Luther Rice Journal of Christian Studies Spring 2016
Conclusion Israel’s history, as it is portrayed in the Old Testament, consisted of a perpetual waxing and waning of covenant faithfulness. On the other hand, although Yahweh disciplined Israel for its sin, he never completely rejected his people, thus upholding his commitment to the Abrahamic covenant. Likewise, his covenant faithfulness will be as sure in the eschaton as it was at the Red Sea when Israel saw the dead Egyptian bodies lining the seashore. The song Israel sang that day was a spontaneous eruption of praise to their Warrior-Redeemer. The context, structure, and poetic style of Exodus 15:1-18 demonstrate that Moses and the Israelites could not help but speak of Yahweh as the powerful, sovereign, Warrior who displayed his burning fury by the sea. At the same time, Moses and the Israelites understood that because of a covenant made with their father Abraham, Yahweh would continue his redemptive action until they experienced peace. Isaiah draws from the exodus tradition and explicitly quotes Exodus 15:2a in order to give Israel hope during a time of national turmoil. In the wake of Israel’s sin and subsequent deportation, the peace of a land flowing with milk and honey seemed impossible. However, the prophet Isaiah, drawing on the same themes found in the Song of the Sea and the exodus tradition, pointed Israel once again to its covenant Warrior-Redeemer who will one day rescue his people with a “mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
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