Conditions In Egypt - The Covenant Remembered (Exodus 2:23-25)
But meanwhile in Egypt time passed, and the death of a new king probably raised hopes of more leniency. However, it was seemingly not to be, and the heaviness of their bondage weighed them down.
a In the course of those days the king of Egypt died (Exodus 2:23 a).
b The children of Israel sighed in their bondage and cried to God (Exodus 2:23 b).
c Their cry came up to God by reason of their bondage (Exodus 2:23 c)
c God heard their groaning and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 2:24).
b As a result of their cry God saw the children of Israel (Exodus 2:25 a).
a God ‘took knowledge' (of the situation) (Exodus 2:25 b).
Note in the parallels that in ‘a' the king of Egypt dies, a major event in the world of that day, in the parallel Yahweh takes knowledge of the situation in order to act. In ‘b' the children of Israel are in bondage and cry to God, and in the parallel God ‘sees' the children of Israel. In ‘c' their cry comes up to God because of the situation, and in the parallel God hears their cry and remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
‘And it happened in the course of those many days 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 to God by reason of the bondage.'
The king who had enslaved the children of Israel died. The death of a king was often a time of hope to those who suffered under the king, but it appears in this case that his death was simply a reminder to them of their continuing bondage. They found that their bondage did not cease. It possibly even became worse. Their sufferings continued under the new Pharaoh and their cry, re-aroused by their disappointment in the non-improvement of their lot, went up to God. However it is probable that the slaughter of their sons was no longer being carried out. That probably only occurred over a short intensive period, although it may have been renewed now and again.
“In the course of those many days.” The suffering and bondage went on for a long time, in all over a hundred years. The reference is general to bring out the length of the suffering. But there may be a specific reference to the time since Moses left Egypt. It would certainly seem a long time to the sufferers. All the time that Moses was in Midian (probably seen as ‘forty years', the second period of Moses' long life - compare Exodus 7:7) the suffering went on.
‘And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob, and God saw the children of Israel, and God took knowledge (of them or of their situation).'
God was not oblivious to their situation, but things had to fall into place and lessons had to be learned. God is never in a hurry. He just ensures that His purposes go forward smoothly. Yet He had not forgotten His promises to the fathers of these people. And now He positively chose to ‘remember'. Note the fourfold repetition of ‘God'. There is an emphasis on Who it was Who specifically called them to mind. In other words it was ‘God Himself', the only God, Who began the process which would bring about their deliverance, a process which, unknown to them, was taking place in far off Midian. As a result He will soon reappear under His old covenant name of Yahweh, for to Moses there was only one God. Then they will know that the day of deliverance is at hand.
“The children of Israel.” This phrase must here be given its full force. It was their connection with the one to whom the covenant was confirmed, Israel/Jacob himself, that resulted in God's activity on their behalf. Yahweh was carrying forward His plan first formulated with Abraham.
“Took knowledge (‘of them” or ‘of their situation').' The verb to ‘know' means more than mental cognisance, it includes personal response (compare Genesis 18:19; Amos 3:2). Yahweh would again approach to act on behalf of His people, either because of His care for them or because of His involvement in the situation. It will be noted that in the Hebrew the verb has no object, so either suggested inference is possible. He became aware of the whole situation, and the conditions under which His people were living.
Note for Christians.
From this chapter we learn that the sufferings of His people are never unknown to God. And they can thus be sure that when such sufferings come, somehow or another, though they have to wait long, God will provide for them a way of escape, whether in this world or the next. For we do not look at the things which are seen but at the things which are unseen (2 Corinthians 4:18), just as Moses did here (Hebrews 11:26). For God watches over His own, and when things seem at their worst, that is often when God begins to plan His best.
A further lesson we learn from Moses is that when we genuinely seek to follow His will He will act on our behalf, even despite our folly. Moses committed murder, but God used his folly in order to prepare him for the task that lay ahead, and gave him a new family, wife and children into the bargain.
And just as Moses, though under threat of death, was raised a deliverer, so our Lord Jesus Christ came to deliver us through a threat of death that became a reality. As Moses gave God's Law to the people so did Jesus Christ bring us God's Law, taking of the Law of Moses and building on it. And while Moses risked his life for his people, our Lord Jesus Christ gave His life for us, and then in order to accomplish our deliverance rose again that we might live through Him. Thus we look to a greater than Moses.
End of note.