Daily Readings and Thought for October 22nd. “THE EYES OF THE LORD RUN TO AND FRO THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH”

 

Hannani the seer spoke the above words to King Asa [2 Chron. 16 v.9] and they summarize a great Truth.  They do not mean that the LORD is constantly interfering in the affairs of human beings, but they do mean, as many other passages say ( Job 34 v.21; 1 Peter 3 v.12; Heb. 4 v.13 etc) that the Creator is aware of all that is happening.  The Book of Revelation makes it clear that his myriad of angels and Jesus do this.[5 v.6]

Our Lord, supported by the angels knows all that is happening, more than this, the inner motives of those who are serving him.  Our reading in Chronicles illustrates this, Asa, although an excellent king in many ways, lost some of his faith and commitment to God in his later years. We read yesterday of his reforms and the successes God blessed him with and how the prophet Azariah told him, “Hear me Asa and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you while you are with him.  If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”   [15 v.2]

So Asa could not say he had not been warned – and this message is one all of us should remember.  This does not mean that everything will always be perfect in the lives of those who commit themselves to serve him.  We see in the life of Jesus and later, the disciples, that there were testing times to prove and sp increase their faithfulness. 

In today’s reading, the words we quoted at the beginning, occur when God’s prophet comes to rebuke the king after he had “done foolishly” after reigning successfully for 36 years.  He had relied on the help of a foreign king instead of God.  The prophet Hanani reminds him of the help God had given him in earlier years (v.8).  This is a lesson for our older readers – always remember the blessings God gave you in times of trouble when you prayed and trusted in him in some particular situation.