God Knows

Focal Verse: "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 2:23b-25 (KJV)

The Hebrew word for "sighed" in verse 23 literally means to groan or moan. This would indicate complaining or grumbling, not necessarily "crying," as indicated in the New International Version. Notice that the Israelites didn't groan to God. I'm convinced that they didn't pray. They didn't petition him. They didn't even ask for his help.

But God heard them. The Hebrew term for "had respect unto" in verse 25 is yàda', which means "to know," "to understand," or "to have sexual relations." These words indicate a sheer intimacy unlike any other. God heard their groans, and he understood, recognized, and knew - he intimately knew the Israelites' pain like a husband and wife intimately know one another. And not only did he know their pain, he did something about it. In Exodus chapter 3, he prepares to take the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage into the Promised Land.

What does that mean for us? God KNOWS us. He KNOWS our pain, our hurts, and our needs. He even knows us better than we knows ourselves. No matter what type of situation we are in, he knows. Remember this verse next time you endure something you're just not quite sure you can handle, and rest in the fact that God knows your pain and hears your groans. He may not take away the source of your anguish right away, but rest in the fact that he walks with you while you endure it.