1  THEN sang Moses and the children of Israel this song [ Is the narrator of the story suggesting, "Okay, everyone stop and just take that in. What just happened?" ] unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD , [ The children of Israel sing songs of redeeming love, how the Lord their God redeemed them from the destruction of the armies of the Pharaoh.] for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

2 The >LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.

5 The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.

6 T hy right hand, [ The right hand, as we is the covenant hand. ] O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

9  The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, [ Do we sometimes feel this way about our sins, how often are they so big that they treathen to overtake us? Just like the Egyptians here who are the adversary or my sins, and now I'm singing praises to God who has destroyed my sins. Here the Lord promises if we will turn to him he "will overtake that the lust may be satisfied upon them. I will draw my sword". Here the Lord is suggesting that he has provided a way out. ] I will divide the spoil; my lust [ The word "lust", the Hebrew word there's nephesh, which means my soul, my desire. Lust, when the king James translators translated it, it didn't have quite the same baggage that it has now. ] shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: [ The Egyptian army which is symbolic for sin. ] they sank as lead in the mighty waters. [ It's kind of like this idea of baptism that God provided away for me to sink my sins and difficulties away in the water. ]

11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

14 The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.

16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.

17 Thou shalt bring them in, [ Who? All of the children of Israel. ] , and plant [ The Hebrew word for plant is nata it is interesting that Moses uses this same Hebrew verb nata or “to plant” to refer to his holy sanctuary on Mount Sinai in (Gen. 2:8) it reads, “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden.” So, Moses is clearly stating here that the Lord was the one who built his temple on this mountain called Mount Sinai so that the Lord would have a place to dwell on earth and that God’s people were to be planted in the temple, because it was their inheritance. ] them in the mountain of thine inheritance, [ Remember when, back in Exodus 3 Moses telling Pharaoh that the Lord wanted him to bring Israel out so that they could serve him upon his mountain. It was a Latter Day Saint scholar, John Linquist who said that the Jerusalem temple is the architectural embodiment and ritual enlargement of Israel's experience at Mount Sinai. So with everything, with the brazen sea symbolizing the red sea, the elder there in the court even before that. And then the holy place, and then the holy of holies. Our temples today still fit that basic pattern with a celestial area and terrestrial, which mostly pertain to Melchizedek priesthood ordinances and then the outer court, the outer area, which is terrestrial. so, you have that sort of, what Joseph Smith described as the three principle rounds of Jacob's ladder, still present in the architecture and the ritual design of our temples. Verse 17 is a clear reference to the temple. ] in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, [ Capital "S" ie temple. We will see in chapter 19 this is what the Lord wants to do with the children of Israel is to endow them from on high. ] O Lord, which thy hands have established.

18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

20 ¶ And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

22  So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, [ It's a coming forth for the children of Israel, the newness of life. It's resurrection, it's rebirth. It's the new creation. It's the new life. It's all of it. Talking about the baptismal typology. In a way it is the same story for them as the ark was for Noah. Remember, it was Paul who said, I think that's first Corinthians 10 where he talks about that they were all baptized in the sea and in the cloud to Moses. ] and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

23 ¶ And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. [ Marah means bitterness. ]

24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? [ So can we say they are no longer singing "we thank thee oh God for a prophet?" It has only been three days, but three days without water is eternity. Things were going so good and now the are in the crapper again. Oh the roler coaster of life. Good days and bad days. We think we have it all figured out and then the crap hits the fan again. The people are murmuring, and yet the Lord blesses them Why? This is the beginning of a process, a process of turning them to Chirst, coming to the knowledge on their own that he is, and making them understand that they were brought from Egypt because of the promise the Lord made with Abraham, but what they do now and the blessings that they receive will be based on their own merits not Abrahams. WHAT ARE THE DANGERS OF MURMURING? ▪ A little complaining may not seem like much. However, if it is left unchecked it can begin to erode our faith. ▪ Murmuring is often shared with others and can also erode their faith. I have witnessed the effects of murmuring in my life and within a ward family. In some instances, the effects of this murmuring have been far reaching and have affected the lives of many. This is a serious matter. We must do everything within our power to stop murmuring. We must check ourselves and strive to keep a positive attitude.]

25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed [ The word in Hebrew there is actually the same word where you get the word Torah or Yara, which means to teach by pointing the finger. The Lord pointed him to either a tree or a piece of wood. Most likely not an entire tree because he takes it and to throws it into the water. ] him a tree, [ Oh how interesting - A TREE. Symbolism here? The Tree of Life will turn bitter waters into sweet waters. So the presence of the tree as revealed by the Lord makes bitter waters sweet. Old Jewish mystical text from Sephr-bi-ere suggests that the story at the Waters of Mara and it says that tree was the tree of life and it also says subsequently Satan came along and hid the tree of life and Israelites couldn't find it anymore. ] which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". The Lord begins to impose individual and corporate covenant relationships upon Israel and they are conditional upon their own merits - that of keeping the statutes that he has given them. so we might say they are learning line upon line how to become his people.] which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

27 ¶ And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: [ The description of Elim as having twelve wells, convenient for twelve tribes, and seventy palms indicates this was no mud hole, but had a good supply of fresh water. That they came to such a well-watered place suggests they heeded the Lord’s warning in v. 26 and were therefore blessed for it. ] and they encamped there by the waters.