Introduction
This week Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement and the world took notice. She’s a singer and he’s a football player, but the world sang their praises.
When the Oscars have their moment in the sun next year in March, probably five songs will candidate for the Best Song of the Year. But today’s chapter, contains the record of the First of 3 Songs of Moses in the Bible. And it might not win a Grammy or Oscar, but it certainly won a place in the Bible, and that’s better than any red carpet praise.
Now here’s an interesting verse in the middle of today’s song. In verse 13 we read
Thou hast guided them to Thy holy habitation.
Actually where was it to which we had been led at this point? Only across the sea and having our enemies drown in the midst of it. So, the forecast by Moses of the conquest of the Land is certainly in view as the next couple verses highlight, but I want to address the venue of our standing at this point. Frank Sinatra sang the hit song about his lost lover whom he longed to kiss. He said,
“Somewhere beyond the sea; somewhere waitin' for me.
My lover stands on golden sand and watches the ships that go sailin'.”
“Across the sea” for the Jewish people in our text today is freedom. And nothing else matters when you are across the sea. Let’s talk today about freedom and learn 4 lessons. I believe there is freedom in singing, there is also a danger in freedom and we can grow comfortable in true freedom. Finally, there is a cost for our freedom.
Lesson 1: Freedom in singing
Listen to Israel singing as they escape. Do you hear the ladies who led the chorus with their tambourines? Do you hear the birds joining in the chant? It’s a fantastic sense of relief. I was in jail for a few days in Florida as a hippie some 50 years ago. Don’t ask. But what I remember the most about the time was the getting out. The man who gave me the money to pay my penalty had enough for me, not for himself. He lent it to me and straightaway I knew I had to return it to him. But my first thought as I got out of prison was relief. I was overjoyed. I kicked my heels together and laughed and ran and felt like singing. I know how those 3 million slaves in Egypt felt, in measure.
There is a joy in the freedom of escape. Israel turned and saw the drowned tormentors and there might have even been a feeling of satisfaction. Not only did we win, but you got yours, too, loser! Take that one!
The rabbis always caution however against smug and snooty sayings. Never rejoice, they say, at the sufferings of others. Love of neighbour truly forbids that.
And here’s another rub
“No man in this world attains to freedom from any slavery except by entrance into some higher servitude. There is no such thing as an entirely free man conceivable.“ Phillips Brooks (1835- 1893), Perennials.
I agree with Brooks. What was the new servitude we were to enter? I believe it was true relationship with the Lord. Many want freedom without responsibility, but that’s dangerous.
Lesson 2: Danger in Freedom
A man's worst difficulties begin when he is able to do as he likes. Thomas Huxley, "Address on University Education," Collected Essays, 1902, III, p. 236.
Maybe I should call this the responsibility of freedom rather than the danger of it. For it is in knowing that we are responsible and to whom we are responsible that we gain a new level of freedom.
Cicero said this, “We are in bondage to the law in order that we may be free.”
Cicero is not speaking about biblical law here, rather moral law and civil law.
And his point is well taken. We who gain our freedom need to employ it in serving others.
“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5.13-16)
Lesson 3: The cost of Freedom
Who better than Yeshua understands that one? He had the freedom of being the Son in the heavens. He lived there throughout eternity past and chose to come to earth to bring God’s life and ministry here. If you have seen the movie “The Passion of the Christ” then you know what torment he endured. He had ample opportunity to opt out of the final march. He could have cashed in his chips and left and returned to the Father any time during his earthly stay. Yeshua however, remained. He chose to endure to the end.
And the big question you must ask yourself as you watch the movie, or as you think through this issue, is why? Why did Yeshua endure to the end? Was it a need to be a martyr? Was he trying to make a point? Was he sort of slow and backward, not knowing the real consequences and then got caught out? Or was it his plan to trick people into thinking he was the messiah and had to play this out in public? Listen, I don’t think any of these questions and their rhetorical replies give a sense of satisfaction. I don’t believe Jesus was making a point or dying as a martyr to prove anything to anyone. He wasn’t a dolt by any means nor was this an act of trickery or slight of hand.
The Bible says Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins.
The reason he came was to die. The reason he endured to the end was to see to the payment and not leave anyone out. Imagine a bank of enormous wealth and a grocery trolley and you. The bank is open and the wealth is yours. And you have to go in and out and take and carry what you want. With each transaction into the vault, you get more excited and more exhausted. There will be a time when you say, “Enough.” When is that? When you have counted out a million dollars? Will it be enough to take one trolley full? When you have taken the entire wealth of the bank? Or is it when you attained what your goal was? God loved the world so much that he sent his only son to die for us and to redeem us back from the powers of Satan. (John 3.16) Nothing was going to stop the Son of God from doing this job. And there were plenty of distractions and traps to cause him to fail. But his takings at the earthly bank, of something more valuable than money, were complete. He did not stop until he had in the words of the Apostle, “ruined the principalities and powers.”(1 Peter 3.22) He took the final amount of owings, that which humanity owed to sin and death, and received them on himself. Jesus took the lot of the punishment for our failings and our sins. What love the Father has for us…and Yeshua has for us. That’s the answer to the ‘why did he do it’ question.
Lesson 4: Growing comfortable in your freedom
The Israelites on the east side of the Red Sea are now free. They can rejoice and they can sing. They are unsure where they are going at this point. They know that God is leading them. The siblings, Moses, Aaron and Miriam are leading the troops of weary wanderers. It’s hot and dusty in the desert. It’s uncomfortable living out of a suitcase. They don’t know a lot; they don’t have earthly comforts, but they have something going for them. They have discovered the God who led them out of Egypt has the power to keep fighting for them in the world outside Egypt. Yahweh is not a tribal God or local deity; He is Lord of earth, and as they sing “ki ga’o, ga’ah”. He has triumphed triumphantly. He is not just an exalted local deity; He is the boss. They are beginning to understand the power and immensity of the Almighty. I love the song we sing ‘Mi chamocha,’ “Who is like unto Thee?”(Ex. 15.11) reflects this orientation. It’s also in this chapter. There are no gods like our God! You begin to sense that Israel which has been so far removed from the notice of the Lord for generations is now beginning to grow comfortable in saying things about Him, in singing to Him, and in living for Him.
Some of you reading this lesson today are new believers. Good! Make sure you grow comfortable in learning about the Lord, in saying the name of Yeshua to others, in being baptized, in walking out life with Him. Why? Because He has triumphed gloriously. He is the God among all false gods. He has taken us to freedom and will never forsake us. How awesome is he?
Taylor knows how to sing. The world of entertainment knows how to sing at the engagement of celebrities and the winning of Super Bowls. We have won the victory over sin and death in the powerful name of Yeshua. Let's sing together, even now.
Conclusion: What lessons do we learn from today's teaching?
1) Freedom has a cost and someone has to pay it
2) Singing to God brings Him pleasure as well as you
3) Never rejoice at the sufferings of your enemies
4) Yeshua loved you so much that he would not stop until He died for all your sins and shortcomings.
