Reading Exodus: An Absent & Silent God…?

And God heard their groan, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, with Jacob; and God saw the sons of Israel, and God knew.”  (Ex 2:24-25; own translation)

When we think of Exodus, what comes to mind? Probably many things. The Ten Commandments, perhaps? The Ten Plagues? Very likely. Maybe the parting of the Red Sea, or the infamous Golden Calf. All these are just to say that this is a very familiar book to many of us, even for those who identify themselves as non-believers.

And such familiarity shapes how we approach the book. We tend to skim through it once we know the storyline. So we are familiar with the main events, the major turning points, but we may not linger long enough to notice some interesting details, and may even overlook some deeper concerns that matter. And one such concern—and perhaps a central one—is this: who is the God of Israel—the God of our Lord Jesus?

Reed Basket on the River (source: Internet)

From the start, the author lays down the background of the book: it is the story of the descendants of Joseph in the land of Egypt, in a time when Joseph and his generation are no more than a faded memory, a time when Egypt has “a new king…who does not know Joseph.” (Ex 1:8)

However, it is also a time when the family of Israel (Jacob) is becoming stronger and more numerous, so much so that Pharaoh and the whole Egypt are threatened by their mere existence. Pharoah, as with any authoritarian ruler in history, rules the Israelites with a heavy hand. He seeks to suppress their morale and crush their spirit with hard and harsh labours. In addition, he orders to have every newborn Hebrew boy be killed, attempting to eradicate them at the root.

And through all of this, there is an unsettling impression that the God of Israel seems silent, and absent.

But is He really?

Despite the direct kill order from Pharaoh, the two Hebrew midwives chose the fear of God instead, and “did not do asthe king of Egypt commanded them” (Ex 1:17b), but let the boys live. When they were summoned and questioned by Pharaoh, they responded with wit and wisdom. Here, it’s worth noticing that these midwives are but ordinary people who choose the way of the life-giving God than obey the cruel order of a king bent on taking innocent lives. As a result, the God of life Himself deals favourably with them, giving them families of their own. (Ex. 1:20-21)

God is not silent. 

And as we read on, there is something even more striking and curious. The incident of baby Moses found by the daughter of Pharaoh. There are a couple of interesting observations in this short episode. Firstly, it so happens that it is the daughter of Pharaoh who is down in the river and saw the basket baby Moses was in. Just imagine—if it’s her young servant woman who was down in the river and saw the baby in the basket, would she dare to bring the basket in to her mistress? 

Secondly, and more intriguingly, as the daughter of Pharaoh, she would have learned of her father’s kill order. Yet when she sees the baby and recognises him to be “one of the Hebrews’ children,” she makes a decision to keep him as her own. She even agrees to find a “Hebrew woman” to nurse the child! 

These seemingly accidental coincidences highlight to us the reality of God’s gracious keeping of His people.

He is not absent at all.

In fact, the author himself makes it very clear: “And God heard their groan, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, with Jacob; and God saw the sons of Israel, and God knew.” (Ex 2:24-25; own translation)

In the span of 2 short verses, the word “God” appears 4 times, and every time followed by an important verb. 

God “heard” (שָׁמַע, shama) doesn’t merely convey the idea of the groanings of Israel had reached His ears. This Hebrew verb implies an attentive listening which will orient towards actions.

And when the author says God “remembered” (זָכַר, zakar), he is not saying that God “had forgotten” His people and is just being reminded of them. This verb is fundamentally a covenantal language. So when God “remembered,” the author is telling us that God honours His covenant with Abraham and the patriarchs, and will surely act on behalf of His people in bondage.

The idea behind the verb “saw” (רָאָה, ra’ah) is similar to that of “heard”—God doesn’t just see His people’s dire situation, but His heart is touched as a result of this seeing, and moves towards kindness and compassion for them.

The fourth verb “knew (to know)” (יָדַע, yada’) must not be confused with our modern-day understanding of having some form of information/knowledge about something/someone. In OT, this verb is deeply relational. It speaks of shared experience and personal involvement. In other words, God knew the suffering endured by His people as if He Himself is also suffering with them.

From these opening chapters, the author has shown us that the God of Israel—our God—is not unfeeling towards His children, nor is He absent or silent. He hears, He remembers, He sees, He knows. 

To the Israelites then, they are yet to see how God is going to act for them. The history of salvation is yet hidden from them. For us today, however, this history is already known. Our question then is: do we hear His words of promise? Do we remember His faithfulness? Do we see His hands of deliverance? Do we know He is the One who truly walks with us?