The book of Exodus opens with the ominous statement: "A new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt." (Exodus 1:8) Things take a downward turn for the people of God from that point. The new king, feeling threatened by the numbers of Israelites in Egypt, oppressed them with forced labor. However, even under these harsh conditions, the Israelites' numbers continue to grow. The king orders the Hebrew midwives to kill the male babies who are born to Hebrew women. But the midwives feared God and told the king that Hebrew women gave birth too quickly for them to do so.
The second chapter introduces us to the man who will eventually save the Hebrew people from this oppression. Moses is born, and because the Pharaoh had ordered that all Hebrew male babies be thrown into the Nile, Moses's mother hides him for his first 3 months of life. Finally, when she can hide him no more, she makes a basket of reeds and places him in the river. Providentially, he is found by Pharaoh's daughter, who adopts him as her own. She orders her maidservants to go find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child, and guess what? They end up finding Moses's mother! So his very own mother keeps him until he is of age, and then he is sent back to grow up in the palace. A Hebrew is allowed to grow up in the very seat of Egyptian power! (Anybody else see God's hand in that?)
When Moses is older, he saw how his own people were being used as slave labor in Pharaoh's city. He got a little perturbed with this and kills an Egyptian. Thinking he won't be found out, he buries the body and continues on. But he was found out, so he fled to the land of Midian. There he takes on a new life, starts a new profession, and finds a wife. That all sounds good, but the Hebrews are still enslaved and suffering in Egypt. And here's that little nugget that shook me. A verse stuck between two scenes that I've probably skimmed over before and never really read. I read it, and now I cannot get over it.
After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor; and they cried out; and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. And God heard their groaning; and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob; and God saw the Israelites; and God knew. (Exodus 2:23-25, CSB)
Did you catch those four action verbs there in the last sentence? If not, here they are:
God heard.
God remembered.
God saw.
God knew.
Just typing these words stopped me in my tracks again, and I am almost sobbing. Not even kidding.
I had to sit still for a while and just ponder and stare at these precious words. Can you even grasp this? Can you sense the mercy and grace of these phrases? Can you feel His love?
God heard. The above passage says that the Israelites were going through "difficult labor" twice. They were being worked to death - literally. They cried out to God. As you can see, a form of the word "cry" is used twice. This wasn't just a prayer. It was a gut-wrenching sighing and groaning. It was probably, as Romans says, the groans that only the Holy Spirit understands. (Romans 8:26) There were most likely prayers yelled at the top of the lungs. There may have been silent, under the breath prayers uttered while working one's fingers to the bone. They were in deep, deep trouble. They felt forgotten. But...
God remembered. Not that He ever forgets. But He had made a promise to build Himself a people through Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. And these were His people. His promises are never broken. They are always fulfilled. Maybe not when we think they should be, but right on time.
God saw. Hagar had named Him "The God Who Sees" generations before (Genesis 16). He was still the same God. God had not turned His back on His people. He sees what's going on. He knows what is happening to them. He is not unaware. He had not for one second closed His eyes. He neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:3-4).
God knew.
Those two words just hanging there at the end of that sentence make me drop to my knees.
He knows. He knew the Israelites' hurt. He knew their pain. He knew just what they needed. He knew they needed a deliverer, and in the very next chapter, Moses will be called. He understood, as one translation says.
But get this. That "God knew" just dangling there at the end of the passage also applies to you and me. God knows. The Hebrew implies that He is acquainted with it like a familiar friend. Have you ever been going through something really hard and a person walks up to you - crying the same tears you're crying - and says, "I know." And you know they know because they have been exactly where you are. That's God.
Whatever the deepest groaning of your heart, He knows. That pain? He knows. That slavery to sin you are fighting? He knows. Feeling unheard? He knows. He hears you. If you feel forgotten, He knows. He remembers you. If you feel invisible, He knows. He sees you. Whatever you are hiding in your heart, He knows. He understands. He is concerned for you - just as He was for His people in Egypt.
He hears. He remembers. He sees. He knows. Hold on, your Deliverer is coming.
The second chapter introduces us to the man who will eventually save the Hebrew people from this oppression. Moses is born, and because the Pharaoh had ordered that all Hebrew male babies be thrown into the Nile, Moses's mother hides him for his first 3 months of life. Finally, when she can hide him no more, she makes a basket of reeds and places him in the river. Providentially, he is found by Pharaoh's daughter, who adopts him as her own. She orders her maidservants to go find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child, and guess what? They end up finding Moses's mother! So his very own mother keeps him until he is of age, and then he is sent back to grow up in the palace. A Hebrew is allowed to grow up in the very seat of Egyptian power! (Anybody else see God's hand in that?)
When Moses is older, he saw how his own people were being used as slave labor in Pharaoh's city. He got a little perturbed with this and kills an Egyptian. Thinking he won't be found out, he buries the body and continues on. But he was found out, so he fled to the land of Midian. There he takes on a new life, starts a new profession, and finds a wife. That all sounds good, but the Hebrews are still enslaved and suffering in Egypt. And here's that little nugget that shook me. A verse stuck between two scenes that I've probably skimmed over before and never really read. I read it, and now I cannot get over it.
After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor; and they cried out; and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. And God heard their groaning; and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob; and God saw the Israelites; and God knew. (Exodus 2:23-25, CSB)
Did you catch those four action verbs there in the last sentence? If not, here they are:
God heard.
God remembered.
God saw.
God knew.
Just typing these words stopped me in my tracks again, and I am almost sobbing. Not even kidding.
I had to sit still for a while and just ponder and stare at these precious words. Can you even grasp this? Can you sense the mercy and grace of these phrases? Can you feel His love?
God heard. The above passage says that the Israelites were going through "difficult labor" twice. They were being worked to death - literally. They cried out to God. As you can see, a form of the word "cry" is used twice. This wasn't just a prayer. It was a gut-wrenching sighing and groaning. It was probably, as Romans says, the groans that only the Holy Spirit understands. (Romans 8:26) There were most likely prayers yelled at the top of the lungs. There may have been silent, under the breath prayers uttered while working one's fingers to the bone. They were in deep, deep trouble. They felt forgotten. But...
God remembered. Not that He ever forgets. But He had made a promise to build Himself a people through Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. And these were His people. His promises are never broken. They are always fulfilled. Maybe not when we think they should be, but right on time.
God saw. Hagar had named Him "The God Who Sees" generations before (Genesis 16). He was still the same God. God had not turned His back on His people. He sees what's going on. He knows what is happening to them. He is not unaware. He had not for one second closed His eyes. He neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:3-4).
God knew.
Those two words just hanging there at the end of that sentence make me drop to my knees.
He knows. He knew the Israelites' hurt. He knew their pain. He knew just what they needed. He knew they needed a deliverer, and in the very next chapter, Moses will be called. He understood, as one translation says.
But get this. That "God knew" just dangling there at the end of the passage also applies to you and me. God knows. The Hebrew implies that He is acquainted with it like a familiar friend. Have you ever been going through something really hard and a person walks up to you - crying the same tears you're crying - and says, "I know." And you know they know because they have been exactly where you are. That's God.
Whatever the deepest groaning of your heart, He knows. That pain? He knows. That slavery to sin you are fighting? He knows. Feeling unheard? He knows. He hears you. If you feel forgotten, He knows. He remembers you. If you feel invisible, He knows. He sees you. Whatever you are hiding in your heart, He knows. He understands. He is concerned for you - just as He was for His people in Egypt.
He hears. He remembers. He sees. He knows. Hold on, your Deliverer is coming.
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