God saw the Israelites, and God knew

Recently, the words of Exodus 2:23-25 (NAB) caught my eye and heart. "A long time passed," these verses state, "during which the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their bondage and cried out, and from their bondage their cry for help went up to God. God heard their moaning and God was mindful of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God saw the Israelites, and God knew ...."

These verses come between the king of Egypt making the Israelites slaves and just before God draws Moses to God's self through the burning bush, giving Moses God's name, Yhwh. The footnote in the NAB translation states, "God knew: In response to the people's cry, God, mindful of the covenant, looks on their plight and acknowledges firsthand the depth of their suffering. In these verses, God is mentioned five times, in contrast to chapters one and two where he is rarely mentioned. This serves as a fitting transition to Moses' call in chap. 3." The ellipses are featured in the translation, too, which I love, because it seems to invite us into our own places where we want to be known by God, giving us hope that more is coming.

I also love the ellipses because the phrase "and God knew ...." speaks deeply to me. To be seen and known are, I believe, two of the deepest desires of human hearts, and I love that the writer of these verses uses these exact words to convey God's knowledge of the Israelites and their situation, speaking to these depths. In this time when the Israelites probably don't think God sees them because they don't yet see the change God is bringing about, God is working on their behalf, preparing Moses, the person God is going to send to answer their prayers, freeing them from their oppression. Although they don't yet see it, God sees them and knows. God knows the depths of their suffering and frustration and pain.

These words and ellipses invite us into contemplating the ways this knowing of God is a soul knowing, a knowing that goes into every crevice and gap inside their spirit and sees, is there present in it, filling it. It is a knowing that shines a light into the caverns of their hearts and has explored every nook and cranny of it, is familiar with it and able to share in it. It is a knowing that is present and active and so deeply compassionate that acts on their behalf while they wait and question and ask with open hands. God saw the Israelites, and God knew.

In this same way, God sees us, and God knows. God knows the depth of our pain and suffering. God knows what our tears mean even when we don't. God knows the pain we feel but have left unspoken, the efforts we have given, the ways we have succeeded and failed. God sees us, and God knows, and God is working to free us, even when we can't see evidence of it quite yet. The same is true for each of the people we love. God is present, and God is active, and God is at work. And as 2 Timothy 2:13 states, even "If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself."

Let our hope in this be the evidence.