Proverbs 15:3, Don’t make me come down there!

Posted on Saturday, November 12, 2011 in Bible Commentary | 0 comments

The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

//God’s omniscience is a matter all Christians understand. From a little child, we’re taught that God is watching us. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, promises the book of Hebrews. But when did God develop this omniscience?

You might remember God playing hide-and-seek with Adam and Eve in the garden. “Where art thou?” God asked. No omniscience yet. Or the little plea bargain Abraham had with God. God was about to destroy Sodom because of their wickedness. Says God, “I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.” Abraham says, “but what if you find fifty righteous men? Will you still destroy the city?” God says, “if I find fifty there, I won’t destroy the city.” It goes on, God promising he’ll count carefully when he gets down there.

We can’t expect God to notice everything that happens down here, can we? In Hosea 8:4, God confesses, “They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not.” Still no omniscience.

But things have changed since then. My advice: Don’t count on your sins going unnoticed anymore. Just as a young mother begins to grow eyes in the back of her head, God has over time developed the same skill.