GOD REMEMBERED HIS COVENANT
August 2023
“And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.”
—Exodus 2:23-25
In these three verses we find four great promises. Promises not just for Israel of old but for us today as well. The promises are as follows:
GOD HEARS
Exodus 2:24 says, “God heard their groaning.” The children of Israel are in the midst of severe persecution by Pharaoh. Exodus 1:11 says that he appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them. Verse 13 of the same chapter says they were made to serve “with “rigour,” which refers to ruthlessness and cruelty. Verse 14 says their lives were bitter, meaning that their lives were harsh, backbreaking, debilitating, and weak. They lived under hard bondage referring to forced labor or slavery.
All of this caused Israel to cry and to sigh “by reason of bondage,” which led to them groaning, meaning “to utter sounds of despair.” In their groaning and crying, the text says that God heard them. The believer must take this great truth to heart, for as God heard their cries and groanings, He hears our groanings and cries as well. The Lord is constantly aware of our situations. Nothing escapes His ears. Just as earthly parents hear the cries of their children, so are the Lord’s ears ever attuned to the cries of His children. I Pet. 3:12 says, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers.”
Don’t let Satan tell you that the Lord doesn’t hear your cries. He does hear. He not only hears our cries, but He will do something about it (Ex. 3:7-8)
GOD REMEMBERS
Exodus 2:24 says, “God remembered his covenant.” This is referring to the Abrahamic covenant found in Genesis 12:1-3: “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them who bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Through the loins of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob would come a great nation, Israel. Though they were now slaves in a foreign country, the Lord did not forget His promises. This tells us that circumstances are no hindrance to God. He made a promise, and there was nothing Egypt could do to stop God from bringing forth that which He had promised. For us, this says that the promises of God as found in the Bible will not be forgotten. What He has spoken, He will bring to pass.
GOD SEES
Exodus 2:25 says, “And God looked upon the children of Israel.” The word looked means more than just to see. It carries the idea of not only observing but also being concerned—concern that causes the one looking to do something about the situation being observed. Thank God, He not only looks down upon us, but in His looking, He is looking to help us in our time of need. Exodus 3:7-8 tells us that the Lord saw their affliction, and His seeing caused Him to deliver them.
GOD HAD RESPECT UNTO THEM
The word respect, as used in Exodus 2:25, refers to God’s knowledge of people, knowing the heart, or knowing the suffering of His people.
The whole idea in these verses is that the Lord minutely watches over His children. He is the Great Shephard who delights in watching over His sheep. Everything that happens to us is noticed by God, and the greatest example is that God looked down upon a sin-benighted world and saw the pain and suffering; He heard the cries of the lost, and He sent down His Son to die for humanity.
Nothing escapes the Lord—He hears, He remembers, He sees, and He knows what His people need.