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by
Doug Ward |
The Exodus from Egypt was a defining moment for the children of Israel, marking
their birth as a nation. The events were unprecedented, as the prophet Moses
would observe forty years later (Dt 4:32-35). The Creator of the Universe
intervened to rescue the Israelites from enslavement to the great Pharaoh of
Egypt, bringing awesome judgments upon the Egyptians for their exploitation of
his people. At the Red Sea he parted the waters for the Israelites, then
drowned the pursuing Egyptian army.
The
Exodus proclaimed to the whole world God's power and grace. From then on, the
Israelites knew him as the One who had freed them from bondage (Jdg 2:12; 1 Sa 12:6-8; 2 Sa 7:23), and God addressed them
as their Deliverer (Jdg 2:1; 1 Sa 10:18; Am 2:10;
3:1). Because God had saved them, they were to serve him alone (Ex 20:1-3).
When
Israelites were in trouble, they thought back on the mighty wonders of the
Exodus and sought God confidently in prayer (Ps 77). Since God is faithful and
his character is unchanging (Mal 3:6), his future works of salvation could be
counted upon to resemble those from the past. The prophets pictured a coming
restoration of Israel that would parallel, and even surpass, the original
Exodus (Isa 43:16-21; 48:20-21; 49:8-12; 51:9-10; 52:1-12).
For
those with eyes to see, the prophesied restoration began with the coming of
Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus' miracles identified him as a prophet like Moses (Dt
18:15-18; Jn 6:1-14) who was inaugurating a new Exodus. Witnesses of his
resurrection announced this good news to the Greco-Roman world, beginning at
Jerusalem (Ac 3:11-26).
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Exodus
Imagery in Revelation |
As the Jesus movement spread, controversy followed. Christians refused to
worship the many gods of Greco-Roman society (1 Co 8:6; Ac 19:23-29), including
the Emperor, and faced persecution for their convictions.
To
encourage persecuted believers God gave special visions to the apostle John,
who was in exile on the Mediterranean island of Patmos. John recorded those
visions in the final book of the New Testament, the book of Revelation (Rev
1:9-11). The book promises that those who stand firm in loyalty to God will
live forever and rule the earth with Jesus the Messiah (Rev 2:11, 26-27;
3:5,21; 5:10).
John's
visions were full of imagery from the Exodus. Since the Exodus is such a
powerful symbol of God's saving activity, this is not surprising. The Exodus
imagery communicates the message that God would deliver his New Covenant people
just as he had the Israelites in Egypt.
Exodus
symbols are especially prominent in chapters 15 and 16, where the oppressors of
God's people are judged with seven plagues analogous to the plagues and
miracles of the Exodus (Rev 15:1, 7-8; 16:1-21). The plagues, contained in
seven bowls, are poured out by angels. The first plague brings "harmful
and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and
worshiped its image" (16:2), reminiscent of the sores and boils of the
sixth Exodus plague (Ex 9:8-12).
The
second and third plagues turn waters to blood, as in the first Exodus plague
(16:3-5), symbolizing the fact that the persecutors have shed the blood of
God's servants (v 6). A similar comment is made about the first Exodus plague
in Wisdom 11:5-9 in the Apocrypha.
The
fourth plague scorches people with fire (vv 8-9), an
aspect of the seventh Exodus plague (Ex 9:23). With the fifth plague the
beast's kingdom "was plunged into darkness" (v 10), analogous to the
ninth Exodus plague (Ex 10:21-23). The sixth plague dries up the River
Euphrates (v 23), reminding us of miracles at the Red Sea and Jordan River.
Finally, the hail, thunder, lightning, and earthquake of the seventh plague (vv 17-21) parallel the seventh Exodus plague and God's
appearance at Sinai.
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Praising
God beside the Sea |
While the persecutors are judged, the saints who refuse to submit to them are
victorious. They are pictured "standing beside the sea of glass with harps
in their hands," where "they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God,
and the song of the Lamb" (Rev 15:2-3).
There
are three different scriptural passages that can be called a "song of
Moses"-Exodus 15, Deuteronomy 32, and Psalm 90. Several factors point to
Exodus 15 as the one in view in Revelation 15.1
As with the Israelites who praise God in song in Exodus 15, these saints also
praise God by the sea. The "sea of glass" in Revelation 15:2 refers
to a Jewish tradition about the Red Sea miracle. Based on the description in
Exodus 15:8 of the waters of the Red Sea being "congealed," that
tradition pictures those waters hardening like glass (Midrash on Ps 136).
Moreover, Moses is called the "servant of God" here, just as he is in
Exodus 14:31, the verse preceding Exodus 15.
While
the song in Revelation 15:3-4 does not have words matching those of Exodus 152,
it does summarize four main themes of Exodus 15. First, verse 3 praises the
awesome deeds of God, as described in Exodus 15:4-7. Second, verse 3 also acknowledges
God as "king of the nations," as in Exodus 15:18. Third, verse 4
speaks of the fear of God inspired by his mighty works, as in Exodus 15:14-16.
Finally, verse 4 declares God's uniqueness, as proclaimed in Exodus 15:11.
The
designation of the song in Revelation 15 as "the song of the Lamb" as
well as the song of Moses highlights the continuity of God's plan and the
connection of New Testament saints with the children of Israel. As God
delivered the Israelites from slavery and brought them to Sinai as "a kingdom
of priests and a holy nation" (Ex 19:6), so Jesus "has freed us from
our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and
Father" (Rev 1:5-6). Together with the people of Israel, Christians can
join in praising God our Deliverer, singing the song of the Moses that is also
the song of the Lamb.
1See HaYoung Son, Praising God Beside the Sea: An
Intertextual Study of Revelation 15 and Exodus 15, Wipf & Stock, 2017.
2While
Revelation is full of biblical allusions, it rarely quotes scripture directly.
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