The Eyes of the LORD: 20/20 and always on the Move!
- Rebecca Montrone
- Jun 30
- 13 min read
As part of my professional work in holistic health, I am about to embark on a webinar series addressing the five major senses – sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. I’m super excited to delve into each sensory organ – understanding them better, what happens when things go wrong, how to prevent things from going wrong, what we can do when things do go wrong, and how to hang on to our senses for as long as we can until the day our physical bodies bite the dust!
When it comes to God, the scriptures very often refer to these same senses as they pertain to Him; i.e.:
· “The eye of the LORD is in every place, beholding the evil and the good”
· “LORD, hear our prayer”
· “The hand of the LORD is not so short that it cannot save”
· We are told that lukewarm believers taste so bad in His mouth that He spits them out in disgust (Rev 3:16).
· Paul writes in 2 Cor 2:15 that we who believe are a sweet fragrance unto Him and that the prayers of the saints – those of us who have trusted Him for our salvation* – are like incense before Him (Rev 8:4)
And is it any wonder? After all, we are made in His image.
So, let’s remember that; that so many things about us are a reflection of how He is; actually, when I think about it, everything but SIN. God sees, hears, thinks, speaks, sings, feels, tastes, smells, and it is only because He does that we do. It isn’t as though we – as humans – happen to have eyes, ears, hands, noses, and tongues, and, so, He communicates to us in these terms so we can understand Him; no! It is because of how HE is that WE also embody these sensory organs and abilities.
SO, HERE’S AN IDEA!
With all of that in mind, today I’d like to start a short series here on the five senses as we know them and what the Bible has to tell us about God’s eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and hands, beginning with His big, beautiful EYES.
GOD’S BIG, BEAUTIFUL, ALL-SEEING EYES
One of my favorite passages in scripture, incidentally, involves the eyes of the LORD:
“For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
Think of it! While we might envision God as “somewhere out there” – way UP there! – with very many important things on His mind and on his God-of-the-Universe To-Do List, He is actually busy scanning the earth with His very own eyes to find those of us whose hearts are totally devoted to Him! Who are the ones whose hearts are totally devoted to Him? Those of us who totally love Him (and we’re beyond crazy if we don’t – just sayin’!).
This is huge. Are there times when you think you are insignificant to God? That there are so many others with greater importance that your quiet devotion to Him goes unnoticed? That you have to do something really impressive to catch His attention? Not so!
Here’s a good comparison:
Picture yourself getting off a plane and into the gate area - or wherever people who are waiting to greet you are stationed these days - looking for your family members who are eager to have you back. What do you do? You look out, and your eyes “roam to and fro throughout” the crowd to find those people who are YOURS. You’re excited and hopeful and eager to find them and to be with them.
This is how God feels about us (oh, yes, he not only sees, but he feels)! When God’s eyes take in the earth and its inhabitants, including all of the heartbreaking and evil things that are going on – so many of them! – His own EYES are eagerly searching through all of it for His loved ones; His family. And why? Wow: So that He may show Himself strong on our behalf. So that HE can intervene in our lives in a myriad of supportive ways, encompassing every detail of our person and our circumstances, whether relationships, work, finances, health; absolutely everything! And so much further beyond those things, strengthening us as He lives out His life in and through us, empowering us to be His salt and light in a dark and unsavory world!
Meditation Moment
Take a pause and just meditate on this marvelous truth. Are you kidding me? This very minute, right now, God’s eyes are on me – little ‘ole me! – and not only are His eyes on me, but He is devising ways to strongly support me. What? If you really dwell on a truth like this, it will change your day – today – I promise!
GOD’S EYES THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE
There are many verses that speak of God’s eyes, and I will list some of them here for you to savor and enjoy.
· “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who wait for His lovingkindness.” Psalm 33:18
· “The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.” Psalm 34:15 (We’ll get to God’s EARS next time!)
· “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Hebrews 4:13
· “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.” Psalm 139:16
· “A land which the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year even to the end of the year.” Deuteronomy 11:12
· “For those who have despised the day of small things… these seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:10
· “For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He watches all his paths.” Proverbs 5:21
WHAT ARE THE EYES OF THE LORD DOING?
There are also plenty of verses that have to do with the eyes of the LORD when it comes to the acts of “looking” and “seeing” and “watching.” Here’s a sampling:
· God sees injustice: “He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.’” Genesis 31:12
· The LORD sees affliction:
o “The LORD said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.’” Exodus 3:7
o “Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression.” Deut. 26:7
· He sees the inhabitants of the earth: “The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; from His dwelling place He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth.” Psalm 33:13-14
· He sees and tests the children of men: “The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.” Psalm 11:4 (I love that phrasing – “His eyelids,” don’t you? – no blepharitis there!)
· He sees everything (in addition to others already listed):
o “For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.” Jeremiah 16:17
o “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Hebrews 4:13
· He sees all the evil:
o “His pure eyes see evil yet cannot approve it.” Habakkuk 1:13
o “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5
· And you have to love this very common sense statement: “He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see?” Psalm 94:9
EL ROI – “THE GOD WHO SEES ME”
Going way back on the historical timeline, remember God had promised Abraham a son. He was to be the son of promise who would become the father of many nations, and through him all the nations of the world would be blessed. Eventually, that happened, and through Isaac – Abraham’s son conceived through Sarah – the Hebrew people were established, and, eventually, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, would appear on the earth as a man from this people group – Israel – die on the cross for our sins, rise from the dead, and conquer death. (Whew!)
Sarah was postmenopausal, and although the promise had been given by God that she would bear Abraham a son, her insecurity led her to believe that she was the one holding up the fulfillment of the promise. “I just CAN’T get pregnant! I never WILL get pregnant! I’m such a failure! I’m such a disappointment! Just… just… just take my maid Hagar, get HER pregnant, and then I will at least have a son by proxy, and the promise will be fulfilled!!!!”
Long story short:
· Abraham does
· Hagar conceives
· Hagar feels superior to Sarah
· Sarah is mean to her
· Hagar flees
We find her in Genesis chapter 16, scorched by the hot sun, hungry, thirsty, and desolate. It is here that God – Himself – appears to her in Person. Actually, the text reads “the angel of the LORD,” but this is a clear appearance of God Himself, as we shall soon see. (Isn’t it interesting – God has a habit of making things with women happen at wells; Rebekah meets her future husband Isaac at a well, Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman at a well, and, here, Hagar.) Like Jesus did centuries later when opening conversation with the Samaritan woman, here, He opens with a question:
· The LORD: “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?
· Hagar: “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress, Sarai.”
· The LORD: “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority. I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count. Behold, you are with child, and you will bear a son; and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has given heed to your affliction.”
This is a monumental moment in history, actually, as the birth of Ishmael, who was to become the father of the Arabs and a major figure in the Islamic religion and nations, was the child Hagar was carrying. You can read in chapter 16 of Genesis how God goes on to foretell the continual trouble that will surround Ishmael, but for our purposes here, it is following this exchange that Hagar actually “called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “ ‘You are a God who sees’; for she said, ‘Have I even remained alive after seeing Him?”
Remember, no one could look directly at God and remain alive! (Exodus 33:20) Here, we have what is called a “theophany” – an appearance of God that is tangible to the human senses, usually in human form. There are several of these remarkable occurrences to be found in scripture, but when these happen the Shekinah glory of God is sufficiently veiled so as to allow Himself to be seen without those who see Him being consumed by the brilliance of His glory.
HAGAR HONORS THE LORD WITH A NEW NAME
Hagar – a servant girl, fleeing from an abusive mistress, pregnant, in the desert with no destination in mind, and feeling absolutely alone in the world, is met by God Himself (!!!!!!!) and gives the King of Kings and LORD of Lords a brand new name, and - did you know? - it is the ONLY time that name is ever used in the Bible!
EL ROI. Let’s break it down:
Transliteration: El Ro-ee
Meaning:
El = “God” or “mighty one”
Roi (from ra’ah) = “seeing me” or “who sees me”
So, El Roi literally means: “God Who Sees Me” or “God of Seeing.”
Wow. Savor that one for a moment. “God who sees ME.” It is clear that Hagar views God’s interaction with her here at the well as deeply personal. Not – “God who sees everything” but “God who sees ME.”
God NOTICES ME!
God CARES ABOUT ME!
AND HAGAR ISN’T FINISHED GIVING NEW NAMES
God has just named her unborn son, she has just given God a new name, and Hagar is on a roll! She gives the well itself a name: Beer-lahai-roi. Let’s break this one down:
Transliteration: Beer-lahai-roi (Be’er-lahai-ro-ee)
Meaning:
Be’er = “well” or “spring”
Lahai (from chai) = “living” or “life”
Roi (from ra’ah) = “seeing me” or “who sees me”
So, Beer-lahai-roi literally means: “Well of the Living One who sees ME” or “Well of the Living One who sees.”
Sidebar: "Well of the LIVING ONE who sees; who sees me." We love and serve a God who is alive, and let me tell you, this is precisely why He is offended and intolerant of idolatry - the worship of so-called "gods" which are simply figments of people's imaginations crafted into works of art! They carve up some image, which they can clearly see came from a piece of wood that came from a tree ("which, by the way, I - the LIVING GOD created in the first place"), and then they bow down and worship it!!!!!!
WHAT MIGHT THIS SAY ABOUT EL ROI – THE GOD WHO SEES – AND ME?
You might say, “Well, Becky, after all, this was important, history-making stuff. Is it really any surprise that God would make a special point to appear to Hagar to utter these jaw-dropping, direction-of-history-changing prophesies regarding ongoing strife between the Israelis and the Arabs until the end of time?”
That’s fair, I get that, but you have to pay careful attention to what EL ROI actually says to Hagar in verse 11:
“The angel of the LORD said to her further,
‘Behold, you are with child,
And you will bear a son;
And you shall call his name Ishmael
Because the LORD has given heed to YOUR affliction.”
The name ISHMAEL means “God has heard.”
Let’s note: God meets Hagar in her desperation at a well. Of course, we can just picture her trudging through the dessert, pleading with and begging God for help, as that is what we can imagine ourselves doing in her position and because that’s basically what everyone does when they are at the end of their rope. There, He comes to her, He comforts her, He assures her this is all part of a greater plan, and He gives her calm direction about what she needs to do in the here and now.
Further, He gives her son a name that will always remind her that her son was personally given to her by Him, named by Him, is not an accident but part of a much bigger plan, and as a direct answer to her private, passionate pleadings. NOT just because of the big world events being set into motion by her pregnancy, but because of God’s great love and personal care; seeing, hearing, and then responding in love and mercy to her personal state of affliction.
Hagar was comforted for the moment. No longer did she have to wonder what she should do, because the LORD clearly told her want to do – go back and be Sarah’s servant again. Boom.
Hagar was also comforted for the future. She was told that she would be the mother of a great multitude – of a very significant people. However, based on the LORD’s words to Hagar here at the well, life would not be easy for Ishmael, and, I don’t know about you, but if I was told a child I was carrying would always be at the center of strife, I wouldn’t think that would mean a carefree and rosy life ahead for me, either! No worries. God is in it all, Hagar, and He will take care of you, rosy or not.
HERE’S A QUESTION – DO YOU FEEL SEEN?
Wow. Lots to unpack here. What stands out to me:
· God sees everything, knows everything, and is in charge
· God loves, loves, loves to watch those of us who love Him and loves to help us
· We don’t have to be prominent or do impressive things to be seen - “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.” Isaiah 66:2
· We live in an imperfect world, are mortal, and our road through life will have its ups and downs, but in the midst of it all, He is here, seeing us in all our afflictions and responding to us with wisdom, love, and direction, every step of the way.
MAY YOU BE BLESSED WITH THE BLESSINGS OF AN ALL-SEEING GOD
May you be blessed this day and every day, as you sink deep into the truth that the all-seeing LORD – EL ROI– sees you, knows you, loves you; every minute of every day. If you have never placed your trust in Him and become His adopted child through faith in the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, do that now!* There is nothing in the world to compare with being able to call Him your Father. If you are a believer and feeling God is distant and too far “out there” to help you in your present “affliction,” whatever it may be – from a drift into sin to a devastating medical diagnosis to a job loss to a troubled marriage or anything and everything in between, don’t believe the lie that He just doesn’t see you. He does, and what’s more? He is the One with unlimited power to change things.
Or maybe you're stuck thinking God can't do very much through you when it comes to His work here on earth! Well, that's a lie. He is with you and strengthening you so that you, like Gideon, may go forth in His might and accomplish the wonderful things He has planned to do in and through you while you are on this earth. Really? Yes, REALLY. Talk with Him about it!
THE BIG, BEAUTIFUL EYES OF OUR LORD - 20/20 AND ALWAYS ON THE MOVE!
“For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
----------------------------
Enjoy this beautiful rendition of a beloved song speaking of God's intimate care.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Interested in knowing how to enter into a personal relationship with God through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Say a Salvation Prayer and Receive Jesus Christ Today. Of course, the saying of a prayer is the reflection of a monumental and life-changing heart decision, but this is a good guide. Feel free to contact me with any questions: rebecca.montrone@gmail.com
Comments