“After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, and they cried out; and their cry for help ascended to God because of the difficult labor. So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the Israelites, and He took notice.” Exodus 2:23-25
400 years had passed since God rescued the family (then 70 or so) of Israel, also known as Jacob, by sending them to Eygpt, via Joseph, Jacob’s son, to keep them alive during a severe famine. Joseph had been crossed up by his brothers, sold into slavery and thrown into prison while in Eygpt. By God’s grace, he rose to the position of prime minister while there and through his good leadership, prepared the nation of Eygpt for the coming famine. Because he was there, his family, Israel’s sons and their families, were all saved. Now, 400 years later, they were a nation of upwards of a million people and they were in Egyptian bondage. Now our focal verse comes into play: “they cried out; and their cry for help ascended to God because of the difficult labor. So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Though they likely had forgot lots about God and their cry was out of despiration, God had certainly not forgotten them! He heard their cries and remembered the promises He’d made with Israel’s grandfather Abraham, his son Isaac and of course, Israel. Verse 25 says He took notice of them, EVEN AFTER 400 YEARS! If God would do that for Israel then, why would He not listen to a young (240 years) America now, if we would but cry out to Him? God doesn’t forget His promises, nor does He forget His people. Maybe His people have forgotten Him? Think about it!
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