2-1-15. Exodus 15:1-18. Praise And Thank The Lord For Who He Is And All He Does-my devotional

 Exodus 15: 1-18                                                                       Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 15: 2                                                                        2-1-15

 “The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” (NIV)

Nestled within these verses are some nuggets of wisdom concerning thanksgiving. Exodus 15:1-18 reads, “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea. 2 “The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him,    my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone. 6 Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy. 7 “In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble. 8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood up like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’ 10 But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11 Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? 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 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 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. 18 “The Lord reigns for ever and ever.” (NIV)

Moses and the Israelites celebrated the victory over Pharaoh and deliverance from Egypt with a song of praise to God for the greatness of his majesty, for his awesome power and glory. Moses sang about “God who is my strength, my song and…my salvation Any celebratory feast were secondary. Giving God thanksgiving, praise and glory was the top priority.

People of faith should give thanks to God, not just because of the things he does for us, but most importantly for who God is. In this passage are so many descriptions of who the God of the Bible is. Let’s review them together.

he is highly exalted. 1

The Lord is my strength and my defense; 2

He is my God 2

he has become my salvation 2

The Lord is a warrior; 3

the Lord is his name. 3

Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power. 6

Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy. 6

In the greatness of your majesty 7

you threw down those who opposed you. 7

You unleashed your burning anger 7

By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood up like a wall; 8

But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. 10

majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? 11

“You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies. 12

In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. 13

In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling. 13

The nations will hear and tremble; 14

By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone—until your people pass by, 16

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. 17

“The Lord reigns for ever and ever.” 18

These references to God can be categorized into aspects of God’s character and his care for his people as their Chief  Shepherd.

God is…Highly exalted; majestic; Great; and reigns as Lord and God; has holy anger to those

who oppose him, he is strong; a savior, he controls nature.

God is …a personal God who brings salvation; has unfailing love; defends his people; guides his

people to eternal destinations; establishes an eternal home for his people near to himself.

Brings his people to where they cannot bring themselves.

A practical application of this would be how we handle personal successes in our lives. We are facing so many “Red Seas” that the Lord has delivered us from. The Lord has delivered me from a life controlled by sin. My life was being eroded by sin. But Jesus forgave me of my sins and gave me a whole new life. He delivered me through five years of persecution. College studies were my nemesis. But Jesus helped me to pass a college chemical technology program and get my bachelor’s degree in nursing. I was a 28 year old bachelor with no prospects of marriage. The Jesus helped me to get married and stay married.  There are so many forces against having a large family. But God helped us to have five kids and support them. It is never easy to engage in Gospel ministry. But Jesus has helped us to do so for 29 years. He even helped us to head up a house church for 12 years. Now he is leading us to further spiritual adventures in ministry. It is not easy to keep engaged in family, work, life and ministry. But Jesus is helping Julie and I to navigate these waters as we enter middle age. The newest Red Sea is to find all of our kids possessing saving faith and serving the Lord. Serving Christ in middle age, providing for our needs and mentoring our five kids is our new Red Sea. God has brought us through all of our Red Seas in life and he will continue to do so. Knowing how God has delivered me and my family, how should I respond? From this passage, I learn it must be with thanksgiving and praise to the one who made deliverance for all that oppresses possible…Jesus Christ.

How a person handles success and victory is a test of his faith.  Thanks giving and praise must be the top priority. What did Noah do when he was delivered from the flood? Genesis 8:18-20 reads, “18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another. 20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.”  Noah could have chosen to have a feast. But he chose to make a sacrifice to the Lord, who delivered him. Then he had a feast. This response to the grace of God’s deliverance is consistent throughout the Bible.

In the New Testament there are exhortations to be thankful. Colossians 2:6-7 reads, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”  1 Thessalonians 5:18 reads, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  May we all grow to be a thankful people, praising and thanking God for his deliverance from our “Red Seas” in life.