Exodus 2:24-25 – God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
“First, consider God’s knowledge of the oppressed. When the people cried out, He heard their cry. Not only did He hear it, He also saw or looked at their oppression, and He took notice, meaning He knew or was concerned (vv. 24-25). God heard. God saw. God knew. God’s ability to see and to hear appears throughout Scripture. Think of Psalm 34: 15: ‘The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry for help.’ God’s exhaustive knowledge or omniscience also appears often in Scripture. When the Scripture says that God ‘knew,’ it means that He knew all about them. God was intimately aware of their agony. And because God knows, He acts. Second, “He remembered His covenant with Abraham” (v. 24). God’s covenantal memory gets underlined here. God remembers His unbreakable promise of salvation. To ‘remember’ something means to bring it to the front burner and act on it. The term “covenant” appears for the first time in Exodus here. It appears 25 times in Genesis. The best definition of “covenant” may be in The Jesus Story Book Bible: ‘a never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love’ (Sally Lloyd-Jones, Story Book, 36). As mentioned above, Exodus and Genesis go together.” [Merida, Tony. Exalting Jesus in Exodus (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary). p. 16]
God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and with Jacob. The word remembering, is not an accidental remembering, rather it is the reference to God’s faithful connection and adherence to the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Therefore, when we consider that in Genesis 15:12-16, God foretold of this exact occurrence, shows us that none of this was an unknown to the Lord, nor is salvation something that is reactionary of the Lord (as in the Lord never intended this, but he is now acting once realizing what has happened). Rather, the situation of Israel and the Lord’s plan of salvation has always been planned of the Lord. There was never a moment when Israel was outside of God’s plan of salvation. To take notice/remember, is a remembrance that is more than a mental act; it also includes a performance of God’s word: God hears, God remembers, God looks (considers), and God knows (is concerned). To remember is literally ‘to know’, which means to take note of with a new of caring. Hence, salvation is for the Lord to know, and for us to know the Lord. This leads us to also know that our salvation has always been in God’s sovereign plan and word (Ephesians 1).
Prayer Response: Lord, thank you that you hear and remember your covenant of love and grace! That is our salvation, displayed fully by the cross of Jesus Christ. Help us be mindful of this reality and live in the full confidence of your saving heart and faithfulness.
Song of Worship: Let’s join our hearts together as we sing “we hold on to every promise you ever made, Jesus you are unfailing!” “This We Know” by Kristian Stanfill
– MK