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Exodus 2:23-25

Blaine Robison, M.A.

Delivered 6 January 2024

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The God Who Hears and Remembers

23 Now it came to pass after those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry rose up to God, because of the bondage. 24 So God heard their groans, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the sons of Israel, and God knew them. (Ex 2:23-25 BR)

For a complete exegesis of this passage see my notes here.

In the passage for today we find our hero Moses near the end of his forty years of exile in the land of Midian after having fled the wrath of Pharaoh. Now Moses is nearing the age of 80 and he learns that his nemesis has died. He also learns that the king's death did not improve the lives of his fellow Israelites, but the new king designated them as slaves of the government.

This passage presents three important points: the name of God, the covenant of God and the actions of God. In these three points there are profound truths for us to consider.

First, let's consider the name of God. The Hebrew word is Elohim and it occurs five times in these three verses. Elohim is the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Creator and owner of all things [Gen 1:1]. This divine name for God is not a philosophical construct for monotheism, the belief in one deity. It is a common idea in the world that all religions worship the same god under different names. But, affirming monotheism does not equal believing in the God of the Bible. Elohim is a Person and the only God in existence [Deut 4:35]. Moreover He is the God of Israel. When God first revealed Himself to Jacob He said, "I am YHVH, Elohim of Avraham and Elohim of Yitzhak" (Gen 28:13).

Then over 400 times the sacred personal name YHVH is paired with Elohim, so that they are intimately bound together. Three times Scripture says "YHVH is Ha-Elohim" [Josh 22:34; 1Kgs 8:60; 18:21]. Elohim can never be associated with the deities worshiped in other religions. In fact, the Scriptures teach that the deities worshipped by the major false religions and numerous folk religions and cults are in fact demons [Deut 32:17]. Therefore, a false god is a demon, and he who follows a false god engages in idolatry and participates in counterfeit worship. Only Jews and Christians worship the one true God.

Next, let's consider the covenant of Elohim. The Hebrew term b'rit is a challenge to define, because it is used in the Tanakh of human agreements. However, when used by God the term functions more as a sovereign proclamation of His will expressing special favor. The divine covenant is not a negotiated agreement. The true significance of b'rit can be found in the Greek word diathēkē which was used by Jewish scholars in their translating the Hebrew Scriptures two centuries before Yeshua into Greek, which became known as the Septuagint.

The use of diathēkē has created some controversy for interpretation because in Greek culture it referred to a last will and testament. The Jewish scholars could have chosen a different word that only means an agreement, but they chose diathēkē because they understood that besides the promises of blessing expressed in the covenant, the divine b'rit was fundamentally about inheritance. There was no better word available to express the Hebrew idea of a solemn and irrevocable disposition made by God of His own gracious choice and meant to secure an inheritance to His chosen people.

The covenant mentioned here is the absolute will of God and cannot be contested because YHVH-Elohim swore an oath to Abraham to confirm the decree [Gen 24:7; 26:3; Ex 6:8]. This verse emphasizes that Elohim chose Abraham (not Nahor), Isaac (not Ishmael) and Jacob (not Esau) to proclaim an everlasting covenant with them and their descendants. God's covenant was not merely inherited by Isaac and Jacob, but God personally revealed Himself to each of them as He did to Abraham and entered into covenant with them. The inheritance God originally promised to Abraham was the land bounded by the Nile River, the Euphrates River, the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea [Gen 15:18; Ex 23:31]. So by God's will the land between the River and the Sea belongs to the Jewish people.

Lastly, let's consider the actions of God. The descendants of Jacob had lived as second class citizens for a hundred years, but now with this new king they were subjected to bondage in order to erect great monuments to the new ruler. They groaned because of the ordeal of hard physical labor and the burden it placed on families trying to just stay alive. Yet, instead of either despairing or plotting rebellion against Pharaoh, the people turned in earnest prayer to Elohim. Moses will later credit this spirit of prayer as vital in bringing about their deliverance from Egypt [Ex 3:7; Deut 26:7-8]. God answers prayer.

The passage describes four actions of God in response to the suffering of the Israelites. God heard, God remembered, God looked upon and God knew. God has perfect hearing and nothing spoken on earth, whether out loud or in the mind, escapes His ears.

The verb "remembered" could be translated "kept remembering." Elohim never forgot His promises and He never changed His mind about the inheritance that belonged to the Israelite people. After all He had sworn an oath. Then Elohim looked upon the descendants of Jacob in Egypt with the same favor that He had given their forefathers. Lastly, Elohim knew them in that He had a personal relationship with this people. He also knew their sorrows and suffering and took notice of what was done to them. He was invested in their survival and so He manifested His love towards them.

God has not changed. He hears us when we call out to Him. He is faithful to keep His covenantal promises. He sees what His people are suffering throughout the world and stands with them. The day of deliverance and justice is coming.

Barukh Hashem.

Copyright © 2024 by Blaine Robison. All rights reserved.