Packing Praise

I marvel at the mental picture in Exodus 15 after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. Moses leads the people in a song of praise to God for their miraculous deliverance, and then we see something extraordinary:

"And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances." (Exodus 15:20)

Wait a minute. Timbrels? You mean tambourines?

Let's consider the context. The Israelites had fled Egypt in haste. Pharaoh's army was bearing down on them. They were escaping slavery with only what they could carry, presumably just the bare necessities for survival in the wilderness.

Yet somehow, these women had packed tambourines. All of them?

Can you imagine the packing decisions? "Let's see... bread, water, extra sandals... and definitely my tambourine!" It makes me smile to think about it.