Word of Encouragement (11/30/2021)

“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! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed’” (Rev. 15:3-4).

Who are the people who are singing this song? V. 2 tells us that these are “those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.” What is the occasion for their singing? The final cycle of God’s judgment—that of seven bowls of wrath—is about to begin (vv. 6ff).

What do they sing? Unlike “a new song” that the 144,000 sing, whose lyrics are not given (14:3), this song’s lyrics are given. But what they sing is described as “the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (v. 3). Are they singing two different songs or are these two songs merged as one? By the lyrics that follow, it seems like the latter is the case. But the merge is not of the lyrics but of the themes of the two songs.

“The song of Moses” must refer to the song Moses and the people of Israel sang after crossing the Red Sea and seeing the chariots of Pharaoh’s army drowned by the closing of the sea (Ex. 15). This song officially brings Israel’s exodus from Egypt to its dramatic and climactic close. The exodus, of course, is the redemption of God’s people in the Old Testament. Interestingly, this Old Testament song is mentioned here in conjunction with “the song of the Lamb” in this passage. Why do they appear together?

This shows the organic unity between the two songs and therefore between the two redemptive events—the exodus of Israel from Egypt and the new exodus of God’s people from sin and this fallen world. While both are important in redemptive history, they are not of equal value. Israel’s exodus was a type, and the new exodus is the reality to which it pointed. We can readily see this by a few examples:

While Israel’s exodus was from the slavery of Egypt, the new exodus is from the slavery of sin;

While the firstborn sons of Israel were spared from the physical death by the blood of the paschal lambs, the New Testament believers are spared from the eternal death by the blood of the Lamb of God;

While Israel’s exodus was led by Moses, the new exodus is led by Christ;

While Israel’s was baptized into Moses at the Red Sea (1 Cor. 10:2), the New Testament believers are baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit;

While Israel’s exodus was toward an earthly promised land, the new exodus is toward the heavenly promised land, etc.

Because Israel’s exodus was a type of the new exodus, there are similarities. But because Israel’s exodus was only a type of the new exodus, it could not bring about eternal salvation for God’s people.

The connection between these two songs shows the oneness of God’s plan of redemption. From the very beginning, there was only one Savior, Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12), one redemption, one song, one Church of God, etc. God is sovereign and faithful. What He has planned cannot be foiled in any way. By the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have seen how wonderfully God has brought about the redemption, which He conceived before the foundation of the world. Is He not worthy of our trust? Our lives, too, have been designed and planned by God and He will not fail to carry out His sovereign and good will toward us.

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