“Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.”
My Notes
What Does Exodus 15:10 Mean?
The song continues: "Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters." A second breath—a wind from God—returns the water to its natural state, and the Egyptian army that was pursuing Israel through the seabed is instantly engulfed. The same passage that opened for Israel closes on Egypt. The same sea that saved one army destroys another.
The simile "sank as lead" describes the completeness and speed of the drowning: lead doesn't float. It doesn't struggle at the surface. It drops straight to the bottom. The Egyptian army's destruction was instant, heavy, and total. No survivors. No struggle. No gradual sinking. Lead-weight instant descent to the ocean floor.
The dual breath—one breath to part the sea (verse 8), one breath to close it (verse 10)—reveals the duality of God's relationship to the sea: He commands it open and He commands it shut. The same water responds to both commands. Open for My people. Close on their enemies. The sea doesn't have two opinions. It has one master. And the master uses the same element for salvation and judgment simultaneously.
Reflection Questions
- 1.The same event was salvation for one group and destruction for another. Have you seen a single circumstance produce opposite outcomes for different people?
- 2.If the sea responds to God's breath—opening and closing on command—what does that say about God's control over the 'waters' in your life?
- 3.They sank as lead. When God closes the sea on the enemy, the destruction is instant. How does that change how you view the threats pursuing you?
- 4.Your position relative to God's purpose determines what the 'water' does to you. Which side are you on?
Devotional
One breath opened the sea. A second breath closed it. The same water that was a wall of protection for Israel became a wall of destruction for Egypt. One sea. Two purposes. The passage that saved and the passage that killed were the same passage, separated by one breath of God.
They sank as lead. Not like a swimmer struggling to stay afloat. Like metal dropped into water. Straight down. No resistance. No gradual descent. The most feared army in the world—the chariots, the horses, the trained warriors—dropped through the water like it was nothing. The strength that terrified nations for centuries was irrelevant against the weight of the water God commanded to return.
The duality is the point: the same sea saves and destroys. The same event is Israel's greatest deliverance and Egypt's greatest catastrophe. The same moment in history is a hymn for one people and a funeral for another. God uses the same element—water—for opposite purposes at the same time. Salvation and judgment aren't separate events requiring separate seas. They happen simultaneously, in the same body of water, to two different groups, determined by which side of God's purpose they're standing on.
If you've been watching God work and wondering why the same event produces joy for some and devastation for others—why the same circumstance blesses one person and breaks another—the Red Sea is the template. The water doesn't change. Your position relative to God's purpose determines what the water does to you. Walk through the parting with God's people and it's salvation. Chase God's people through the closing and it's destruction. Same sea. Different outcomes. Determined by which side you're on.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Thou didst blow with thy wind,.... A strong east wind, Exo 14:22 which is the Lord Christ's, who has it in his treasury,…
With the deliverance of Israel is associated the development of the national poetry, which finds its first and perfect…
Having read how that complete victory of Israel over the Egyptians was obtained, here we are told how it was celebrated;…
Cross References
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