There are many things that puzzle children. I could never understand as a child how my mom always knew things about me … where I was and what I was doing or did. Our children could not grasp how Jenny knew what they were up to. Responding to the question “Mommy, how do you know that?” Jenny would say, “Because I have eyes behind my head!”
Come with me today on a short journey. I want to start with the Church of God by using a current financial illustration. In one of today’s online news papers’ I found an article with this heading: “Former cryptocurrency agency chief declared bankrupt as investors wait for millions.” Leading into the story, the journalist writes, “… reported around 2 000 investors in “X’s” defunct company, “X”, stand to lose around R227 million after promises by “X” to pay out their investments and growth were not honoured.”
One KZN man had invested R7.5 million. Whilst in the greater scheme of things in our country this is not even touching the tip of the iceberg, we are able to see how a good thing can so easily turn into a bad, messy, life destroying situation. Management, greed and fraudulent business practices could be the reason for such crises for investors. Maybe investors asked how this could happen, after all, the FICA Act amended the old Financial Intelligence Centre Act of 2001 to strengthen South Africa’s ability to fight illicit financial flows and other forms of financial crimes, which include money laundering, corruption, terrorism financing and tax evasion. Where are the eyes?
Getting to the Church of God, we must get that saved sinners manage the work of God. Some who are unsaved sinners often find their way into leading churches … and when left unchecked, the local church could easily be destroyed and innocent souls badly injured to the point where they will never trust church leaders again. Maybe questions that arise in the mind of such injured people could be, “God, how could you let this happen? If You are Omniscient (all seeing, all knowing), why did you allow this to happen?”
I assume that in you reading this daily note, you understand most of the Bible’s message. You know about the two major exiles. The Old Testament Books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther deal with Judah’s deportation to and return from Babylonia. In Ezra chapter 1, we learn of how the Persian king Cyrus was moved by God to execute the return of all exiles wanting to return to Judah. Chapter 2 lists the names and numbers of those who returned. Chapter 3 records how the Altar was rebuilt and the rebuilding of the Temple started. Chapter 4 shows us how the enemies of God’s people supposedly tried to get involved in the rebuilding program, but the leadership and head of the families rejected their offer. This resulted in a letter being sent to the then Persian king (Artaxerxes), resulting in him banning the program. Once Darius became king of Persia (chapter 5), the work resumed. Again there was interference, but the next letter to the then king provided a truthful account of historical events leading into Darius’ archive employees finding documentation proving the legitimacy of Judah’s claim for the Temple to be rebuilt (chapter 6).
What is interesting is … who is the true king over the people of Judah and Jerusalem?
Ezr 5:1 Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.
The true King over the returning exiles was the God of Israel! This was not a pagan god or some manmade idol. This was the God of creation … the King of Heaven. He is Lord and King over these people.
Ezr 5:6 Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius
He is the one who inspired Tattenai to write to king Darius giving an accurate report (verses 7-17). Because the returning exiles were so adamant that God had sent them back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, although providing accurate information, they refused to stop working. Now look at this:
Ezr 5:3 At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”
4 They also asked, “What are the names of the men constructing this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.
See that? “But the eye of their God was watching”! Be it in the world or in the Church of God, we might think God looks the other way. We might think He is uninterested. We might think He is not involved. We might think He does not care! The truth is that the eye of God is watching! God sees everything all the time.
Ps 33:18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
Because God sees His true people as part of His overall purpose … we return the gaze:
Ps 123:1 I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. 2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.
The comforting truth is that although God watches and punishes, protects and provides … we must never forget that He sees us and everything about us all the time. There is no place to hide from His eye! Surely we ought to exclaim … “Praise the Lord!”
Dear God, thank you that although I see many things wrong in the visible church, Your eye sees and You are aware of all things all the time. This is my confidence … my God sees and He is reigning over all He sees. Amen.