7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

The first verse speaks of God’s ever-present and ever-knowing nature. He didn’t say that he has been “told about,” or “had reported to Him,” or “been made aware of” the suffering of the Israelites. His words were those of a firsthand witness. He mentioned the affliction He has seen, the cries He has heard, and the sorrow that He knows. God had directly observed and cared for all of their trouble, just as He does for all of us. Sometimes it is hard for us to believe that, given that we do not see Him seeing us. When we raise our cries to Him it is always an act of faith to believe that He really hears us.

The Lord then tells Moses “I am come down to deliver them,” and indeed, here He is residing within, calling His champion to liberate the Israelites. This is not the first time that we have seen God and His messengers personally and directly working in our world, either. I pointed out the presence and direct labor of God’s angels when they saved Lot and smote the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. Obviously, we do not have the fullest picture of what processes God uses to work His miracles in our lives, but it seems clear to me that He is more directly, physically, and personally involved than we often give Him credit for.