God Involved

We find in Exodus 12:40 that the Israelites left Egypt on the very day that marked 430 years living there. While those years began in favor, the years under kings that did not favor Joseph’s relatives lasted centuries and they were slaves.

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—and God knew. ²

While it seemed like forever—slavery is like that—God was attentive. When the Israelites cried out to Him, God heard, God remembered, God knew what He would do to rescue them.

Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, …” ³

God was involved, understood, felt, heard, knew and was prepared to act for deliverance. He was not surprised by their situation, not unfamiliar with their need, not unaware of the suffering, but was waiting for them to call out to Him. “I have come down to deliver and to bring them out” into a newness of life away from bondage. We can read the backstory of the deliverer He had raised up to bring them out and the ways that He gave them release from the slavery. All He wanted was for them to cry out to Him, to reach out to Him more than to complain about the suffering. There could be a lesson in that for us…