EXODUS 6:5

 

Q: Why does God say, “I remembered my covenant”? Did he really forget? Did God

 wait so long to save them because he wanted Israel to suffer a little?

 

The concept of remembrance is an important one in the Bible, but is usually applied to human beings

 remembering God. The reverse idea is a confusing one since we cannot picture God forgetting

 anything,  especially the covenant he himself made. The problem arises in our inability to adequately

 translate the term in this passage (and in the similar statement in Exodus 2:24).

 

The Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (vol. 1, pp. 1100-1106) helpfully explains, 

“God's remembering has to do with his attention and intervention, whether in grace or in judgment.”

 Thus, the word is used in Old Testament narratives to “record God's favorable response to crises and/or

 petitions associated with it.” The NRSV offers the alternative translation “focused attention on” in

 place of “remembered.”

 

Regarding the second issue of why God made them suffer in the first place, the most probable

 explanation (but not the only one) is that God was waiting for them to ask for help. The repeating 

pattern we will encounter in the Book of Judges is one of “sin, servitude, supplication, savior, salvation

 and silence.” (Arthur Cundall, Judges & Ruth)   Since the people were in servitude, we might assume

 (although it is not actually stated) that they were there due to sin on their part. And a savior will only

 come when they resort to supplication.

 

This same principle is seen in New Testament teachings such as the following:

    “Ask and it will be given you...for everyone who asks receives.” Matthew 7:7-8

    “You want something and do not have it...You do not have, because you do not ask.” James 4:2

And, of course, we should not assume that God is unaware of our needs until we point them out to him.

 As Jesus says in Matthew 6:8, “...your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Nevertheless,

 we are still told to come to him in prayer as a recognition of who the only supplier of grace and mercy

 is.