Exodus 15:1 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.
Commentary comments on the wording of verse 15, noting that the verse is “The Lord is my strength,” not the Lord gives me strength. I agree that the wording is important. If the Lord gives me strength, then part of the strength, the base of the strength is my own, which is human and fleshy and weak. If the Lord IS my strength, that is all Him and not me, that’s powerful.
Exodus 15:2 “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.
But the problem is that, historically, folks tend to co-opt the Lord’s strength, mistaking their own agendas, prejudices, anger for the Lord’s. They claim they are acting in the Lord’s strength when they are spreading anger, malice, hatred. Jesus was not a pushover. He showed anger at times, but the heart of His mission was love.
Exodus 15:3 The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.
Precious Savior, Help me to be Your hands and feet in this world, to do all things in Your love. Help me not to co-opt Your strength and twist it for my own agenda. Be with those who do. Help them to see Your deep, fierce, all-encompassing love and be changed by it. Help us, Jesus. Amen.
Exodus 15:4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
Have a blessed day.