This week’s Monday Morning Scripture is taken from our new Thanksgiving devotional Give Thanks. Give Thanks is a twice-weekly devotional that features a Bible passage about gratitude in a style similar to our Monday Morning Scripture posts. You can sign up to have each Give Thanks devotional emailed to you—see this post for details.

It looked hopeless.

After a long spiritual struggle against their Egyptian masters, the Israelites had finally won their freedom from slavery. But just as freedom was within reach, just as Moses was leading them out of captivity… “Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds.” An entire army swept out of Egypt in pursuit of the Israelites.

You’re probably familiar with what happened next: God staged one of the most spectacular rescues in the Bible. Today, to begin our series of reflections about gratitude, let’s look at the way Moses and the Israelites responded to God’s miraculous intervention.

Exodus 15:1-19

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.

“The Lord is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.
The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, Lord,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
shattered the enemy.

“In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.
By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy boasted,
‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.’
But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
Who among the gods
is like you, Lord?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

“You stretch out your right hand,
and the earth swallows your enemies.
In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.
The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people of Canaan will melt away;
terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, Lord,
until the people you bought pass by.
You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.

“The Lord reigns
for ever and ever.” — Exodus 15:1-19 (NIV)

When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

Questions to Consider

• Has God ever intervened in your life to rescue you–from physical danger, from a bad decision, from a personal crisis?
• Did you recognize God’s hand at the time? If not, when did you make the connection?
• Notice the sheer, exuberent joy in Moses’ prayer of thanksgiving. Have you ever just marveled aloud at God’s majesty?
• Have you ever prayed simply to thank and praise God?