A podcast I was listening to late last week mentioned the end of exodus 2. The last two verses fo that chapter share four things about God that offer us incredible blessings and hope. Exodus 2:24-25 read: And God heard their groanings, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel – and God knew.
Exodus 2 shares with us the birth and the first 40 years of Moses’ life in a compact fashion. But it ends with the narrator highlighting that life for the people of Israel in Egypt was terrible. To the extent that it drove them to cry out for help. Verse 23 says that cry went up to God. In detailing God’s response, we are told those 4 things about God. First, verse 24 starts by sharing that God heard their groaning. God was attentive to what was going on in their lives. Please see that statement. God is attentive to what is going on in the lives of His people. Then we are told that God remembered His covenant. The word “remembered” is significant. Biblically to remember means that things in the past inform and influence present and future actions. By referencing Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we are taken back to promises that God made in Genesis. Remembering those promises in the form of His covenant means that God will work to make redemption a reality. We know the rest of the story, so we know that God did that. To connect to our lives, those words teach us that God is committed to His promises.
Verse 25 adds two more details about God. The word “saw” has about it the idea that God has a total grasp on the situation and issues of life. You could translate that to mean as the God who pays attention, He knows our needs. I am not always sure that I know what I need. But God does. The God we pray to knows what we truly need. But does God’s knowledge of our needs have any bearing on our lives? That takes us to the last three words of the verse, and even more so the last word, “knew.” The word “knew” is an intimate word. Verse 25 ends by declaring that God paying attention, being committed to His promises, and knowing our needs are a part of God’s work to draw people into an intimate relationship with Him. That is incredible to me. God does not simply offer us a solution to our sin problem. As the Redeemer, He is offering us an intimate relationship with Him. He wants us to know Him. I pray that thought will move you to want to live in closeness to Him.