“And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham” (Exodus 2:24, RSV)

“BUT YOU PROMISED! Don’t you remember?” We hear those words all too often. Good intentions, quick agreement: “Yes, that sounds great. I’ll take time to do it. Count on me!” But days pass, pressures mount, other activities demand attention . . . the promise is not forgotten, we say, just postponed for a little while. Finally, we excuse ourselves from the commitment, “You do understand, don’t you?”
To truly remember a promise means to honor that vow by doing what was pledged. The wistful expression of our regrets usually means that the promise is being set aside.
In the life of Israel it sometimes seemed that God had forgotten His people. How could God remember and yet allow the Egyptian bondage, attacks by Canaanite armies, Assyrian invasion, and ...