Exodus 2:23-25  And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried , and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

In Genesis 12, God made a covenant with Abraham.  God promised him a land, a seed, and a blessing.  In the remaining chapters of Genesis, God several times expanded and clarified His promises to Abraham and identified his son, Isaac, and his grandson, Jacob, as the ones through whom the covenant would be fulfilled.

In the book of Exodus, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are dead.  Jacob’s children (Israel) are in bondage in Egypt and cry out to God, Who remembers His promises (vs. 24).

When the Bible states that God “remembers” something, it doesn’t mean that He forgot about it.  It simply means that God is going to act upon something that had been dormant for a period of time.

Verse 25 states that God had “respect” to the children of Israel.  As later passages will demonstrate, this wasn’t because the Israelites deserved respect.  Rather, this was a demonstration of God’s faithfulness and grace.  God had made specific promises to this nation and was intent on keeping them.  The covenant was unconditional and Israel would see its fulfillment regardless of their faithfulness to God.

God has shown Himself to be trustworthy because He always keeps His promises.