The God Who Sees and Responds
During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel…God knew (Exodus 2:23–25).
The people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt and were “afflicted with heavy burdens” (Exodus 1:11). As the years passed and the pain mounted, the Israelites began to lose hope that salvation would come from the Lord. But God never abandons His people. The account is clear: their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God—literally, it ascended to the Lord. Their cries didn’t go unheard. Our cries, so many years later, don’t go unheard either…they ascend to the Lord.
God always hears His people! This is an incredible use of anthropomorphism—a Biblical figure of speech where God is described in human terms to help us understand His care and nearness. He desires to use language and reveal Himself in a personal way. Even when we feel isolated or wonder if our prayers matter, we can be assured that the living God hears our cries. He is never distant or indifferent to the needs of His people. And the God who hears always responds—in His perfect time and in ways that reflect His steadfast love.
Not only did God hear the cries of the people, but He also remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God did not forget His people, nor was He neglecting them; instead, He pledged to care for them and guide them home. His remembrance was not a passive recollection, but an active commitment to fulfill His promises in His perfect time. Even in their suffering, God was moving to bring about their deliverance.
In the same way, just as God remembered His covenant with Israel, so He remains faithful to us today. If God has graciously transformed our hearts through faith in Jesus, then we belong to Him. He has made a promise—a covenant—to love us, care for us, and nurture us not only now, but for eternity. Simply, the Lord is committed to us as His sons and daughters through faith in Jesus Christ…He will never leave nor forsake us (Joshua 1:5; Hebrews 13:5).
The text tells us that “God saw the people of Israel.” This isn’t a casual glance—it’s the attentive, purposeful gaze of a Father who is deeply involved in the lives of His children. God is not a blind or absent Father; rather, His eyes are open to the concerns, trials, and even the deepest, darkest sins of His people. He truly is all-knowing—but not in an authoritative, overbearing manner. Instead, as the Psalmist makes plain: The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry…The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:15, 18).
God sees us. He knows that we are stuck in our sin, and without His redemptive work, our restoration would be impossible. Even in this moment, God is watching, and He sees our most painful hurts, our grievous sins, and our most incredible joys. He sees us and He knows us…matchless love!
So God heard, saw, remembered, and finally He knew. He knew all about what they went through—but even more about all of them. The word suggests an intimate and personal knowing relationship. So God knew in every way what the Israelites had endured at the hands of the Egyptians.
In the same way, God knows…God knows us. He desires an intimate and personal relationship with each one of us. He knows our hurt and grief. He knows our laugh. He knows us. With that knowing comes an incredible love—an undefiled and perfect love. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to live and die for each of us, so that we can have an abundant life both now and for eternity!
God responds—He always responds! And in Jesus Christ, we have the ultimate proof that He hears, sees, remembers, knows, and saves.
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
