“God saw the children of Israel, and God knew.” The Holy One blessed be He knew that it was incumbent upon Him to redeem them for the sake of His name, and because of the covenant that he made with the patriarchs. Likewise it says: “God remembered His covenant” (Exodus 2:24). And that is what He said by means of Ezekiel: “But I acted for the sake of My name” (Ezekiel 20:9).
Alternatively, “God saw,” – Reish Lakish said that He saw that they were destined to be defiant at the Red Sea, as it is written: “They were defiant at the Red Sea” (Psalms 106:7). “And God knew,” He knew that they were destined to say: “This is my God” (Exodus 15:2). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: He saw that they were destined to say: “This is your god, Israel” (Exodus 32:4).78This was stated in reference to the golden calf.
“And God knew” that they were destined to say “we will do” before “we will listen.”79By accepting the obligation to perform the commandments before even hearing what they were, the Israelites demonstrated their faith in God (see Exodus 24:7). The Rabbis say: “God saw” that the mediocre people repented, and even the wicked contemplated repenting, as it is written: “The fig tree developed its unripe figs” (Song of Songs 2:13).80The unripe figs represent the wicked; they began to develop, even though their repentance was not outwardly discernible.
The verse continues: “And the vines in blossom emitted fragrance,” which is a reference to the mediocre people, who actually repented, and therefore their repentance was outwardly discernible, like a fragrance. “And God knew” [indicates] that one did not even know about another; only the Holy One blessed be He knew. This one was focusing his heart, and that one was focusing his heart, and they were repenting.
But even though they repented, were it not for the merit of the patriarchs, they would not have emerged from there, because the attribute of justice was denouncing them because of the calf that they were destined to craft. Regarding this, it is written: “You shall take a bundle of hyssop” (Exodus 12:22), because they lowered themselves like a hyssop, to repent. “And dip it into the blood that is in the basin,” (ibid.), due to the merit of the Torah that they were destined to receive, as it is written at the revelation at Sinai: “Moses took the blood” (Exodus 24:8).
And it is written: “And touch the lintel” (Exodus 12:22), as Abraham was the greatest of the converts; just as the lintel is high, so too, he was the greatest of the patriarchs; “and the two doorposts” (ibid.), in the merit of Isaac and Jacob, to teach you that it was due to the merit of all of them [the patriarchs] that they emerged. Alternatively, “God saw” the forced separation between them. “And God knew” that the time that He said to Abraham was approaching, and He appeared to Moses to inform him, while he was herding the flocks.