Thoughts on Exodus 2:23-25

Exodus 2:23-25:  (23) And it came to pass in the 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. (24) And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. (25) And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Giving a cursory reading of this passage, it appears God is doing very little to help His people who were in slavery.  I have seen various times in the Word about how people’s prayers or cries “come up unto God.”  Sometimes I have been tempted to think that this phrase means there is a queue for prayers and now it is a certain person’s turn. As if God can only listen and respond to one person at a time.  If this were true, I would find it very discouraging and prayer to be almost pointless.  Why?  Because how could I know when God would even hear my prayer, let alone answer it?  How would I know what number in line I was among millions of people in the world who could pray at any given time?  It would seem like God is nothing more than a customer service representative waiting to take my order or address my complaint.  Honestly, that is not an image that encourages me to pray- at all.  This can’t be an accurate account of how prayer works. After all, Psalms 139:17-18 talks about how God’s thoughts toward His people are so great in number that they are more than the grains of sand on the beach. This psalm also speaks of how God is familiar with all of our ways and is ever with us.  He already knew my every word, thought, and need before I was even born.  Psalm 46:1 tells us God is a very present help in time of trouble.  How could His presence be helpful to me in my desperate condition if I am number 2,345,461 in the queue of prayers waiting to reach Him?

But if there is no queue, what does it mean that their cry came up to God, He remembers His covenant, and then has respect unto them?  Is this something new that God just decided to do?  As if He was unaware of what was going on and suddenly remembers, “Oh yeah, I am God, and these are my people.  I didn’t realize they were in such dire straits.  I can’t believe I almost forgot about the covenant I have with them.  I guess I should at least acknowledge their situation and how bad off they are.”  Nowhere in this passage does it say that God decides to immediately free them from their bondage.

So, what do we actually see God doing in this text? And did it provide any encouragement to the Hebrew slaves?  Likewise, can we find hope for our own needs from these verses?  There are 4 ways God responds that show He was not shallow and far off- neither in intention or action:  1) He hears their groaning and cries;  2) God remembers His covenant with their fathers; 3) God looks upon the Hebrews;  4) He has respect unto them in their situation. How does any of this comfort someone who is in bondage and had been so for decades with no apparent hope of rescue?  There are two perspectives to choose from to view this situation: through the eyes of doubt and skepticism or through the eyes of faith.

First, let’s set the scene with a bit more detail.  Let’s use our imaginations for a moment.  Picture yourself as a slave in Egypt at a time when Egypt was just about the most powerful nation in the world.  You have been in bondage your entire life since your people have been enslaved for centuries.  From dawn to dusk, all you do is work- not for your benefit or prosperity but for a king that has no concern for you, save what work he can get out of you.  He gives you just enough food to survive, and survival is the main focus of your mind day in, day out.  Once in a while at night when you can rest momentarily from your toil, you look up at the stars, and wonder if there could be more to life than just bondage.  You have heard the stories of how God appeared to your forefathers and promised to make a great nation out of your people.  Yet for centuries, though your people have grown in number, the only thing they are great in is producing work for a pagan king.  You build cities for his glory alone.  Many of your people have cried out to God for deliverance but it seems to fall on deaf ears as year after year passes with no end in sight. Given this backstory, let’s look at the two ways this passage can be viewed.

We will start by looking through a eyes of a Hebrew slave who chooses a view of doubt and skepticism.  With this outlook, given the centuries of bondage, the endless toil, and misery all around me, I will see my situation as hopeless and will not only be skeptical but maybe even spiteful.  Even if one of the leaders of my people came up to me and said, “Hey, be encouraged.  God has heard our groaning and cries.  He knows our yearning to be free. He has remembered His covenant with our fathers, looked upon us, and has respect unto us and our situation!”  Through the eyes of doubt, what would my response be?  “So, what!! How does knowing God heard my cries of pain, hopelessness, and desire to be free from slavery help me?  Oh, good.  The Almighty finally remembered we are His chosen people and that He made a covenant with our fathers to bless us and give us life above all people on the earth.  He looked upon me in my distress, you say. How does that bring me comfort or relief?  How does that undo the chains of slavery or remove the burdens I endure daily?  What exactly has He been doing all these years?! He has respect unto me?  Well, I respect my situation as well- the gravity, the pain, the bondage.  He should have known and done something about all of this long before today!! So, is He going to help us or not?  We have been slaves for centuries and I see nothing that makes me think deliverance is coming! How does anything you say possibly bring us hope, let alone liberty?!”  This is certainly one way the people could have responded.  But what is the other way?

The other perspective is to look at the situation through the eyes of faith.  With this mindset, there would be comfort that God actually heard my cries.  It would be humbling to realize He even cares enough to hear what I have to say.  Also, God remembering His covenant is akin to Him remembering His promises to bless His people, including delivering us from our bondage.  More relief should come from the fact that God looks upon us, especially in our plight.  Some people don’t like to look on the suffering- their need, their mess, their disheveled appearance, their unsure faith, their pain.  But in His mercy and grace, God doesn’t shy away from us in our suffering but draws near and helps us.  If God has respect unto me and my situation, even if I am in bondage, it shows He cares.  Some people care about the suffering of others, but it doesn’t mean they are willing to help- many will only say, “I am as sorry as I can be that they are so bad off but there is nothing I can (or want to) do.”  They don’t want to get their hands dirty or deal with the complexity and depth of another’s circumstances. They have pity on the person but are not stirred with compassion to the point of doing anything about it.   Surely, wisdom is required before getting involved but prayer is always an option if they don’t help any other way.

If God cares, it is only logical that He wants to and will help.  What makes me say this?  It is not naïve to believe He will help because of who He is- His heart of perfect love, His unchanging character, His faithfulness to His promises and His people, His unending mercy, His goodness.  He never speaks a word flippantly or makes choices without purpose.  Since faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, it gives hope that God is about to bring deliverance.  He is already moving as evidenced by the verbs and His actions in this passage.

How could realizing this encourage a Hebrew in slavery?  The Hebrews could look back over their history and remember how God told the founder of Israel, Abraham, that his descendants would become enslaved and be afflicted 400 years but that He would deliver them and make them a great nation. (Genesis chapter 15)  They could recall how God fulfilled His promise to Abraham to give him a son.  How he was faithful to Abraham’s descendants in saving them from a famine and growing them in number- we see in Exodus that they increased exponentially from the 70 people who had moved there during the time of Joseph. He sustained them all through their years of bondage and did not forsake them in their suffering- despite the misery and monotony of it all.  God was not inactive or aloof but waiting for the process of time before He brought their deliverer.

Even though there is no direct mention in this passage of God saying liberation is imminent, looking through the eyes of faith should generate hope and expectation that it isn’t far off.  Indeed, God was working and moving. How?  1) He heard their cries and groaning for freedom and was engaged with them; 2) He remembered His covenant and promises; 3) He looked upon them in mercy and didn’t disdain their desperate condition; 4) He showed His genuine concern by having respect unto His people and their bondage; 5) Though they didn’t know it at the time He was actively responding to the prayers of His people by preparing the answer in the person of Moses.  Through the eyes of faith, it was not a matter of if God cared or if God would deliver them, it was only a matter of when would bring freedom.

With any given need or problematic situation, perspective makes an enormous difference. It either makes the problem worse if we choose doubt and skepticism or it makes it better sooner or later as we look to God in faith to meet our needs.  When our suffering is protracted and even beyond our control, the natural inclination can be to doubt God’s plans, intentions, or even that He cares.  Sometimes God is asking us to be patient as He prepares the answer for the need.  Patience is often the last thing that we want to hear or give.  But the Bible promises that those who wait on the Lord will be blessed and will not be ashamed.  (Isaiah 30:18; 49:23)  He knew the bondage and plight of the Hebrews.  He was not unaware or uncaring, and “just finally got around to helping them.”  He was involved even if deliverance was not coming immediately.  Just as with the Hebrews, He is familiar with your troubles, your suffering, and your needs.  He is not unaware, uncaring, or unwilling to help.  He wants more than bondage and misery for You.  As we have seen in this text, sometimes when we are tempted to think God doesn’t care or is unwilling to help, He is preparing the answer beyond our line of sight. No matter what you are facing, I encourage you to turn to Him in faith and give Him a chance to work.