Does God See?

Scripture Reading: Psalm 124; Ezekiel 7-10; Hebrews 12

For they say, “The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.”

In chapter eight, the Lord shows Ezekiel a hole in the temple wall. He is told to tunnel through the wall. He does so and finds an entrance to a secret room. In the room are all kinds of idols before whom stood the elders of Israel committing acts of abominations in worship.

Then the Lord asks Ezekiel if he has now seen what is going on behind closed doors. Further, he tells him that the reason the elders are doing this, the excuse they are using, the way they are justifying themselves is by saying two things: First, the Lord doesn’t see them. Second, the Lord has forsaken the land.

These two ways of reasoning, in some way, will always be behind our sinning. First, we convince ourselves our sins are hidden from God. We don’t worry about consequences because we believe our sins are secret sins done in private, behind closed doors where no one will ever find out. Second, we are convinced that God has left the scene. That he is either disinterested in our world, or so disgusted by it, that he has abandoned it.

These are both theological errors at their root. They are a denial of the omniscience and omnipresence of God. They are also an attack on the veracity of God because they say that God has lied and will not keep His promises.

My point here this morning is simply this m- theology matters. And theology can’t be mere intellectual theories if it is going to impact our lives in meaningful ways. We can’t just have the definitions right and be able to explain them. We have to believe that the things the Bible reveals about the nature and character of God are true in ways that matter.

If we don’t, we will end up like the elders of Israel, hiding and justifying our sin to our own demise.