Drash
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. |