Mensa Otabil - God Hears and Sees
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We’re in the Book of Exodus, Chapter 3, and we’re looking at the call of Moses. This is verse number nine: «Now therefore behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me, and I’ve also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.» Moses is standing in the presence of God; he knows that his life is connected to God’s historical purposes. But now God speaks to him and tells him something Moses probably never thought possible. Sometimes we wonder whether God sees what is wrong, whether God hears when we’re going through difficulty. Is He aware? In our text today, God says He is aware. He says, «I’ve seen and I’ve heard.»
First, God tells Moses that He has heard the cry of the children of Israel for forty years. Moses has been separated from Israel; he’s been in the land of Midian. He is no longer hearing the cry of the people. When he was in Egypt, he heard it and tried to do something about the problem, but they didn’t accept him; they rejected him, and he fled. So the cry of the people is no longer in his ear, but God says, «Although you don’t hear, I hear.» In other words, the deliverance, the message, or the ministry, or the mission you are on is not yours; I’m the one who hears and gives you the burden to do something about it. God says to Moses, «I never stopped hearing.» That is something we have to understand: God doesn’t stop hearing.
Second, God tells Moses that He’s seen the oppression of His people. He hears and He sees. He sees when nobody is seeing, when everybody thinks, «Oh, this is happening,» and everybody has forgotten about it. He never forgets; He hears and He sees. It’s one of the most outstanding statements you’ll find here: that the God of the universe pays attention to listen and to see. So for some of us, when things are going on in our lives, we think, «Oh, God has forgotten about us; God doesn’t hear; God doesn’t see.» But He hears and He sees.
To Pharaoh, who might have thought that no one or no power could deliver Israel from Egypt, he thought nobody could see; God saw. And to the Hebrews, who might have thought that God had forgotten about them, God says, «I hear and I see.» So if you are like Pharaoh and you mistreat people, and you are harassing people, thinking that you are so powerful and nobody sees it, God says, «I hear and I see.» One of these days, He will visit you. And if you are like the Hebrews, you think, «Oh, nobody understands my problems and nobody understands the calamity I’m going through; I’m here alone; nobody feels my pain,» God says, «I hear and I see.»
And it is because He heard and He saw that He created this whole drama. Moses goes out to Horeb, the burning bush, the holy ground, and all that he’s doing is because he has been hearing and he’s been seen. One of these days, God is going to show up dramatically in your story. You think that He’s forgotten about you; He hasn’t forgotten about you. You think He doesn’t hear your cry; He hears your cry. You think He doesn’t see; He sees, and He’s going to send redemption your way.
We serve a God who hears and who sees, and may the Lord who hears and sees visit you this day, in Jesus' name. Let’s pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, thank you that you hear and see all things. My trust is in you, O Lord, my Redeemer. In Jesus' name, Amen.» The Lord hears and the Lord sees. I am Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.