THE EYES OF THE LORD

eyes of the lord

In this post I want to show how gloriously God responds to those who maintain their loyalty to Him. Here’s our text:

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars” (2 Chron. 16:9).

The verse’s context is very important. Asa was king in Jerusalem, and early in his reign he was invaded by a million-man army from Ethiopia. Asa was young, inexperienced, and resource-barren. In desperation, he cried out to God for help and deliverance: “LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!” (2 Chron. 14:11).

And God responded! The Ethiopians were completely overthrown, and Asa returned to Jerusalem with vast amounts of war bounty. God granted a mighty victory! Asa didn’t have another war until his thirty-sixth year as king. He wisely used the decades of peace to strengthen the nation spiritually, economically, and militarily.

Unfortunately, as the nation grew in strength, Asa’s sense of dependence upon God waned. He had become rich.

His heart was tested when war again came to his doorstep. This time, it was the northern kingdom of Israel that invaded. (At the time, Israel was divided into two kingdoms, and Asa was king of the southern kingdom based in Jerusalem.) Baasha, king of Israel, came against Asa with intimidating strength. What was Asa to do?

He decided to dip into his national treasury (which was substantial by now) and hire Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, to break his treaty with Baasha. Ben-Hadad accepted the money, attacked Israel with a mighty blow, and forced Baasha to abandon his military campaign against Asa.

On the surface, Asa’s strategy seemed amazingly successful. Baasha retreated and Jerusalem was relieved. Asa’s national popularity soared. Many in the land were doubtless applauding the king for his brilliant leadership. But God wasn’t.

Hanani the seer expressed to Asa how God felt about his tactics. Hanani rebuked him for relying on the king of Syria for deliverance. He reminded him of God’s previous deliverance. When the Ethiopians invaded, Asa had relied on God and conquered the enemy. Had he already forgotten? Even though he had a history of experiencing God’s delivering power, Asa had fallen (through prosperity) to self-sufficiency and unbelief.

And then Hanani spoke these arresting words:

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars” (2 Chron. 16:9).

Because his heart was not fully loyal to God, Asa would now face ongoing wars during his reign.

The word “loyal” comes from a vivid Hebrew word that has various renderings by English translations: perfect, true, whole, completely His, fully committed, blameless. The meaning is that those who look to God alone for deliverance, in the hour of enemy invasion, are demonstrating a loyal, perfect, true heart toward Him.

God is actively looking for this kind of loyalty. When it says His eyes “run,” it means they are on an aggressive, high-speed search. God has seven eyes (Zech 3:9; Rev 5:6), and all seven scour the earth, looking for those whose gaze is lifted to Him for help. When God finds this kind of heart loyalty, He shows Himself strong on their behalf. He fights for them.

The context of our Scripture is all about deliverance from enemy invasion. When the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, God wants to answer by demonstrating His military strength and awesome delivering power. But He’s looking for singular focus.

The same assurance is repeated in Psalm 33:18-19:

“Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.”

It seems that Asa’s son, Jehoshaphat, learned from his father’s mistakes, because when Jehoshaphat was invaded by a formidable army from Edom and Moab during his own reign, he spoke up and said to the people of Jerusalem, “Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper” (2 Chron 20:20). You should read 2 Chronicles 20 again to see how mightily God delivered Jehoshaphat from the Edomites. It’s an amazing story!

Have you been invaded by a foreign force that is trying to steal, kill, and destroy in your life? Give your heart in perfect loyalty to God, wait on Him, and He will show Himself strong on your behalf—He will fight for you. His eyes are eagerly searching for this kind of devotion!

 

GIVING ALMS TO FOOLISH SPENDERS

GIVING ALMS TO FOOLISH SPENDERS

I am writing this post because of an excellent question I received on my Facebook page today from Jon Wages. I had placed this meditation on my page:

“Give to everyone who asks of you” (Luke 6:30).  Even if you can’t give them what they request, give them something.

Jon sent this question in response:

“Do you feel the exception of people only trying to ‘pull a fast one’ is included in this? Is it ok to give even when you know they will use it on bad things? Asking because I have wondered about that every time I read that verse. Thanks for the thoughts!”

What a great question! Worded a different way, should a Christian give alms to people that will use those funds to purchase addictive substances such as alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs, or squander them on things like lottery tickets?

While many people are poor through misfortune or lack of opportunity, the fact is that some people are poor because of foolish steward practices and sinful lifestyles. When giving to poor people in that second category, your gifts to them are often used to support their sinful lifestyles.

And that is one reason Jesus and the Scriptures call upon the righteous to give to the poor. When you give to those who are likely to abuse the funds given to them, you discover whether you are truly giving from the heart to Jesus. As it says in Prov. 19:17, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.” When in almsgiving you give from the heart to Jesus, He always remembers.

Almsgiving is like a refining fire in the heart of the giver. This is why Jesus said, “But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you” (Luke 11:41). As a refining agent, almsgiving cleanses the soul. One of the first things it cleanses is the constant tendency in our hearts toward greed and materialism. Greed never stops trying to overgrow the heart. Almsgiving must be a constant practice in the life of the believer, continually hacking back the ever-encroaching tentacles of greed.

In terms of practical application, here’s how I practice almsgiving. When I am giving to someone that I expect will use my gift toward purchasing addictive substances, I give smaller amounts. When I believe that my gift will go to nobler purposes, I am more generous. The more confident I am in the channel (e.g. printing Bibles for people in poor or oppressed nations), the more generous I become.

Thank you, Jon, for your question!

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