Ever think about what the Lord must see as He surveys the earth? I sometimes wonder why He lets it all keep spinning. Aside from the heinous acts of violence which are obvious to us all, there are the hearts, black with hate, regret, resentment, lust, and every perversion. These are not so clearly seen by the naked eye of man.
The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. (vs. 2)
What is it that God wants us to understand? The Hebrew word here is sakal. To be prudent, to act with insight, to teach, to consider, to ponder, or to act with devotion. Sounds like He wants us to know how to live. Understanding is active and in this verse it is wrapped up in seeking God. If one has been foolish enough to reject Him and His wisdom, that life will reflect it. He has promised that if we seek Him we will find Him. There are just too few hours in a day for us to be face down, I guess.
The story in Ezekiel 8 shows us a glimpse of what God sees that we do not. Ezekiel was sitting in his house with the elders of Judah, the righteous men of his day. In the midst of their conversation, God fell on him there. A brilliant being that looked like a man, half glowing, half burning, stretched out his hand and grabbed Ezekiel by a lock of hair and suspended him between heaven and earth to show him a vision of the temple in Jerusalem. God had not dwelt there for many years because He could not abide what was happening in His sanctuary. In the vision, Ezekiel was shown the idols that had sprung up in the Temple. "Look, Ezekiel, at what the children of Israel are doing in the temple that keeps me away from it. But you will see greater sins than these."
The being then brought Ezekiel to the entrance to the court and showed him a hole in the wall there where he told Ezekiel to dig through. Ezekiel found an entrance on the other side and the glowing being told him to enter. He was told to go in and see what evil the elders were committing there. What Ezekiel saw stunned him. The room was literally filled with likenesses of every imaginable detestable idol carved on the walls. And standing in front of them were the seventy elders of the house of Israel. The men were burning the holy incense to the forms of creeping things and vile idols.
The being said: "Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in the room with his carved images? For they say, 'The Lord does not see us.' "
Sitting in his living room with the mucky-mucks of the church, listening to their pontifications about God and religion, Ezekiel had no idea what their private lives were like. God had left the building long before and showed Ezekiel why. He sees what we do in the dark. He knows what we look at. What we think. What we really worship.
This makes me want to put my face to my carpet and repent because I know that I am not now nor have I been in the past all He deserves me to be. I need a savior. Had someone peered into the darkness of my idolatry I would have been scorned and lost forever. But.....
He took our suffering on Himself and felt our pain for us. We saw His suffering and thought God was punishing Him. But He was wounded for the wrong we did; He was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment, which made us well again, was given to Him and we are healed because of His wounds. Isaiah 53.
What does God see when He looks at me? Perfection? Oh, no! Not in my own self. But He does see one made whole by His Son. That death and resurrection allows me to walk away from idols, from burning the holy incense of my praise before something detestable to God. I am free to call out to Him. To seek Him. To run from the dark cave of addictions, agreements and generational curses and careen into the throne of God, desperate to know Him fully. For He loves me.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found by you," declares the Lord.
The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. (vs. 2)
What is it that God wants us to understand? The Hebrew word here is sakal. To be prudent, to act with insight, to teach, to consider, to ponder, or to act with devotion. Sounds like He wants us to know how to live. Understanding is active and in this verse it is wrapped up in seeking God. If one has been foolish enough to reject Him and His wisdom, that life will reflect it. He has promised that if we seek Him we will find Him. There are just too few hours in a day for us to be face down, I guess.
The story in Ezekiel 8 shows us a glimpse of what God sees that we do not. Ezekiel was sitting in his house with the elders of Judah, the righteous men of his day. In the midst of their conversation, God fell on him there. A brilliant being that looked like a man, half glowing, half burning, stretched out his hand and grabbed Ezekiel by a lock of hair and suspended him between heaven and earth to show him a vision of the temple in Jerusalem. God had not dwelt there for many years because He could not abide what was happening in His sanctuary. In the vision, Ezekiel was shown the idols that had sprung up in the Temple. "Look, Ezekiel, at what the children of Israel are doing in the temple that keeps me away from it. But you will see greater sins than these."
The being then brought Ezekiel to the entrance to the court and showed him a hole in the wall there where he told Ezekiel to dig through. Ezekiel found an entrance on the other side and the glowing being told him to enter. He was told to go in and see what evil the elders were committing there. What Ezekiel saw stunned him. The room was literally filled with likenesses of every imaginable detestable idol carved on the walls. And standing in front of them were the seventy elders of the house of Israel. The men were burning the holy incense to the forms of creeping things and vile idols.
The being said: "Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in the room with his carved images? For they say, 'The Lord does not see us.' "
Sitting in his living room with the mucky-mucks of the church, listening to their pontifications about God and religion, Ezekiel had no idea what their private lives were like. God had left the building long before and showed Ezekiel why. He sees what we do in the dark. He knows what we look at. What we think. What we really worship.
This makes me want to put my face to my carpet and repent because I know that I am not now nor have I been in the past all He deserves me to be. I need a savior. Had someone peered into the darkness of my idolatry I would have been scorned and lost forever. But.....
He took our suffering on Himself and felt our pain for us. We saw His suffering and thought God was punishing Him. But He was wounded for the wrong we did; He was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment, which made us well again, was given to Him and we are healed because of His wounds. Isaiah 53.
What does God see when He looks at me? Perfection? Oh, no! Not in my own self. But He does see one made whole by His Son. That death and resurrection allows me to walk away from idols, from burning the holy incense of my praise before something detestable to God. I am free to call out to Him. To seek Him. To run from the dark cave of addictions, agreements and generational curses and careen into the throne of God, desperate to know Him fully. For He loves me.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found by you," declares the Lord.
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