15 The chiefs of Edom were troubled in heart; the strong men of Moab were in the grip of fear: all the people of Canaan became like water.
Now when the news came to all the kings of the Amorites on the west side of Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites living by the sea, how the Lord had made the waters of Jordan dry before the children of Israel, till they had gone across, their hearts became like water, and there was no more spirit in them, because of the children of Israel.
And because of this news, our hearts became like water, and there was no more spirit in any of us because of you; for the Lord your God is God in heaven on high and here on earth.
And give the people orders, saying, You are about to go through the land of your brothers, the children of Esau, who are living in Seir; and they will have fear of you; so take care what you do:
These are the names of the chiefs of Esau in the order of their families and their places: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,
The curtains of Cushan were troubled, and the tents of Midian were shaking.
Take silver, take gold; for there is no end to the store; take for yourselves a weight of things to be desired.
And when they say to you, Why are you making sounds of grief? then say, Because of the news, for it is coming: and every heart will become soft, and all hands will be feeble, and every spirit will be burning low, and all knees will be turned to water: see, it is coming and it will be done, says the Lord.
The word about Egypt. See, the Lord is seated on a quick-moving cloud, and is coming to Egypt: and the false gods of Egypt will be troubled at his coming, and the heart of Egypt will be turned to water.
These were the chiefs among the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz, Esau's first son: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,
And Hadad came to his end. Now the chiefs of Edom were: the chief of Timna, the chief of Aliah, the chief of Jetheth, The chief of Oholibamah, the chief of Elah, the chief of Pinon, The chief of Kenaz, the chief of Teman, the chief of Mibzar, The chief of Magdiel, the chief of Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom.
Then even the strongest, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will become like water; for all Israel is conscious that your father is a man of war, and those who are with him are strong and without fear.
My brothers, however, who went up with me, made the heart of the people like water: but I was true to the Lord with all my heart.
And they said to Joshua, Truly, the Lord has given all the land into our hands; and all the people of the land have become like water because of us.
And in Moab there was great fear of the people, because their numbers were so great: and the feeling of Moab was bitter against the children of Israel. Then Moab said to the responsible men of Midian, It is clear that this great people will be the destruction of everything round us, making a meal of us as the ox does of the grass of the field. At that time Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of Moab. So he sent men to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor by the River in the land of the children of his people, saying to him, See, a people has come out of Egypt, covering all the face of the earth, and they have put up their tents opposite to me:
Then Moses sent men from Kadesh to the king of Edom to say to him, Your brother Israel says, You have knowledge of all the things we have been through; How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we were living in Egypt for a long time; and the Egyptians were cruel to us and to our fathers: And the Lord gave ear to the voice of our cry, and sent an angel and took us out of Egypt: and now we are in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your land; Let us now go through your land: we will not go into field or vine-garden, or take the water of the springs; we will go by the highway, not turning to the right or to the left, till we have gone past the limits of your land. And Edom said, You are not to go through my land, for if you do I will come out against you with the sword. And the children of Israel said to him, We will go up by the highway: and if we or our cattle take of your water, we will give you a price for it: only let us go through on our feet, nothing more. But he said, You are not to go through. And Edom came out against them in his strength, with a great army. So Edom would not let Israel go through his land; and Israel went in another direction.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 15
Commentary on Exodus 15 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 15
In this chapter,
Exd 15:1-21
Having read how that complete victory of Israel over the Egyptians was obtained, here we are told how it was celebrated; those that were to hold their peace while the deliverance was in working (ch. 14:14) must not hold their peace now that it was wrought; the less they had to do then the more they had to do now. If God accomplishes deliverance by his own immediate power, it redounds so much the more to his glory. Moses, no doubt by divine inspiration, indited this song, and delivered it to the children of Israel, to be sung before they stirred from the place where they saw the Egyptians dead upon the shore. Observe,
Exd 15:22-27
It should seem, it was with some difficulty that Moses prevailed with Israel to leave that triumphant shore on which they sang the foregoing song. They were so taken up with the sight, or with the song, or with the spoiling of the dead bodies, that they cared not to go forward, but Moses with much ado brought them from the Red Sea into a wilderness. The pleasures of our way to Canaan must not retard our progress, but quicken it, though we have a wilderness before us. Now here we are told,