2. Eyes Wide Open: God the Father Who Sees
- Eyes Wide Open: God the Father Who Sees.
“And God said, ‘Let there be light!’ and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was excellent, beautiful, good, suitable and pleasing, and He approved it; and God separated the light from the darkness… And God saw that the earth was good… and God saw that the vegetation was good… And God saw that the expanse in the heavens was good… And God saw that the creatures of the sea and the air were good… And God saw that the land creatures were good… And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1).
Eyes to See from the Very Beginning. This divine Group project called Creation required holy approval at each stage. Creator God had high standards, and had to look closely and appraise every aspect of creation from beginning to end. God had to be satisfied, so He was like the artist who steps back and evaluates his work. He is like the architect who nods in approval at the finished product. The Hebrew word for “good” can also mean excellent, beautiful, pleasing, suitable. So, God had to see His handiwork to confirm its excellence, and God has been in the business of seeing ever since.
“So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God knew them.” (Exodus 2:24-25); “Then Yahweh told Moses, ‘I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them…” (Exodus 3:7-8).
Exodus 2:24-25 and 3:7-8 reveal a God of action. God heard, a Hebrew word that implies action; He remembered, a biblical concept that implies intervention; He saw, which involves acting upon what one has perceived; and He knew, a theme in Scripture that is experiential and active. God here is on the move for His Chosen People, with wisdom, purpose and compassion.
Seeing Without Eyes. When Scripture says that God heard, remembered, saw and knew, what is hard if not impossible to understand, is that as a Spirit God doesn’t have ears to hear, He doesn’t have a memory to remember, he doesn’t have eyes to see. But we humans have always had to give to God human traits in order to try to describe in our meager ways something outside our experience. God is so profoundly separate from creation, from human understanding, that we need to attribute human features to Him so we can relate to Him, so we can begin to understand His actions, His qualities and personality. Without this, how would we capture Him in our imagination, our faith? God’s actions, God’s words, need to be described in human terms, because that is all we know. The sharp eyesight of a formless Spirit without eyes is beyond our comprehension The acute hearing ability of a Spirit without ears is in another dimension from us. Nonetheless, as Scripture makes clear, our God is a personal God, He hears, remembers, sees, and knows intimately. That’s all true even if we don’t understand it. His thoughts are not our thoughts, but in His mercy He is making Himself understandable in His Word and through His Spirit.
“God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found, for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens.” (Job 28:23-24).
God looked upon the children of Israel. If there’s one truth that Scripture makes clear about our God, it is that He is a personal God. He is not a distant Supreme Being who is indifferent, uninvolved, or blind to what is happening on His earth. We are not invisible to God. The Lord is a God who sees. Our God is the world’s eternal watchman. Like a compassionate shepherd, God tends His flock, the human race, and somehow gives all of us His personal, undivided attention. He not only sees but He responds.
Whitney Houston “His Eye Is On The Sparrow”
“The eyes of Yahweh search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
Ra’ah. Just as God is all ears without ears, He is all eyes without eyes. The biblical sense of seeing (ra’ah) is to experience what was observed, taking heed to what was discerned, to look into what was seen. An important aspect of our faith is that nothing can escape God’s attention. He is able to observe everything in the universe, all at once, from the movements of the subatomic elements in every cell to the movement of the stars in every galaxy, God sees all. “Who is like the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth?” (Ps. 13:5-6).
The Sacred Name of El-roi:
“Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to Yahweh, who had spoken to her… El-roi. She said, ‘You are the God who sees me.’” (Genesis 16:13).
Hagar was desperate as she ran away from Abram and Sarai. Hagar was their Egyptian servant who merely complied with Sarai’s orders to conceive a baby with Abram. Sarai and Abram know that Sarai was barren, and they would never have descendants unless they did something drastic. So Sarai gave Hagar to Abram in order to have the bloodline God promised to them earlier. Sarai thought this would be the only way to have a child. Sure enough, Hagar found herself pregnant and filled with contempt for Sarai. And Sarai found herself jealous and angry about the whole situation. Sarai in turn mistreated Hagar to the extent that Hagar ran away to escape Sarai’s abuse. Hagar ran all the way into the distant wilderness, desolate, alone, miserable, and far away from anyone’s care. At her lowest, an angel of Yahweh appeared and called Hagar by name. The angel promised that her boy would have many descendants. As it turned out, her son Ishmael had 12 sons. The angel also asked Hagar to return to Sarai and work out the problems between them. Hagar was overwhelmed with this unexpected divine attention. So she gave Yahweh a very personal name, El-roi, God who sees me. “The LORD is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3).
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born.” (Psalm 139:13-16).
On God as the Ultimate Watchman.
“Unless the Lord Yahweh watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” (Ps. 127:1).
The Watchman. In the biblical era when there were walled cities, the citizens would always make sure there was a watchtower built onto the wall, at which would be posted a watchman. This person would be responsible to be on the lookout for the approach of a friend, enemy or stranger to the city. This watchman would need to listen to the instructions of the ruler of the city to distinguish between those three possibilities. And then if there was any threat or danger that approached the city, the watchman would blow a trumpet or sound an alarm. The watchman would also be on the lookout for the approach of good news as well, and would shout out to the citizens they could welcome that was coming their way, including the announcement of the new day at each sunrise.
“For God watches how people live; he sees everything they do. No darkness is thick enough to hide the wicked from his eyes.” (Job 34:21-22).
The Lookout. The Hebrew word for watchman was “mishmereth,” which means one who looks out in order to protect, to guard, to keep safe. The good watchman needed to have particular abilities: the mental discipline to be constantly alert, attentive and focused; to be fearless, calm and composed; to be shrewd and not easily fooled; to have acute hearing and eyesight; to be extremely observant and aware of surroundings; to be ready for anything, expectant, poised to act when called upon; to be someone who is able to wait patiently; to be able to discern the good from the bad, the welcome from the welcome.
“The LORD looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.” (Psalm 33:13-15).
The Divine Watchman. The writers of Scripture repeat this theme frequently… God keeps watch over the whole world of mankind, over the righteous and the unrighteous, the good and the bad (Prov. 15:3). Our Creator is not one who sits passively on His throne as a distant or uninterested observer of His creation. God’s eyes are observant like any good watchman, only He is watching over the whole universe and every person on earth (Jer. 32:19).
Always Awake. His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth (2 Chron. 16:9), acutely aware of every deed, every step. Creator God keeps watch over each of us, from the moment we are conceived (Ps. 139:16) to our dying breath. God is the perfect watchman who neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps. 121:3), always looking out over His creation. “Not a creature exists that is concealed from God’s sight, nothing is hidden. Everything is naked, uncovered, stretched fully open to the eyes of the One to whom we must give account of ourselves.” (Hebrews 4:13). Our God is the best kind of watchman, a Good Shepherd who is able to keep His eye on everything and everybody as He remains the Guardian of our souls and of nature.
“For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.” (Proverbs 5:21).
The Watchful Tree. But God also keeps a careful eye on His Word. Remember the biblical history of almonds. What is the significance of the miracle of Aaron’s branch developing ripe almonds (Numbers 17:8), as opposed to figs, or pomegranates or dates? Why almonds? In answer to that question, there’s a good chance the Lord was offering a visual aid, reminding everyone of the divinely inspired lampstand in the Holy Place. Yahweh had given strict instructions that the golden lampstand in the Tabernacle was to be shaped in the form of an almond tree, with its branches, blossoms and almonds all engraved in the gold. (Ex. 25). It turns out that the Hebrew root word for “almond” was “watching.” Those two words are virtually identical in Hebrew, and the Lord used the almond tree to let the people know that He would be observant over His Chosen people, alert to His Word that it be performed as He intends it to be. Jeremiah said it best, “Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see a branch of an almond tree.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am always watching to see that my Word is fulfilled, ready to perform my Word.‘” (Jer. 1:11-12). In other words, almonds are a sign from God that He is always watching to make His word fruitful, to bring them through all the stages of growth, to bring forth fruit, just like Aaron’s fruitful rod in the Holy Place. It was no accident that Aaron’s rod blossomed as the branch of an almond tree. It was not random. It was all God’s design. No wonder that the Hebrew name for the almond tree was the “Watchful Tree.” Indeed, God is the watchguard of Israel, and His Word will be accomplished as He said.
- A Prayer to El-roi (el raw-EE’). We exalt Your Name, El-roi, God-who-sees-me. For You are the deeply personal Lord who sees us, day in and day out. We thank You that You neither slumber nor sleep as You watch over all those You have made. We praise Your Name, that You see and respond, that You daily bear our burdens. We know that in Your watchfulness You will keep us from all spiritual harm. We are grateful that You are a God of Vision, that nothing can be hidden from Your just and merciful attention. We trust in Your perfect character and judgment, Lord, as You observe the events of our lives and those of this world. You are a righteous eye-witness, Yahweh, El-roi. We lift our eyes to You and worship Your holy Name. Amen.
“I look up to the mountains – does my help come from there? My help comes from Yahweh, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. Yahweh himself watches over you! Yahweh stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. Yahweh keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. Yahweh keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.” (Psalm 121).