There is a very concentrated concern in the Book of Exodus that acts are being performed "so that you/he/they will know that I am the Lord," sometimes "the Lord your God." This goes both for pharaoh and for the Israelites. It seems strange that no one knows who the Lord is at this point in the Biblical story, at least with regard to the Israelites. Apparently there is some disconnect. The years of servitude must have made them forget. But, I think this is one of the lessons that the later generations learned (at least in principle, though it may not have made it into common practice) and that we find in the responsive reading for today. Psalm 78.3-4 reads as follows:

3 things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

Here the remedy for forgetting is making sure to pass on the glorious deeds of the Lord to their children, to the coming generation. If the next generation is to know then the present generation must tell them.

Tags: Exodus, Old Testament Study, Lectionary Readings