The Eyes of the Lord

By

Shelby G. Floyd

We have a remarkable statement from the prophet Hanani to Asa, king of Judah: “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars” (2 Chronicles 16:9, ESV).

After the death of Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was divided. The young prince Jeroboam, became king of the northern kingdom—Israel, while Rehoboam became king of the southern kingdom—Judah.

Jeroboam led Israel away from the worship of God into idolatry. He changed the place of worship; the time of worship, the altar of worship, the priests of worship and many like things did he change. God was not pleased, and all the kings who followed in the footsteps of Jeroboam earned the distinction that they followed, “Jeroboam, the son of Nebat that made Israel to sin.” Most of the kings in the northern kingdom followed Jeroboam.

However, in the southern kingdom of Judah, some of the kings were loyal to God and his law while some were not. Asa the king of Judah for the most part was loyal to God and made many reforms and restoration to the Law of Moses. When Asa faced the vast armies of the Cushites and Libyans, his faith was strong and he relied on the Lord who delivered him and gave him a great victory (2 Chronicles 16:8).

But after many years of success, Asa is now faced with an invasion by his brothers in the northern kingdom under the rule of Baasha king of Israel. Now with his trust in the Lord weak, he takes the treasure out of the Lord’s temple and buys a confederacy with Ben-Hadad king of Syria. They are successful in defeating Baasha and completely routed his army. But he relied on the hand of man instead of the hand of God. It is, “At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars." Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time” (2 Chronicles 16:7-10, ESV).

It is this statement that we emphasize: “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9, ESV). There are several important lessons to be learned from this one verse that jumps out and speaks to us as well as to Asa.

THE INFINITE NATURE OF GOD

1. God is all knowing—omniscient.

We serve an awesome God. Scripture uses anthropomorphisms—representing God under human forms and characteristics. “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth…” (2 Chronicles 16:9). God knows our hearts, out thoughts and our motives before we even think them:  “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD” (Psalms 139:1-4, NIV);

2. God is ever present—omnipresent.

David in his great Psalm continues to describe the infinite nature of God:

“You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you” (Psalms 139:5-12).

David taught his son Solomon that which all the kings of Israel and Judah should have taught their sons—that God cannot be reduced to some finite place. Solomon said in his prayer of dedication of the temple, "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built” (1 Kings 8:27)!

God does not leave us in doubt for even he himself declares his omnipresence: “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD”( Jeremiah 23:23-24). Therefore “…the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

3. God is all-powerful—omnipotent!

When God announced to Abraham and Sarah that she would deliver a child—she laughed a laugh of unbelief. Then God asked Abraham if anything was too hard for the Lord to do (Genesis 18:14). After Jeremiah had bought a field he declared the all-powerful God in his prayer: “‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts. You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 32:17-19). Everything is possible with God that is consistent with his character and nature—the birth of the Christ (Luke 1:37); the salvation of the rich (Matthew 19:23-26); and the forgiveness of sins (Mark 2:9-11).

THE LORD SEARCHES THE HEART

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9, ESV).

The Lord is a heart-knower. When the apostles were seeking to appoint a man to replace Judas who fell by transgression, they prayed that God would show them whom he had already chosen because he knows the hearts of men: “And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen” (Acts 1:24).

Our Lord is a heart-knower because he is a heart-searcher. He is sifting and searching the hearts of people everywhere in order to find faithful hearts. If we will allow him God can search our hearts through his powerful word—the New Testament, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:12-13, NKJ).

Solomon declared that the eyes of the Lord are over the wicked and the good: “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). Before David died he charged his son Solomon to serve the Lord whole-heartedly: “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9, NKJV).

The Lord is searching the hearts of all people all over the world. God told Samuel the prophet that “The Lord does not see as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). It is a fact that the eyes of the Lord are all-seeing. Why does he search the heart?

WHY DOES THE LORD SEARCH THE HEART?

God is all-good—omnibenevolent. When many people hear that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro over the earth, they think of God as some fiendish monster just waiting to catch us doing wrong so he can punish us. For sure God will punish wickedness. But the main reason the all-seeing eye of God is upon us is to support and strengthen those whose heart is blameless before him. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him…”(2 Chronicles 16:9). He loves us and wants us to rely upon him for our strength.

David was a man after God’s own heart because for the most part he always inquired of the Lord as to the whether he should do this or that—he wanted to do the will of God and worship in truth. When this is the case we will always find that God is ready to support, strengthen, and help us to be successful in most of our endeavors. “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Psalms 145:8-9). Therefore, we need to continually search our hearts to make sure we are not self-deceived.

The Lord lived on the earth in a tabernacle of clay and he knows what trials that the human family goes through. He knows when we are hurting, when we are discouraged, when we are running out of resources and can barely hang on. He searches our hearts to find if we are faithful, so he can support and strengthen us by his grace, mercy and divine providence. Hebrews declares, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me" (Hebrews 13:5-6).

If we will keep a faithful heart, God will always prove to be faithful to help us. The promise found in Isaiah is also true for us today, “So do not fear, for I am with you;  do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

THE PEOPLE GOD WILL SUPPORT

According to our text, the Lord is searching hearts in order to support and strengthen a certain kind of people. What kind of people would that be? Those who are self-sufficient and feel no need for God in their lives, he will not support. But those whose hearts are completely devoted to him and who follow him with the whole heart, those people he will strengthen and support with his mighty arm. As long as king Asa relied upon the Lord for victory, God was his sword and strength. But when Asa sought the help of man instead of his God, he was left with the arm of man. This always invites disaster.

A WARNING

God gave Asa help and encouragement when his heart was fully devoted to the Lord. But he also gave him warning about departing from his law and following after the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. This warning says, “The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you” (2 Chronicles 15:1-2). Let us all remember this warning that if we forsake God, he will forsake us. But let us also remember the promise in James, that if we will draw near to God he will draw near to us (James 4:8). Copyright © 2010 Shelby Floyd, All Rights Reserved