God Hears Our Cries and Remembers
And the people of Israel groaned under their bondage, and cried out for help, and their cry under bondage came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw the people of Israel, and God knew their condition. (Exodus 2:23b-25)
Just before God called Moses to go down to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to "Let my people go", the scripture says God heard the Hebrew slaves' cries under the harsh hand of the Egyptians.
Look at the verbs describing God's experience of the Hebrews' suffering.
God heard.
God remembered.
God saw.
God knew.
God heard the cries and was moved to remember His covenant promises to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The covenant promises can be summarized as the promise of becoming a great nation, of inheriting the land of Canaan, and of multitudinous descendants, so many that they cannot be counted. The great nation of Israel is to become the means by which God will bless the world and the Gentiles will bless themselves by blessing Israel and Israel's God. The first utterance of this promise is to Abraham.
"I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
While settling in Hebron Abraham received this promise from God.
“Raise your eyes now, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Rise up, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” (Genesis 13:14b-17)
Isaac had the promise reaffirmed, as did Jacob who would later be called Israel.
God remembered. The Greek word, translated as remembered, means to prick the memory or to mark the mind. God is effected by the cries of the children of Israel. God's mind is moved to acknowledge His promises to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel).
God saw their suffering and God knew their condition. God is not unaware when we suffer. God is moved by our cries for help. God is familiar, fully acquainted with our situation in life. And God responds to our pain by acting to deliver us. Oftentimes God strengthens us through trials, but sometimes God rescues us from trials. Both kinds of action are redemptive. The former grows us. The latter relieves us.
In the case of Israel, God called Moses and empowered him to lead them out of slavery. God acted mightily to set them free. At Passover the Jewish people remember what God has done for them. God set them free from harsh and cruel taskmasters, gave them a law to live by, a priesthood to minister among them, and gave them a land to possess.
On the night in which Jesus was arrested, He was with His disciples in an upper room celebrating the Passover. Jesus presented the Passover remembrance meal that night as something new that God was now doing in Him. He took the bread and broke, blessed God and gave to His disciples saying, "This is my body which is given to you. Take, eat, and do it in remembrance of me." After the supper Jesus took the cup of wine and blessed God, passed it among His disciples saying, "Take and drink from this, all of you! For this is the blood of the new covenant poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me"
God hears. God sees. God knows and God remembers His great promises to you in Jesus Christ, who gave His life as an atoning sacrifice for us all. God may not rescue us from every trial or tragedy, but you can rest assured God will never forget you. God sees every tear and hears every groan. God remembers His promise to deliver us into a new heaven and earth, when God will wipe away every tear. On that day there will be no more crying or pain or even death, for the old order will have given way to the new! Come, Lord Jesus!
Just before God called Moses to go down to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to "Let my people go", the scripture says God heard the Hebrew slaves' cries under the harsh hand of the Egyptians.
Look at the verbs describing God's experience of the Hebrews' suffering.
God heard.
God remembered.
God saw.
God knew.
God heard the cries and was moved to remember His covenant promises to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The covenant promises can be summarized as the promise of becoming a great nation, of inheriting the land of Canaan, and of multitudinous descendants, so many that they cannot be counted. The great nation of Israel is to become the means by which God will bless the world and the Gentiles will bless themselves by blessing Israel and Israel's God. The first utterance of this promise is to Abraham.
"I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
While settling in Hebron Abraham received this promise from God.
“Raise your eyes now, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Rise up, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” (Genesis 13:14b-17)
Isaac had the promise reaffirmed, as did Jacob who would later be called Israel.
God remembered. The Greek word, translated as remembered, means to prick the memory or to mark the mind. God is effected by the cries of the children of Israel. God's mind is moved to acknowledge His promises to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel).
God saw their suffering and God knew their condition. God is not unaware when we suffer. God is moved by our cries for help. God is familiar, fully acquainted with our situation in life. And God responds to our pain by acting to deliver us. Oftentimes God strengthens us through trials, but sometimes God rescues us from trials. Both kinds of action are redemptive. The former grows us. The latter relieves us.
In the case of Israel, God called Moses and empowered him to lead them out of slavery. God acted mightily to set them free. At Passover the Jewish people remember what God has done for them. God set them free from harsh and cruel taskmasters, gave them a law to live by, a priesthood to minister among them, and gave them a land to possess.
On the night in which Jesus was arrested, He was with His disciples in an upper room celebrating the Passover. Jesus presented the Passover remembrance meal that night as something new that God was now doing in Him. He took the bread and broke, blessed God and gave to His disciples saying, "This is my body which is given to you. Take, eat, and do it in remembrance of me." After the supper Jesus took the cup of wine and blessed God, passed it among His disciples saying, "Take and drink from this, all of you! For this is the blood of the new covenant poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me"
God hears. God sees. God knows and God remembers His great promises to you in Jesus Christ, who gave His life as an atoning sacrifice for us all. God may not rescue us from every trial or tragedy, but you can rest assured God will never forget you. God sees every tear and hears every groan. God remembers His promise to deliver us into a new heaven and earth, when God will wipe away every tear. On that day there will be no more crying or pain or even death, for the old order will have given way to the new! Come, Lord Jesus!
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