Exodus 15:20-21 (Miriam's Song)

This song begins before the Red Sea. It begins at the Nile. Pharaoh commanded ordinary Egyptians to throw every Hebrew baby boy into the river. Miriam was the sister who stood at a distance and watched what would happen to her baby brother Moses in the basket. She knew water as the place Egypt used for death. Years later, on the far shore of the sea, Miriam watched the reversal. Israel had been trapped between the water and Pharaoh’s chariots. The sea opened. The people crossed. The waters returned. Exodus says Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the frame drum in her hand. All the women went out after her with drums and dances. Miriam led them in responsive song: “Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.” This is not a soft worship set. It is a victory procession after generations of slavery.