Tears Of The Israelites (An article by Christian Henry)

AUGUST 3, 2023

 “And it came to pass in process of time, 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 unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.” (Exodus 2:23-25)

The “process of time” described here is a period of some forty years; during this time, the king of Egypt, who sought to put Moses to death, died. The slavery the Jews experienced continued and seems to have gotten even worse, and the Jews responded in two ways: First, they are said to have “groaned,” implying an expression of pain in their slavery. They complained or made a plea, which God heard. Second, The Hebrews prayed, and God listened to that prayer. This “crying out” is both an ongoing call and also took place on specific occasions.

They prayed, and He heard, reminding us that God always hears our prayers. Further, God “remembered” His covenant. The covenant referred to here is the Abrahamic covenant. God promised to bless Abraham and his descendants, promising they would become a great people and nation. He also promised that his descendants would live in the land where Abraham walked, the land of Israel. This promise would be realized through Moses leading the people of Israel out of Egyptian slavery toward this Promised Land.

The word “remembered” is often confusing here. In college, I was reading through this book thoroughly and taking notes on the reading. I was baffled because it sounds like God was “convinced” or “changed His mind” based on Israel’s crying out as if He heard it and thought, “It sounds like the people don’t like slavery; I should probably free them.” It’s not like that at all. He had always planned on freeing His people but was waiting until they became a nation, as He told Abraham they would become. He was waiting for them to get a place where they would cry out to Him. Think of it like this, instead of being “convinced” by Israel’s groaning, He was “convinced” by the people Israel had become and that He could put His plan into action because of.

We must never think that God allows suffering and affliction for no good reason; as if He were no different than some kid who will roast ants under a magnifying glass just for the fun of it, or just because he can. But no, God always has an end goal in mind, and He sends what is necessary in order to accomplish it. Take the Israelites, for example; God knew all about their situation. He heard their tears. I’m told that parents would agree that there is no worse sound than your child’s tears.

Our father is fully aware of the pain we endure in this life. He only sends such trials as He knows we shall be able to overcome and that will make us stronger in our faith. Even when we suffer, God has a plan at work. Romans 8:28 expresses this truth well: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” God’s plan and promise would unfold, for the Israelites, through the life of Moses as the leader of God’s people from slavery to freedom, and in an even truer sense: in the freedom bought by the blood of Christ.