Key Verse:
Exodus 15:11 NKJV
11
“Who is like You, O Lord, among the [a]gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?”
After four hundred and thirty years of captivity, of hope deferred, all that they remembered about God along with all of His might made evident before them, it was time for a praise break.
Where to begin?
Psalm 9:11 NKJV
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people...
We are beginning a new Lesson Stanard this week. A whole new set of lessons for the next year. The yearly cycle of the International Lesson Standard coincides with the annual acknowledgment and celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year or “Head of the Year”. Biblically, it is regarded as a day of remembrance and a day of shouting. It is appropriate then, that as we begin a new year of study we remember the place from where God has brought us, and that we respond with spontaneous worship. These are elements we find in this first week’s lesson.
In fact, this fall quarter will focus on ‘Celebrating God’, which is the title of the quarter. Throughout, we will focus on many aspects of praise and how it is a critical component to the true worship of God. With that being said, let us begin. Enjoy the lesson.
Prelude
Acts 7:6-7 NKJV
6 But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. 7 ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that, they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’
God is so good. Be reminded that He took a people who were not a people and made them a great nation. For four hundred years they dwelt in Egypt, at first as guests, but later as slaves. But God! He did not forget them. He could not. He cannot go against His Word. He made a promise to Abraham. What He promises, He is able to perform, and so He raised up a deliverer from among them. You know the story. From the tribe of Levi, God raised up Moses, then nurtured him in Pharoah’s palace as a Prince of Egypt.
Selah (Pause and meditate on that. A Prince of Egypt. Look at God!)
But he would not act on God’s behalf as a Prince of Egypt, but rather as an outcast. Moses, who had it all, lost it all in a single impulsive act that marked him as an enemy of the state and eventually an outcast, banished for forty years in the desert of Moab. Just when it seemed that Moses would be resigned to a life as a shepherd, a life of promise unfulfilled, God intervened.
Selah ((Pause for a moment of praise and consider: Is it ever too late for God?) (Got to be careful here. I don’t want to get sidetracked))
It was in this moment that God began a movement. A movement to deliver His people out of Egypt. The good news? That He could use a washed-up, old sheepherder to topple the greatest nation of its day.
Selah ((Pause for a moment and consider: If God can use a broken old man to deliver a nation, He can use...me…!) (It’s never too late for your moment Beloved! Be encouraged and be ready!))
Several months and ten plagues later, God has crippled Egypt for the sake of His people. Israel. It wasn’t easy. These had been frightful days, full of subterfuge and uncertainty. To the very end, the children of Israel witnessed the mighty hand of God raised in their defense. In the final display of His mighty power, God drowned Pharoah and the Egyptian army in the Red sea before their very eyes. And now, here they were, a nation-to-be-but-not-yet. Here were the descendants of Jacob on the other side… the other side of the Red Sea.
Exodus 14:30-31 NKJV
30 So the Lord saved[g] Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Thus Israel saw the great [h]work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and His servant Moses.
Selah (It was time to take a break. A praise break!)
The Lesson
Exodus 15:11 NKJV
11
“Who is like You, O Lord, among the [b]gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?”
Immediately after witnessing the defeat of Pharoah and the Egyptian army, Moses immediately breaks into praise and worship, leading the exhausted, but finally free Hebrews into a moment of spontaneous praise. It stands to reason then, that they look directly to the source of their deliverance. “Who is like you Lord?” Indeed, what can compare to our God’s matchless power, or to His unfathomable Glory? And after what they had just witnessed?
Exodus 15-12 NKJV
12
“You stretched out Your right hand;
The earth swallowed them.”
They witnessed the defeat and absolute destruction of the greatest army on earth at that time. God had shown Himself, after four hundred and thirty years of silence, to be more fearsome than anyone could have imagined, delivering a nation out of bondage with a mighty hand. How so similar is this to the four hundred years of silence between Malachi and Matthew, plus the thirty years before the Lord’s Messiah would be revealed to the world in the person of Jesus, our Lord! The One who would bring deliverance from the grip of sin to all mankind.
Selah (Who knew! Four hundred and thirty years from Egypt to the Red Sea, and from Malachi to Christ! My Lord!)
Exodus 15:13 NKJV
13
“You in Your mercy have led forth
The people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them in Your strength
To Your holy habitation.”
Nothing has changed. The same God who redeemed Moses and the Hebrew children still delivers His people. And He still brings us into His Presence to worship. Before the Hebrews could make it to Mount Sinai for a more formal worship service, they celebrated His Presence, the very Presence that had led them into the Red Sea, baptizing them into the family of God. From death to life.
Selah ((Does any of this sound familiar?) (It’s enough to make you shout… like Moses did…))
Exodus 15:14-16 NKJV
14
“The people will hear and be afraid;
Sorrow[b] will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.
15
Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed;
The mighty men of Moab,
Trembling will take hold of them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.
16
Fear and dread will fall on them;
By the greatness of Your arm
They will be as still as a stone,
Till Your people pass over, O Lord,
Till the people pass over
Whom You have purchased.”
And suddenly everything has changed. Once discounted as mere slaves, the Hebrew children were about to come into their own, and that was frightening for their soon-to-be neighbors. And who were their neighbors: Living among the Philistines, there were giants; twice the size of normal men and very powerful. The Moabites and the Edomites both laid claim to God’s Promise to Abraham; the Moabites as descendants of Lot, and the Edomites as sons of Issac. The Canaanites were protected by Egypt until the moment God crushed the Egyptians. Suddenly, all of these nations’ power, position, and influence paled when compared to the demonstration of God’s majestic power over Egypt and the position of influence to which the Hebrews suddenly found themselves elevated.
Selah (Don’t let this moment pass without giving God the praise for elevation in your own life. Beloved, you are seated in Heavenly places in Christ. You too are coming into an inheritance of immeasurable and eternal value. And yes, those around you do take notice. Praise the Lord!)
Exodus 15:17-18 NKJV
17
“You will bring them in and plant them
In the mountain of Your inheritance,
In the place, O Lord, which You have made
For Your own dwelling,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
18
“The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
Moses finishes His song of praise by foretelling of a day when the children of Israel will indeed come into their inheritance: a home. A permanent place to dwell and a permanent place for God’s dwelling place: the Temple of God. Not Mount Sinai, where God will give them the Commandments, but Mount Zion, where God will place His throne in a city yet unnamed: Jerusalem. All of this foreshadows a time yet to come, where we will dwell with God in the Heavenly city of Zion for Eternity.
Selah (Just stop and tell the Lord, “Thank You!”)
Exodus 15:19 NKJV
19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
This portion of the narrative closes with the brief remembrance of God’s great victory over Egypt and His wondrous deliverance of the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry land. Water is indeed wet, but God is able to subjugate the very laws of nature for His divine purpose.
Selah (It is always good to remember where God brought you from and how He brought you through. And when you remember, every time you remember, tell Him, “Thank you!”. Or as the old folks say it, “Thank Yuh!. Praise the Lord!)
Selah (I’m almost done. Hang on!)
Exodus 20-21a NKJV
20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21a And Miriam answered them:
The narrative picks up with a change: Miriam, the prophetess of God, and the sister of Moses takes up the banner of praise. With timbrels in hand, she and the women of Israel take over the worship service with singing and dancing and more music. What we see here is an early example of what we call in the black church: call and response. It’s: “Verily, Verily”. It’: “Amen and Amen”. It’s: “Yes Lord, Yes Lord”. It’s: “Jesus, take the wheel” It’s a ‘Selah’ moment…
Exodus 15:21b NKJV
21b
“Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!”
The organ is blasting, the drums are loud. People are shouting, and dancing, and running. Hands in the air. Tears flowing. Emotions are high. People have gotten ‘happy’! If you never had church like this, find a friend who has and invite yourself to go to church with them. Spontaneous Praise. Worship from somewhere deep within. Worship as a result of having come through a very hard place by the mighty hand of God. Worship as a result of having experienced God’s Presence, His Holiness. Worship as a result of having heard His voice: the voice of the Good Shepherd. Every now and then, you have to give it up to God. Surrender yourself in praise and in worship. The Hebrew word Halal means to celebrate or to praise boisterously. When the suffix ‘Yah” is added, it becomes the word, Hallelujah, meaning ‘to praise God in the highest manner or, to give God the highest praise or, to not withhold praise or limit your praise of God. Take your foot off the brakes. Take a moment. A Selah moment. Take a praise break!
Selah
wb
Psalm 150:6 NKJV
6
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
(Note: Every use of the word ‘praise’ in Psalm 150, is the Hebrew word - Halal)
Thanks, Bro. Wayne. I thought halal was just a sandwich on pita bread! 😂 but it mean Praise. Good Stuff, sir
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