God Sees Everything

2 Chronicles 16:9: "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."

The context of this passage in the book of 2 Chronicles is the pronounced Divine judgment upon King Asa of Judah for his lack of faith in the LORD. For thirty-five years, this king was faithful to the LORD; he removed all of the detestable idols that his people had been worshipping, and he commanded that his kingdom serve the One True God exclusively. Earlier in this king's reign, his realm was attacked by the nations of Cush (Ethiopia) and Libya. Although the circumstances looked abysmal, Asa immediately went to the Lord in prayer, asking that God deliver His people from the hands of these invaders. In response to such faith by the king, God brought victory to the Judeans by striking down the Cushites; so impressive was God's intervention that the Cushites were "crushed beyond recovery" (2 Chron 14:13). It truly was a time of celebration in Judah as the people marveled God's goodness to them.

King Asa now was even more determined to follow the laws of the Lord, and for Asa's obedience, the LORD brought 20 more years of peace to the kingdom. Tragically in the thirty-sixth year of Asa's rule, the king forgot that the Lord could provide deliverance for his kingdom; for when the northern tribes threatened war against Judah, Asa quickly formed an alliance with a pagan nation for security. In fact, the Judean king "took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD's temple and his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus" (2 Chron. 16:2). God sent a seer by the name of Hanani to Asa and rebuked him for such a lack of faith. Hanani reminded the king that God had been his protector against the Cushites and would have been against the northern tribes as well had Asa sought the Lord first and not relied upon his own "ingenuity" to solve his perceived problem. Asa had reached a low point in his rebellion against the Lord, for instead of repenting of his sins, the king had the seer imprisoned for speaking against his royal decisions.

Even though Asa had 35 years of successful rule in Judah, when he started down the path of rebellion against the Lord, the Lord in turn would begin the process of removing the king from his position of authority. Within 6 years, the king would be dead from an illness that might have been recoverable had the king sought the Lord during his illness. In any event, the king died and was kingdom was given to his son, Jehoshaphat. Whereas Asa could have gone down in the annals of Biblical history as one of the greatest kings of Judah, his lack of faith in the Lord during his latter years of rule brought disdain to his legacy. No matter what Asa thought he could get away with behind the scenes in defiance to the Lord, God would not be fooled. God sent the seer, Hanani, to remind the king that God sees everything, and He "strengthens those whose hearts are fully committed to Him (as Lord)" (2 Chron. 16:9).

This is a great word for each of us. God sees those who faithfully seek Him first in their lives, and He showers His Divine blessings upon them. Conversely, those who follow a path of personal desire above the Lord and choose not to trust the Lord with their lives (and circumstances), God removes His hand of blessing. May we not seek our selves above the One True God, and may we not lose heart when our circumstances test our faith in the Lord. As King Asa did early in his reign, may we seek the Lord through prayer and ask for His hand of protection when our circumstances look rather bleak. And may we continually recommit ourselves fully to His rule in our lives so that He will strengthen us with His presence and His blessing. We will never regret the decision to trust the Lord and follow Him in obedience.