That is the way the Israelites were in Egypt. They had not forgotten things completely, but they were losing them. And so they were hopelessly drifting along in their slavery - even at times crying out to God, in circumstances beyond their control. They were groaning under the burdens of every day life, without knowing (at the time that they were groaning) that God was already beginning to take the steps necessary for their salvation.
It is interesting that there are four verbs in these verses that are linked. And if we were going to be translating them literally, it would say this: God heard. God remembered. God looked, meaning, He considered, was thinking about it. And God knew, meaning, He was intimately concerned.
Notice in these verses, like in verse 7: "I have surely seen the affliction of My people." That is interesting. He is already calling them "MY people." He did not call them "MY people" because they loved Him, but because He loved them and was already taking an active part in their lives. So right here at the very beginning, if we are going to apply this to our own calling, we have to acknowledge who is taking the initiative, who is doing the leading, who is providing what is necessary, who is in charge, who has the answer to all the questions.
Did you notice something there? God is already calling them, "My people." What had they done? Had they pledged themselves to God? Had they repented? They had not done a thing yet, and God is already calling them "Mine."
Does He have a feeling of possessiveness toward those that He is going to deal with in terms of salvation? Oh you better believe it! "They are Mine!" What is He going to do for "Mine?" Who is going to hold back the hand of God? Nobody is, and that is the story. Israel got out because God set His mind to do it and He said, "I have chosen them and they are Mine" and they have not done a thing yet. In fact, it was going to be weeks before they even knew that Moses existed anymore than just what their friends had told them about what occurred 40 years before.
Did God know they were hungry? Did He know they were in chains? And oppressed? Did God know everything about their lives, what they needed? Yes, He did.
