Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my 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. Exodus 15:1-2 ....Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea." Exodus 15:20-21

This week’s Shabbat is sometimes called the Shabbat Shira, the Sabbath of Song, because on this Shabbat we read in our Torah portion how after the crossing of the Red Sea Moses and the men of Israel break into a song of praise rejoicing in their deliverance from bondage and slavery to Pharaoh and also how Miriam responds; calling to the women to join her in song, in praise of God. Jewish commentators on this portion give a lot of attention to Miriam and we will come back to this later because she has something to teach us.

It is the first recorded hymn of praise in the Bible although Isaiah tells us that they sang on the night of Passover

You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. (Isaiah 30:29)

They sang as they left slavery in Egypt; no doubt a song of hope and faith as they looked to the Lord for His promised deliverance obeying the instruction to put blood over their door posts and eat a meal of lamb and unleavened bread all the while dressed and ready to go.

This song sung by the Red Sea was so precious to the heart of God that it becomes one of heaven’s songs. A spontaneous song of celebration, marvelling at God’s deliverance it is filled with a deep awareness of the victory of God in bringing His people out of bondage in Egypt. It honours both what He does and who He is. It is perhaps one of the greatest hymns ever written. In the book of Revelation it becomes not only the song of Moses but the victory song of the Lamb who has brought each one of us out of slavery to sin and praises Him who has become our salvation and our song.

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!” Revelation 15:3

Isaiah the Prophet tells us that this song will be the song of the redeemed of Lord, sung in the Messianic age when like those whom God brought up out of Egypt broke out in a song of praise so too will those who through the Messiah draw water from the “wells of salvation” sing songs in praise of Him who is our salvation.

You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:1-2

In Jewish tradition there are 10 ‘Songs of Redemption’

1. 1. The song sung on the night of the Exodus in Egypt - Isaiah 30:29
2. 2. The "Song at the Sea" - Exodus 15:1-21
3. 3. The "Song at the Well" - Numbers 21:17-20
4. 4. Moses' song upon his completion of writing the Torah - Deuteronomy 32
5. 5. The song with which Joshua stopped the sun - Joshua 10:12-13 (tradition says Joshua sang)
6. 6. Deborah's song - Judges 5
7. 7. King David's song - II Samuel 22
8. 8. The song at the dedication of the Holy Temple - Psalm 30
9. 9. King Solomon's Song of Songs extolling the love between the Divine Groom and His bride Israel.

Shirat haYam – the Song at the Sea, the second of these songs is part of the daily morning service in the synagogue and remains in the hearts of the Jewish people to this day. The 10th song according to tradition is called the ‘NEW SONG’ which will be sung in the Messianic Age – a song that celebrates “the ultimate redemption: a redemption that is global and absolute.” Perhaps the song of Moses and of the Lamb is that song.

What is it then that we learn from Miriam and what do we know about her?

At the Red Sea Moses led the men in song; possibly singing a line at a time and the men echoing or repeating it. Many Jewish sources believe that this song was prophetic and some even believe that all the men sang simultaneously with Moses as God released this prophetic song in their hearts. Then we see an interesting moment when Miriam the sister of Moses calls forth the women and she leads them in the song. Commentators noting that she is called here a prophetess, think that she led the women in the same song as the men not needing to learn it.

Miriam as a woman of God is often overlooked; perhaps because she and her brother Aaron sinned against Moses and against God by challenging Moses authority. We remember her and are encouraged to remember her as having being struck with leprosy and kept out of the camp for 7 days and then we hear nothing of her until her death, yet we have the prophetic statement about her role from the prophet Micah. She was a leader along with Aaron – Jewish sources say that she helped the women with how to interpret and apply the laws of the Torah.

Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt. Deuteronomy 24:9
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Micah 6:4

Yet God forgave her and blessed her: she was healed and although it is not mentioned in the bible; according to Josephus she went on to marry Hur. Interestingly the first time Hur is mentioned is when he goes up the mountain with Aaron and Moses during the battle against the Amalekites and he and Aaron hold up Moses arms. (Exodus 17:8-13) We read that his grandson was Bezalel (Exodus 21:2) who was appointed by God to build the Tabernacle and the first person in the Bible whom we read was filled with the Spirit of God. If as Josephus tells us that she married such a man it provides us with a wonderful picture of God’s forgiveness and loving kindness: of how he takes a life twisted by sin and restores it and then blesses. Miriam repented and knew God’s blessings; at the very least she is honoured in God’s memory as a leader of the people as we read above in Micah. But perhaps there is more to her.

She was a brave young girl who watched her mother place her brother in a basket and place him by the river. When her mother left, she remained waiting to see what would happen to her little brother and when he is found by Pharaoh’s daughter she steps forward and offers to find a midwife who could nurse the child. She was able to reunite her mother and brother. She was probably only about 9 or 10 years old at the time.

When we read of her again it is at the Red Sea singing the song of Moses but we read something here that presents a challenge to us. She challenges our faith because while she was still in Egypt, still enslaved, there was worship in her heart: she had faith. Not only had she heard and believed that the Lord would deliver them from the hand of Pharaoh, she prepared for it. It appears that she encouraged the other women to do so too. She was an encourager who built up the faith of the other women. How do we know this? The women were prepared: they took with them tambourines. While still in slavery the women learned how to play tambourines so that they could worship God, they were ready and waiting for what God would do for them.

Rashi the great Jewish Commentator wrote that the “righteous women of that generation were [so] certain that the Holy One, blessed be He, would perform miracles for them, they took timbrels out of Egypt.”

What we learn is that when times are dark or painful we need the same kind of expectant faith as Miriam’s and we too need to prepare for God’s victory in our lives’. We mustn’t lose heart because we too will experience that moment when we realise that God has brought us through. In that moment we need to recognise His hand and allow His love to wash away the pain and like Moses and Miriam look forward not backwards. I read somewhere that as the amazing love of God was so recognised and acknowledged that as they sang it eclipsed 210 years of suffering and pain and inspired them for the road ahead.

Do we have a song of faith and hope like the Children of Israel had, as they waited on Passover night for their redemption and deliverance? And will we be ready to worship and praise? So often we are so absorbed by our difficulties that we don’t have this song of hope and faith and the challenge of God’s Word is that without faith it is impossible to please God. If we want God to reach into our lives and help then we need to have this expectant and trusting faith and then we will have a victory song to sing in praise of what the Lord has done for us.

These songs of celebration and victory while pleasing and honouring to God are good for us too. They inspire us and focus our attention on God and they are healing to our wounded souls. What begins as a small thank you can grow in an opportunity to engage with God and as we do so we meet with Him and in meeting with Him we are changed.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Yeshua, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

May each Shabbat be a Sabbath of song when we as the ‘Redeemed of the Lord’ sing songs of victory, songs of deliverance and of worship to the Lord who is our salvation and our song, the very strength of our hearts.