote
“Slavery contradicts God; it is a denial of God’s will” (James Cone, The Spirituals and the Blues).
“God has spoken; twice I have this:
that power belongs to God,
and that steadfast love [hesed] belongs to you, O Lord.”
(Psalm 62.11-12)
I. Texts to Know
– Psalm 68, Note the interesting parallels with Exodus 15 including Yahweh as the Warrior for the “nobodies,” the role of women in v.11&25, and God’s Presence.
– Psalm 135
– Psalm 124, 133-134, Selections of the Songs of Ascents emphasis on the deliverance, Keeping of Israel and the blessedness of dwelling with Yahweh. A world of shalom.
– Revelation 15.1-4
II. What Kind of Warrior? Four Key Statements
“Through all of the sorrow of the Sorrow Songs there breathes a hope – a faith in the ultimate justice of things.” (Cone, The Spirituals and The Blues)
1) v.2 Yahweh is “my strength” “my might” my salvation”
2) v.13 Yahweh’s Hesed is the core and how Israel is “led”
3) v.17 Yahweh will “plant” Israel on the mountain; they will live in
Yahweh’s “abode.”
4) v.18 Yahweh is King, Pharoah (Ceasar/President) is not. First
announcement of the kingdom of God in the Bible.
Yahweh is a Warrior not for his own ego nor even for a monarch as is frequently the case in the ANE. Yahweh is Shepherd of those who have no one to defend them, have no resources, the “nobodies.” He becomes their strength, his Hesed leads them, he gives them a place to live and he becomes their king.
III. Beginning with Tina (Miriam)
“I … redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam” (Micah 6.4)
“I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” (Joel 2.28)
The Book of Exodus begins with an unusually strong emphasis on the participation of women in the redemption of God’s people. The midwives. Moses’s mother. Daughter of Pharoah. Zipporah. And Miriam.
Miriam is designated as “THE prophet.” Our lection concludes with the notification of the people of God being led in worship of Yahweh through the ministry of the prophet Miriam “and all the women.”
A number of scholars have argued that this placement actually suggests that Miriam was the composer of the hymn. Verse 21 begins with a summons, imperative, to sing – worship. As Christopher Wright noted,
“The fact that verse 21 is so short does not imply that Miriam only got to sing a tiny fragment, but rather, since the opening line is a summons … she was in fact leading the singing of the whole song known by that title or refrain” (Wright, Exodus, p.292; Victor Hamilton expresses the same opinion, Exodus, p.235). Note Psalm 68.
I share this opinion. It is Ike and Tina, not just Ike. 😉
IV. Yahweh is My Salvation (15.1-3)
Israel now serves – worships – Yahweh rather than serving/worshiping Pharoah. It is a serving into life and liberty rather than slavery and death. So worship, praise, thanksgiving, is at one and the same time the result and goal of salvation.
The phrase “Yahweh is a Warrior; Yahweh is his name” is praise. It is exaltation of the “my father’s God” and “my God.”
Note that while Moses has a role in chapter 14, he has no role in the description of salvation in chapter 15. Moses and Miriam praise Yahweh, not Moses. Salvation belongs to God.
The whole point of this metaphor (Yahweh is a Man of War/Warrior) must be understood. The point is Israel did not fight. Only Yahweh brought the victory/salvation. It is his and his alone. A nice and extremely accessible discussion of a discussion of Yahweh is a Warrior and the Wars of God as a locus of “hesed/grace” is Ronald M. Hals, Grace and Faith in the Old Testament, chapter 2.
V. Pharoah, and Egypt’s Gods, Destroyed (15.4-10)
Poetic metaphors. Some things can only be said in poetry and lyrics. Think of Johnny Horton’s “The Battle of New Orleans,”
“Old Hickory said, ‘We could take’em by surprise if we didn’t fire our muskets til we look’em in the eye … They ran through the briers and they ran through the brambles And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn’t go … They ran so fast the hounds couldn’t catch’em on down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.”
Moses and Miram (or Miriam and Moses) sing poetry. They describe the complete victory (salvation) of God on behalf of slaves. Like Horton, their song quotes Pharoah, “the enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoils …”
But all Yahweh did was “you blew with your wind/spirit ( בְרוּחֲךָ֖) …” and that’s all she wrote as the saying goes!
VI. Yahweh’s Incomparability (15.11-16)
– majestic in holiness
– doing wonders
– Hesed redemption
– “the peoples” heard
VII. Dwelling and Kingdom (15.17-18)
– Planted on a Mountain common ANE idea of place where a deity resides. The point here is that where Yahweh is bringing Israel, Yahweh already owns, a “garden” (like Eden). God’s people are, as Yahweh says in Exodus 19, carried “to myself on eagles wings.” God will dwell in the tabernacle and the temple and in King Jesus, and with us (Revelation 21-22).
– Kingdom of God The whole redemption by Yahweh’s Hesed/Grace is framed by the grateful celebrative worship of the redeemed slaves. Beginning in chapter 12, Israel learns to worship in a meal that tells the story. At the “cross event” (Exodus) the people explode with praise. What can you do when you have been raised from certain death but say thank you.