“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, nobody knows my sorrow…”  So says the old spiritual.  But that’s not quite right.  In Exodus 3:7 the Lord said, “I have surely SEEN the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have HEARD their cry because of their taskmasters, for I KNOW their sorrows.”

For 430 years the Children of Israel had lived in terrible bondage in the land of Egypt.  Their suffering was so great and had lasted so long they must have thought God had forgotten them.  Worse still, maybe He had abandoned them. 

Not true.  In Exodus 3:7 God referred to the Children of Israel as, “My people.”  He didn’t tell Moses, “They are your people.”  He said, “They are My people!”  He sent Moses to tell Pharaoh, “Let My people go.”  God still claimed them.  He still loved them.  And He was very much aware of their pain and predicament.

God said in v8, “So I have come down to deliver them.”  In Isaiah 64:1 the prophet cried, “Oh, that You would rend the heavens!  That You would come down!”  That’s exactly what God did, and He sent Moses to deliver Israel from the slavery of Egypt.  That’s exactly what He did again in the Person of Jesus Christ whom He sent to deliver us from the slavery of sin. 

Here’s a news flash:  God still sees, hears, and knows.  His heart is still moved with compassion.  He still comes down to deliver.  As the famous Anglican preacher, J. Stuart Holden, once noted, “Heaven with all its holiness is always touching earth with its heartbreak.”

Are you hurting today?  Feeling like no one knows or cares?  There is One!  He sees your pain, hears your cry, and knows your sorrow.  But best of all, He is the God Who comes down.

Pastor Todd Weston

Consider the nation of Israel.  It’s just a little larger than the state of New Jersey.  The land of Israel is 263 miles north to south, and only 71 miles east to west (just 9.3 miles at its narrowest point).  With a population just under eight-million, Israel is one of the smaller sovereign nations.

The fact that Israel even exists as a nation and that it occupies a portion of its original homeland is nothing short of miraculous.  That is true because of the amazing preservation of the Jewish people who were scattered around the world for centuries.  It’s also true because of the divine protection afforded to this tiny nation surrounded by hostile enemies intent on driving Israel into the sea.

Even today, nations possessed with a diabolical hatred of Israel are busy arming themselves to the teeth in hopes of annihilating the Jewish state.  But their purposes and plans are already doomed to failure.  God has a future plan and purpose for Israel, and God’s plans and purposes trump those of man!  Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord declared, “As I have purposed, so it shall stand” (Isaiah 14:24).  And again we read, “For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it?  His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:27).

When you think of all the suffering associated with Israel throughout history, you may wonder if God has forgotten her.  To that question the Lord gave this answer, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb?  Surely they may forget.  Yet I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15).  A mother will forget her own child before God will ever forget Israel.  God will never forget Israel, and He will never forget you!

So when you hear about Israel in the news, remember the eternal purposes and plans of God that will be fulfilled.  And remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).  God will bless those who bless Israel (Genesis 12:3).

Pastor Todd Weston