Finding Christ in the Old Testament - Exodus 15:1 - 18

Finding Christ in the Old Testament
Exodus 15:1–18

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 crossing of the Red Sea is more than deliverance from Egypt—it is typological of baptism, where the enemies of God’s people are drowned and His chosen ones pass through the water to new life. The Lord, who fights for His people, is praised not merely for power, but for salvation wrought with His own hand. Here, Israel stands on the far shore, delivered not by their strength but by the LORD’s outstretched arm—a foreshadowing of Christ’s victory at the cross. Just as Pharaoh, the enemy of God’s people, is cast into the sea, so too does Christ cast down the prince of this world through His death and resurrection. The Song of Moses becomes the pattern of the Song of the Lamb in Revelation, where the final Exodus is fulfilled in Christ. Christ is the true and greater Moses, leading His people out of bondage not to Pharaoh, but to sin and death. In Him, the Lord is indeed a Man of War—not in violence, but in the battle of righteousness, waged with blood, cross, and empty tomb.

Devotion
We often face trials that seem too great, and enemies that threaten to undo us. But Christ has already passed through the deep and brought us with Him. As Israel stood and sang on the far shore, so we too sing, because the Lord has triumphed gloriously. Our baptism is the sea He has parted. Our sin, like Pharaoh’s army, is drowned. And we live now on resurrection ground.

New Testament Verse:
Revelation 15:3 (ESV) “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!’”

Collect
Almighty Lord, who triumphed over Pharaoh and shattered the power of Egypt, and who through Your Son, Jesus Christ, has triumphed over sin, death, and the devil—lead us through the waters of this life by the power of His cross, that we may stand on the shores of Your eternal kingdom and sing the song of the Lamb, through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn Verse
The day of resurrection!
Earth, tell it out abroad,
The passover of gladness,
The passover of God.
From death to life eternal,
From sin’s dominion free,
Our Christ has brought us over
With hymns of victory.
— LSB 478:1, The Day of Resurrection

Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, Now and Forever, Unto the Ages of Ages, AMEN!