“Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” (Jer. 23:24)
The Universal sight of God
God’s sight is not only permanent; it’s also universal. As we have read in the opening verse, this is due to the fact that God is omnipresent. He fills heaven and earth. That’s why nobody can hide from God:
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” even the night shall be light about me; 12 indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.” (Ps. 139: 7–12)
God sees in the dark as He sees in the light. Consequently nothing can escape His universal field of vision. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” (Prov. 15:3) Consequently, from everlasting to everlasting, the great I AM sees and sees everywhere. And everything He sees He sees it in the present tense. That’s one of the reasons why He knows everything and forgets nothing. He is the eternal and universal Witness whom we shall meet on the judgment day.
The penetrating sight of God
“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 4:13)
While the sight of men can only see superficially, God’s sight penetrates everything and everyone. So God doesn’t need radiographies, or CT scans, or PET scans, or magnetic resonances, or endoscopies, because for Him all things are naked and open—not only naked, but also open. This is a huge difference between God and us. While we are surrounded by limitations, God is unlimited at all times and under all circumstances.
This infinite gulf between God’s ability and ours is reflected in 1 Samuel in a story we are all acquainted with:
So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:6,7)
Samuel was here on the verge of a disaster. He was about to anoint Eliab as the future king of Israel, and he was about to do it because the limitation of his sight was misleading him. We often fall in the same trap. But Jesus never fell in that trap. It is said of Him:
He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor…” (Isaiah 11:3,4)
When Jesus says: “As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous” (John 5:30), He is referring to His ability to hear the Father’s voice. But how many times do we judge by the sight of our eyes, and decide by the hearing of our ears as if we were sufficient of ourselves? Appearances can deceive men, but not God. Hence the injunction:
“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” (John 7:24)
As Jesus, we need to hear from the Father and rely on Him. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
The omniscient sight of God
Another difference between God’s sight and ours resides in the fact that God’s sight is always according to knowledge. He knows what He sees and sees what He knows, and this, unfailingly. But it is not so with us. I wonder how many people would recognize an atomic bomb if they would find it in a field, or Didier Queloz if they would meet him in the street. Very often our sight is not according to knowledge. So at times we see and draw conclusions without knowing what we see. But God is altogether different and His conclusions are always true.
Our only hope
That’s why we need to see El Roi (ראי אל), “the God who sees me”, for in Him dwells our hope. The question Hagar asked is still pertinent today: “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” There is a wonderful promise found in the Psalms:
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (Psalm 32:8).
The God whose sight is perfect, and perfect on the whole spectrum of life, offers to guide us with His eye. When He told Hagar, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand” (Gen. 16:9), He was guiding her with His eye. This is not some sort of utopia. It is a promise given to whosoever will yield to His counsels and obey His voice. Of course, as in the case of Hagar, it is not always easy to follow His guiding, but the person who trusts His love and compassion will experience glory.
Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God.” (Isaiah 50:10)
This, and nothing less, will lead us on the path of life, there where there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.
If you think this post can help somebody you can share it with the options presented bellow.
