Exodus 15 is the song Moses and the Israelites sang after God delivered them through the Red Sea, followed by the first crisis in the wilderness at Marah and the restful stop at Elim. These questions are built for a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study. Each one points to specific verses so the group can read the text together before discussing what it means.
Exodus 15 at a Glance
The chapter moves in three parts. First comes the victory song, where Moses and the people praise the LORD for destroying Pharaoh’s army in the sea (verses 1-18). Miriam then leads the women in a shorter refrain (verses 19-21). The final section follows the people into the wilderness, where three days without water end in bitter water at Marah, a tree-shaped answer from God, and a promise of healing before they reach Elim’s springs and palm trees (verses 22-27).
The song is about God’s character as much as the event. The tension of the chapter comes from the gap between the triumph at the sea and the thirst that follows almost immediately, which is why the questions below keep returning to trust.
Observation Questions
Use these first to make sure everyone has read the text closely before anyone offers an interpretation. Let people look at the verses on the page and answer from what is written, then move on.
Exodus 15:1-2
1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and said, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
(WEB)
Reading the opening lines aloud sets the tone for the whole chapter. Ask the group to notice the first-person praise and let the words of worship shape the session before the questions begin.
Exodus 15:11
Who is like you, the LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
(WEB)
This verse asks the question of God’s incomparability, which sums up the song’s theme. Pause after reading and invite each person to answer the question in a single sentence.
Exodus 15:13
“You, in your loving kindness, have led the people that you have redeemed. You have guided them in your strength to your holy habitation.
(WEB)
Reading the verse about God’s loving kindness and the people he has redeemed reminds the group that the song is rooted in covenant love. It is a good verse to read slowly and let sink in before moving on to the wilderness.
Exodus 15:22-25
22 Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink from the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore its name was called Marah. 24 The people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 Then he cried to the LORD. The LORD showed him a tree, and he threw it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There he made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he tested them…
(WEB)
This passage shows the sudden shift from praise to complaint and then to God’s provision at Marah. Reading it aloud helps the group feel the weight of three days without water before the sweet water appears.
Exodus 15:26
And he said, “If you will diligently listen to the LORD your God’s voice, and will do that which is right in his eyes, and will pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you, which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you.”
(WEB)
The LORD’s words here combine a call to obedience with the identity of the God who heals. Read it slowly so the group can hear both the condition and the promise, and discuss them together.
Memory Verse for Exodus 15
Exodus 15:2
Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
(WEB)
This verse gathers the chapter’s confidence into one line: the LORD is strength, song and salvation. Encourage group members to memorize it so they can recall God’s character on the days when the water seems bitter.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who have seen your strength at the sea and still felt thirst at Marah. Thank you that you are the one who saves, who leads in loving kindness, and who heals what is bitter in us. Teach us to listen diligently to your voice and to keep your ways when the road is hard. Help us to sing your praise in the good seasons and to trust you in the wilderness, and give us rest by the springs when you provide it. Hold each person here in the places where we are weary, and remind us that you reign forever. Amen.
