Good Chaos

Let’s say that your country is at war. There is much at stake. If the enemy wins – and they most certainly will win because they are stronger and have superior weaponry – they will show no mercy. Fields will be burned; innocents will be slain; and the living will be subjected to cruel treatment unimaginable. Word comes from the battlefront. The battle has been won; the enemy has been routed. And there are strange whisperings of a freak thunderstorm; of tornadoes tearing through the ranks of the enemy; of trees being uprooted and hurled into the fray; of torrential rains resulting in raging floods; all to the advantage of your country. You shudder because the chaos of storms terrifies you. But this is good chaos; this is chaos that tipped the scales toward delivery and rejoicing.

Exodus 15:19-21 is all about chaos. To the ancient peoples the waters, the deeps, the seas, were terrifying. They represented chaotic mystery. Who knew what lurked in the inky blackness? Who could predict when the waves would be whipped up into a frenzy and send every soul daring enough to bravely risk life and limb upon a boat to the unfathomable depths? Each phrase in verse 19 ends with the word “sea”. The horses, chariots and horsemen of Pharaoh foolishly went into the sea. Yahweh returned the water upon them – namely the sea. But the sons of Israel traveled on dry land right on through the sea. And the last word of the pericope in verse 21 is “sea”. The concept of “sea” or chaos is being emphasized here. Chaos is the final word. And for the Egyptians this is not good: It is death and destruction. It is everything they feared about the chaotic sea. But for the Israelites, it is most excellent. It is delivery; it is freedom. It is the opposite of their fear. God used what they feared to bring about rejoicing. Kind of reminds me of Habakkuk and the Chaldeans. But that is a different article which is still waiting to be written.

Interestingly, Miriam is only named once in the book of Exodus. She was old enough to keep track of Moses during the whole basket in the Nile thing and Moses is eighty years old now (Exodus 7:7) so Miriam must be in her late eighties or early nineties. She is described here as a prophetess. The word refers to a woman who proclaims a divine message. Prophesying is connected with singing in 1 Chronicles 25:1 where the sons of Asaph, Hemen, and Jeduthun are told to prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals. Because of this some have suggested that Miriam is called a prophetess because she leads the women in praise and dancing. However, in Micah 6:4 Miriam is mentioned along with Moses and Aaron as having been sent by God to lead the people out of Egypt. Miriam was a leader sent by God. She also declared the message of God, whether that was in song or through oration or both matters little. In this predominately male dominant society, that God would make Miriam a part of the team of leaders is amazing and revolutionary. And though this is a side note in our passage it is worthy of serious consideration.

So, the prophetess Miriam takes a tambourine and leads the women out. Out where, we don’t know. Even though some have suggested that this hymn was sung responsively with the hymn of Moses and the sons of Israel, the text seems to imply that all the women went elsewhere for their singing and dancing session. No reason is given for this and we know that women did celebration dances with tambourines in the presence of men elsewhere (Judges 11:34; 1 Samuel 18:6). It seems to me that somewhere, somehow, among some groups singing hymns have lost their celebratory essence. Do you believe that God has saved you? Do you believe that he has brought you out of darkness into his light and called you his child? That seems like reason for singing and dancing to me. The hymn of verse 21 is word for word the same as that found in verse 1. The only difference is the number and tense of the verb “to sing”. In verse one it is 1 person singular assertion “I will sing” while in verse 21 it is 2 person plural command “sing!”. And the whole thing ends with chaos.

Because God is God he can take what scares us and turn it into what delivers us. And at the same time he can use that very same scary item and use it to defeat the enemy. I am not smart enough to figure that all out, but I trust in the God who can accomplish it. I believe that my God can take terrifying chaos and make it something to sing and dance about. And maybe we shudder at the idea of chaos because we haven’t truly relinquished the control it has over us to the Almighty whose powerful hand can breathe peace into our terror; creating good chaos. God is in control. Let him lead and then sing and dance. Peace, Walter