THE SONG OF TRIUMPH This chapter includes: 1-The song of triumph 1 - 19 2- Miriam the singer 20 - 21 3- From Marah to Elim 22 - 27 1- The song of triumph This song symbolizes the song of the redeemed in heaven, whom the Lord Christ saved, and crossed over with them to heaven (Rev. 15.3). That is why the Church put it in the daily praise as the first ‘Hos’1 (Canticle) to confirm to her children the importance of praising the Lord, and of persistently offering Him thanks, acknowledging His redemptive work with us, and granting us a daily triumph over the devil and his hosts, not by our human actions, but through His work of grace in us. It is noteworthy that Moses and the people did not utter that song except after having been baptized and seen the amazing salvation of God. Thus, by Baptism, being buried together with our crucified Christ and being raised with Him in the newness of life, we shall have our inner tongue opened to praise and thank God. That song came to represent a living aspect of Moses’ life. Pope Athanasius the apostolic said in one of his Festal letters, “For thus the saints all their lives long were like men rejoicing at a feast. One found rest in prayer to God, as blessed David. … Another gave glory in songs of praise, as great Moses. … Others performed worship with unceasing diligence, like great Samuel and blessed Elijah.”2 Thus, Moses became a role model for the life of praise to the Lord by his song. That song carries beautiful expressions and meanings, which needs a separate book to explain, but here I shall deal with certain phrases of it: “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider, He has thrown into the sea” (Exod. 15.1)! The song began by praising God who was glorified by the cross, where He trampled on the devil and all his hosts, to set the captivated free. It is a sweet song, sung by the Christians every day, as they see sin falling by the cross under their feet. St. Athanasius the apostolic says, “Thus, singing praises [with Moses], and seeing that the sin which is in us has been cast into the sea, we pass over to the wilderness.” 3 “They sank to the bottom like a stone” (Exod. 15.5). St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, believes that4 whoever walks in the life of virtue will be of lightweight, while the wicked man will be heavy and sink in water. Virtue is light, and floats on water, and those who walk in its way, fly like a cloud or a dove, by their little wings (Isa. 60.8); while sin is heavy like lead (Zech. 5.7). He quoted this view from his teacher, the scholar Origen, who said that they sank because they were not made of the stones from which the children to Abraham are raised. They were lovers of depressions and sought lusts and escaped from reality. That is why, it was said of them, “They sank like lead in mighty waters” (Exod. 15.10). Sinners are heavy with evil, to which the prophet Zechariah referred saying, “Here is a lead disc lifted up, and a woman (is there) sitting inside the basket” 1 The word ‘hos’ means ‘praise’. 2 St. Athanasius the Apostolic. Festal Letters. 14. 3 Ibid. 3. 4 On Virginity. 18. 100 (5.7). When he inquired about her identity, the answer was, “This is wickedness” (Zech. 5.8). While the wicked sink like lead in mighty waters, the saints do not sink but walk over the waters, not having the weight of sin to let them sink. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, who does not know sin, walked on the sea (Matt. 14.25), and His disciple Peter did likewise, although he became fearful, as his heart was not completely pure but included some lead. That is why the Lord said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt” (Matt. 8.26)? He who is saved, is saved as through fire (1 Cor. 3.15), thus, even if he has some lead in him, it will melt.5 The wicked then, are like stones, that rejected the work of the Holy Spirit in them, to be raised as children of Abraham; and they are like lead that sinks in water I.E. in lusts. Saints, on the other hand, are like gold purified by fire1. “Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces” (Exod. 15.6). St. Ambrose2 clearly sees in this song the work of the Holy Trinity. This phrase acknowledges the Son, who is at “the right hand of God”. He discussed later the work of the Holy Spirit, “You blew with your wind, the sea covered them” (Exod. 15.10), and how He works in the sacrament of Baptism, destroying evil and saving the children of God3. “The enemy said, ‘I will pursue; I will overtake; I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them” (Exod. 15.9). This verse reveals the work of the devil, how he terrorizes and persecutes. That is why, when Pope Athanasius wanted to defend his escape before his persecutors, the followers of Arius, he said, “Our Lord commanded to flee, and the saints fled: but persecution is a device of the Devil, and one which he desires to exercise against al.” 4 Speaking about St. Anthony, St. Athanasius the apostolic says, “Such, in a word, are their boasts and professions that they may deceive the godly. But not even then ought we, the faithful, to fear his appearance or give heed to his words. For he is a liar and speaketh of truth never a word. And though speaking words so many and so great in his boldness, without doubt, like a dragon he was drawn with a hook by the Savior (Job 41.1).” 5 The enemy tried to use the same tactic with the Lord Christ, assuming that he is capable of uprooting His name from among the living; yet, his threats did not shake the heart of the Lord but destroyed the enemy himself. “Who is like You, O Lord” (Exod. 15.11)? Nobody is like God in His capability, His love, and His nature, being Incomprehensible, Imperceptible, Unchangeable, with no beginning or end. He, who has no one equal to Him, granted us, by adoption, to be counted as His children, according to His image. The apostle St. John says, “Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3.2). 1 In Exode. Hom. 6. 2 On the Holy Spirit. 3:10. 3 St. Ambrose. On the Mysteries. 3. 4 Apologia De Fuga. 23. 5 Vita Antonii. 101 “You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them” (Exod. 15.12). The scholar Origen comments on this phrase saying that today, the earth swallows the wicked, those who have nothing but the earthly thoughts and works; Those who covet the earth, and put on it all their hopes. They never look up toward heaven, nor think about the coming life; and do not fear God’s judgment, nor desire His eternal promises, thinking all the time about worldly affairs, and run after the earthly things. If you see someone like that, you should say that the earth has swallowed him. If you see someone who pours himself over the desires and lusts of the flesh, and see how his spirit is helpless, for his body has the upper hand over all his life, you should say, that the earth has swallowed him. Furthermore, the song says, “You stretched out your hand; and the earth swallowed them.” Behold the Lord, stretching out His hands on the cross, “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good” (isa. 65.2). That rebellious people cried out, ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’ to be punished by death1. The earth swallowed the arrogant Pharaoh, who assumed that he could destroy the people of God. as for those who were swallowed by Hades, the Lord Christ descended into the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4.9), to lift them up from there, not to the surface of the earth, but to His holy dwellings. “Till Your people pass over, O Lord; till the people pass over, whom You have purchased” (Exod. 15.16). The prophet Moses repeated the words “till the people pass over”, to proclaim that the ultimate goal of the work is salvation and passing over to eternity, and to confirm that those passing over are one people of two roots: Jewish and Gentile. “You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance” (Exod. 15.17). The scholar Origen says that God does not want to plant us in Egypt (love of the world), nor in wicked and evil places. He wants to set us in the mountain of His inheritance. Those words: “bring them in and plant them...” sound, as though he is speaking of children, whom He is taking to school to learn. Let us see how He does that: “You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it. You prepared room for it, and caused it to take root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with its shadow, and the mighty cedars with its boughs” (Ps. 80.9-11). He does not plant it in the valleys but on the high mountains. He leads those coming out of Egypt, from the world to faith. He wants to set us on the high grounds and does not want to see us crawl on earth. He does not want the fruits of His vine to touch the ground but wants its branches to grow without getting entangled with the branches of any other trees and to attach to the mighty cedars (Ps. 80.11). The cedars of God, Origen assumes, are the prophets and apostles. If we get attached to them, we, the vine that God brought out of Egypt, would have our branches grow with theirs. If we lean on them, our branches would become planted with bonds of mutual love and would bring about a plenty of fruits2. “The sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands established...” (Exod. 15.17). The scholar Origen asks what is this sanctuary, established, not by man, but by the Lord? ”Wisdom has built her house” (Prov. 9.3). This involves the incarnation of the Lord. The flesh He has taken, is not of the seed of man, but is established in the 1 In Exode. Hom. 6. 2 In Exode. Hom. 6:10. 102 Virgin, as Daniel prophesied, “A stone was cut out without hands ... and became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2.34-35). That is the Sanctuary, who appeared in the flesh, who was cut out without hands, and not established by man1. “The children of Israel went on dry land, in the midst of the sea” (Exod. 15.19). The scholar Origen says that if you are of the new Israel, you can walk on dry land in the midst of the sea. If you find yourself “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among them you would shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that you may rejoice in the day of Christ” (Phil. 2.15-16). You can walk among the wicked, without getting defiled by the waters of sin. Whosoever follows Christ, can walk like Him on the water that would be like a wall on his right and left sides (Exod. 15.22). He would go on dry land, until he reaches freedom, singing to the Lord the song of triumph saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously” (Exod. 15.1)2. 2- Miriam, the singer St. Jerome sees Miriam, the sister of Aaron, as a spiritual leader of women at that time, a living portrait of the work of a woman in the Church, who dedicates her life to praise the Lord, and teaches other women to do that as well. In a message to the widow ‘Furia’, who intended to get married then changed her mind, He wrote to her about Miriam, “She teaches her companions to be music girls but music girls for Christ, to be luteplayers but luteplayers for the Savior. In this occupation she passes both day and night and with oil ready to put in the lamps she waits the coming of the Bridegroom.” 3 St. Ambrose sees in her a portrait of the Church, continuously praising the Lord. In his speech about the Virgins, he says, “Was she not a type of the Church, who as a virgin with unstained spirit joins together the religious gatherings of the people to sing divine songs? For we read that there were virgins appointed also in the temple at Jerusalem.” 4 In the same article, he describes Miriam’s procession as representing a heavenly procession, in which the heavenly rejoice, seeing the earthly setting forth toward heaven5. 3- FromMarah to Elim The way of the wilderness is that of afflictions, or it is rather of experiencing the divine work in our life, in the midst of sufferings, and of the opening of the heart to the heavenly. After crossing over and rejoicing, the joy of the people turned into bitterness; and they murmured against Moses, because they found only bitter water to drink (Exod. 15.24). God commanded Moses to cast a tree into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. What are these waters, but the commandments of the Law that brought bitterness to the people, because they were unable to keep them? But once the Lord Christ, the Tree of life, 6 entered into the Law, He made it spiritual, and made it 1 In Exode. 6:12. 2 Ibid. 6:14. 3 St. Jerome. Letter 54 To Furia. 13. 4 St. Ambrose. Concerning Virgins. 1:3. 5 Ibid. 2:2. 6 The Old Testament often referred to The Lord Christ as a branch of a tree (Isa. 11:1, 53:2; Jer. 23.5; Zech. 6:12). 103 (drinkable) to the soul. Concerning this, the scholar Origen says that the chalice of the Law is bitter but when we cast in it the tree of wisdom of Christ that reveals to us how to apprehend the statutes of circumcision, of the Sabbath, and those of the leprous, and how to discern between the clean and the unclean ;then the waters of ‘Marah’ would be made sweet. The literality of the Law turns into the sweetness of spiritual meaning; then, the people of God could drink1.He also says that if somebody wants to drink out of the literality of the Law, away of the tree of life, away of the secrets of the cross, of the faith in Christ, and the spiritual comprehension; he would taste bitterness. The apostle Paul realized this fact and said, “The letter kills” I.E. the bitter water would kill if it is drunk before it is made sweet2. He also says that when the cross entered into the commandments, it made them sweet. Following them spiritually, these same stiff commandments turned into ones for life3. Many fathers see in the tree a symbol of the cross, which works in the water of Baptism to transform our life from bitterness to sweetness. Then, instead of carrying the works of the old man, we would enjoy the new nature we acquired in Christ Jesus4. St. Ambrose says, Marah was a fountain of most bitter water: Moses cast wood into it and it became sweet. For water without the preaching of the Cross of the Lord is of no avail for future salvation, but, after it has been consecrated by the mystery of the saving cross, it is made suitable for the use of the spiritual layer and of the cup of salvation. As, then, Moses, that is, the prophet, cast wood into that fountain, so, too, the priest utters over this font the proclamation of the Lord's cross, and the water is made sweet for the purpose of grace5. St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, sees in that tree “the secret of resurrection”, through the cross of the Lord, where the virtuous life, with all its strife and bitterness, would turn into a sweet and easy life, as he says that man, who leaves behind the (Egyptian) pleasures, that he used to enjoy before crossing the sea, the life, that seemed to him, without these pleasures, difficult and unacceptable, once the tree - the cross - is cast into it, I.E. once he accepts the secret of resurrection that begins by it, the virtuous life would then turn sweet, through hope in the coming things, and would be even sweeter than what the senses feel, out of lusts6. If Marah carries a reference to the Law, becoming spiritual by the cross, and to Baptism, with what it embraces of the work of the cross and the power of resurrection, the people have to cross over from Marah to Elim (Exod. 15.27); from the Law to the New Testament in which they found twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, as a reference to the twelve apostles, and the seventy disciples. Here, the scholar Origen says that God made it on purpose not to bring the people to Elim from the beginning, to where there are twelve wells with no bitterness whatsoever and where there is a place of comfort under the palm trees. When the bitterness of the Law turns sweet by the tree of life (Prov. 3.18), we shall then comprehend the Law spiritually and the crossover from the Old Testament to the New Testament will be completed. Then, we shall reach the twelve wells of water and the seventy palm trees. It is not enough for the people of God to drink from the water of Marah, after it became sweet by the tree 1 In Exode. 7:1. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 7:2. 4 Justin. Dialogue of Justin. 86; Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lectures. 13.20; Aphrahat. Demon. 21.10; Gregory of Nyssa. Adv. Eos Qui Diff Bapt. 5 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. The Divine Love. On the Mysteries. 3. 6 Vita Mos. 2:132. 104 of life, and after it lost the bitterness of the letter by the sublimity of the cross. As the Old Testament alone is not enough for drinking, we have to come to the New Testament, to drink from it without difficulty1. St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, says that the secret of the tree, through which the water of virtue becomes joyful for the thirsty, would lead us to the twelve wells of water, and to the seventy palm trees, namely, to the teachings of the gospel2. 1 In Exode. Hom. 7:13. 2 Vita Mos. 2:132.
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