In Loving Memory
April 29, 1947 - September 5, 2020
Update: On Saturday, September 5th, 2020, the founder, administrator, and head moderator of this forum, Valerie S., went Home to be with the Lord. Her obituary can be found on https://memorials.demarcofuneralhomes.com/valerie-skrzyniak/4321619/index.php.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing .
Grace, the article you posted, immediately made me think of "God's Eye in the Sky or Heavens"! I found a wonderful article, which I'll post a small remnant, the rest can be found at the url below! Thanks for sharing. Blessings in Christ, Valerie
"Fair Use for Information & Discussion Purposes"
The Eyes In Reference To God
“Look, the LORD takes notice of (lit., the eye of the LORD [is] toward) his loyal followers, those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness” (Ps. 33:18).
Sometimes eyes are used in reference to God. Of course God does not have physical eyes as a person has. References to God’s “eyes” are used as human images to help us understand something about God. “The use of anthropomorphisms such as ‘the eyes of the LORD’”, Allan Harman writes, “is used [sic] to teach concerning God’s nature in terms that are intelligible to us.”162 In Paradise Lost, John Milton has to find a way to make God the Father “visible” to his readers, and so he presents God as a character in Book 3.
Now had the almighty Father from above,
From the pure empyrean where he sits
High throned above all highth, bent down his eye,
His own works and their works at once to view (3.56-59).
Milton presents God as a king on his throne, looking out over his dominions. He presents him in human form to make him accessible to his readers and to allow him to speak to his son. Because we are not God, then, there are times he needs to be represented to us in human terms. Harman goes on to state, “They [that is, the human images of God] are intended to bring God close to human beings in the fullness of his personal revelation.”163 Because God is so entirely unapproachable apart from his self-revelation to us, the writers of Scripture speak of him as having human characteristics to help us understand something about him. Anthropomorphisms are used so frequently in Scripture, in fact, that they account for one-quarter of all the references to eyes in the Old Testament.164 What then do the “eyes” of God teach us about him?
God’s Eye As Expressing Omniscience
“Does the one who forms the human eye not see?” (Ps. 94:9)
The eyes of God teach us first that he is omniscient. In a rhetorical question, the psalmist asks if the one who created everything understands everything. “Does the one who makes the human ear not hear?” the writer asks, “Does the one who forms the human eye not see?” (Ps. 94:9) Of course he sees; he sees everything. It is not just things that exist at the present time that God knows about, however, for he knows about everything everywhere without regard to time. Take for instance the fact that God knew us when we were in our mother’s womb. “Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb,” the psalmist declares. He even knows the day of our death before we are born: “All the days ordained for me were recorded in your scroll before one of them came into existence” (Ps. 139:16). He knows our beginning and our ending. God’s “sight” then is not limited by time or place; he “sees” everything. Of course such omniscience is necessary if he is sovereign, and it is likewise essential for him if he is to know us in Christ before the worlds began, as indeed he does (Eph. 1:4). God sees all physical things—things which were, which are, and which are yet to be.
God’s omniscience extends beyond seeing mere physical presence, however. God’s sight includes knowledge of the inner thoughts and motives of all people. He knows the nations, for instance, and foresees their plans; he does not allow the “stubborn rebels” to “exalt themselves” against him (Ps. 66:7). God superintends international affairs in his sovereignty, “watching” the nations throughout history. Likewise, he turns the king’s heart in the way he wishes, thereby effecting his sovereign will in international affairs (Prov. 21:1). God’s eyes on the nations lead him to judge them and even affect and control their decisions.
As he knows the nations, so God knows individual people. God knows their innermost thoughts. “The eyes of the LORD guard knowledge,” the writer of Proverbs states (Prov. 22:12), and he sees if there are any offensive or evil thoughts in us (Ps. 139:24). In these illustrations, God’s eyes represent his righteous judgment of sinful people and nations; his eyes represent his pure justice in the affairs of men. The adulterer is foolish if he thinks God does not see him (Job 24:15), but the righteous enjoy God’s sight, for “Look, the LORD takes notice of (lit., the eye of the LORD [is] toward) his loyal followers, those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness” (Ps. 33:18). In fact, all living things—whether they know it or not—look to God for their needs to be satisfied: “Everything looks to you in anticipation, and you provide them with food on a regular basis,” the psalmist declares (Ps. 145:15). God’s providential care of all people is signified by his eye watching over them.
When it comes to discerning evil, it is God’s omniscient eyes that search it out. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place,” the writer of Proverbs states, “keeping watch on those who are evil and those who are good” (Prov. 15:3). God distinguishes between right and wrong, and in his sovereign wisdom leads both evil and good people for his purposes. From the beginning he knows the evil of his people. When he warns them not to turn to idols, he states, “After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind and do other evil things before the LORD your God (lit., in the eyes of the LORD)..., you will quickly perish from the land” (Deut. 4:25). God searches out the evil of his people for their own good—that they may prosper in the Promised Land and enjoy his eternal blessings. God speaks through the prophet Isaiah telling his people to “remove [their] sinful deeds from [his] sight” (Isa. 1:16). It is his eyes that discern the evil and warn his people against it; he does not wish so much as to look on their sin. When God wishes to bless his people and forgive their sins, however, he promises that their past sins will be “hidden from [his] eyes” (Isa. 65:16, MT)—in other words, forgotten entirely. Forgiveness is as if God cannot see the sins of his people; he removes his people’s sins from before his eyes and “sees” them no more.
God’s omniscience is associated with his eyes in the descriptions that Zechariah and John use to symbolize the glorious Lord, especially in his office as redeemer. When the Lord graciously cleanses Joshua to serve as high priest, he announces, “‘As for the stone I have set before Joshua – on the one stone there are seven eyes. I am about to engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day’” (Zech. 3:9). The stone with seven eyes symbolizes God’s future promise of forgiving grace in Jesus Christ. At the end of history, in the Apocalypse, John writes of a vision in which he sees the reigning Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes (Rev. 5:6-7).165 The Lamb symbolizes the victorious Christ who died for his people’s sins and now reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. It is the eyes of these images that, among other attributes of God, underscore his omniscience. He “sees” all of history, all time, every event, individual human hearts, and he brings them all to the glorious foreordained conclusion. Nothing is hidden from his sight (Job 24:1; 1 Cor. 4:5).
God’s Eye As Expressing Omnipotence
“This is an easy task for (lit., in the eyes of) the Lord” (2 Kings 3:18a).
It is not just God’s omniscience that is indicated in God’s eyes in Scripture; his omnipotence is sometimes imaged in eyes as well. When God chooses the people of Israel out of the world’s nations, he finds them in “a desolate land, in an empty wasteland where animals howl” and “He continually guarded him [Jacob] and taught him; he continually protected him like the pupil (lit., little man) of his eye” (Deut. 32:10). Seen against the setting and background of the desert and wasteland, the picture of Israel as the apple of God’s eye shows how gracious his provision for and protection of his people are. The psalmist reminds us, “The LORD pays attention to (lit., the eyes of the LORD are toward) the godly, and hears their cry for help” (Ps. 34:15; also quoted in 1 Pet. 3:12). God’s omnipotent care for his people and protection of them from their enemies are shown in his eye watching them. The writer of the Chronicles wants us to know that God’s protection of his people is not merely passive guarding, but actively searching. “Certainly the LORD watches the whole earth carefully,” the writer asserts, “and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him” (2 Chr. 16:9). The Lord seeks out his people and protects them wherever they are. He withholds rain from Moab, yet the valleys are full of water and rain. “This is an easy task for (lit., in the eyes of]) the LORD,” the writer states, “he will also hand Moab over to you” (2 Kings 3:18). God’s power extends to all things. If miracles are no problem for the Lord, how can our concerns ever cause him difficulty? It is comforting that God’s omnipotent eye watches over his people.
God’s Eye As Expressing His Love
“The LORD pays attention to (lit., the eyes of the LORD are toward) the godly and hears their cry for help” (Ps. 34:15).
The last figurative use of God’s eye we will consider is its expression of his unfailing love (hesed) for his children. God cares for all his people with the special love of redemption and fatherhood. Called variously God’s “mercy” (KJV), his “unfailing love” (NIV, HCSB), “lovingkindness” (NASB), or his “steadfast love” (ESV), all these terms relate to God’s hesed, or covenant, love for his people. In promising the land of Canaan to his ancient people, God speaks of “a land the LORD your God looks after. He is constantly attentive to it (lit., the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it) from the beginning to the end of the year” (Deut. 11:12). God shows his favor toward his people Israel in the image of his continually watching over the land of promise for them, even before they arrive to inhabit it. He prepares the land for them, allows pagan nations to tend it so that it is not wild when the Israelites arrive to settle it, and fills it with milk and honey for when they do arrive. Inherent in these acts of God’s kindness toward his people is his sovereignty over those nations already living in the Promised Land, for he ultimately disinherits them from the land and settles the Israelites in their places. It takes God’s sovereignty over other nations to secure Canaan for his people—so powerful and purposeful is his hesed love.
The image of God’s eye of unfailing love toward his people Israel is often focused in his blessings on King David. When David’s men trap the sleeping King Saul in the cave and David spares Saul’s life, he says to Saul, “In the same way that I valued your life this day, may the LORD value my life and deliver me from all danger” (1 Sam. 26:24).166 The fact that David extends mercy to Saul reflects God’s mercy to David and the people of Israel in bringing them out of Egypt and establishing them as his favored people. David plays the godly man, created in the moral image of God, as it were, and shows mercy to Saul.
Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord condemns Israel as being spiritually obtuse. “Listen, you deaf ones! Take notice, you blind ones! My servant is truly blind, my messenger is truly deaf” (Isa. 42:18-19). The blind eyes and deaf ears symbolize the people’s spiritual apathy, indicating that they have intentionally turned away from God (cf. Rom. 1:18). In gracious response to their spiritual dullness, however, Yahweh (“the LORD”) promises to redeem Israel out of their sin, calling them “precious and special in [his] sight (lit., eyes)” (Isa. 43:4). We still use the idiom of something or someone of value spoken of as esteemed in our eyes today, but how much more significant is this idiom when it represents God’s special love for his people and his willingness to pay to redeem them (Isa. 43:4-9).
The imagery of the eyes is used in Isaiah’s oracle in reference to Israel’s Messiah, the servant of Israel who will “restore Jacob to himself [God], so that Israel might be gathered to him” (Isa. 49:5). In his role as redeemer, the servant-Messiah is “honored in the LORD’s sight (lit., the eyes of the LORD)” (Isa. 49:5). Messiah’s favor in God’s sight assures Israel of their favor with God as well. They too are approved in God’s sight, his chosen people who are the apple of his eye. So favored are they that even the deaths of his saints are precious “in his sight, (lit., in the eyes of the LORD)” (Ps. 116: 15, MT). God watches our birth and death, graciously considering the latter as important in his sight. God’s eye of hesed, covenant love is ever open toward his people because it is ever on their servant-savior, Jesus Christ.
The Lord sets his eye on Israel by establishing them in the Promised Land, driving out the pagan nations before them and settling the Israelites in their place. He watches over King David, through whom he blesses Israel in the united kingdom of Israel and Judah, and through whom Messiah will eventually come. Messiah is spoken of as finding favor in God’s sight, and his favor extends to the people.
A final way God shows his love toward his people is in his sheltering them from physical and spiritual troubles. When King Solomon, David’s son, finishes building the temple for the worship of God, he brings the ark to Jerusalem and places it in the Holy Place (1 Kings 8:1-13). Once the ark is in its position, Solomon dedicates the temple. Part of his prayer of dedication invokes God’s blessing. Solomon uses the image of God’s eyes when he asks for God’s favor to rest upon Israel. “Night and day may you watch over this temple,” Solomon prays (1 Kings 8:29), and again he asks God, “May you be attentive to (lit., may your eyes be open to) your servant’s your people Israel’s requests for help, and may you respond to all their prayers to you” (1 Kings 8:52). God’s hesed—in this case his favor toward the nation of Israel—is represented in the image of his eyes being open to Solomon’s invocation. They are fixed on the ark in the temple and hence on all the people who worship there.
The psalmist expresses God’s compassion for his people in their times of trouble with the image of God looking down upon his people with mercy. No army will save Israel, David warns the people, “Look, the LORD takes notice of (lit., the eye of the LORD [is] toward) his loyal followers, those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness” (Ps. 33:18). Think of the sharp contrast between the frantic military preparations of a nation (vv. 16-17) with the simple declaration that God’s eyes alone are enough to rescue his people from their trouble (v. 18). The antithesis underscores the power of God which is available to help his people in times of trouble. Again the psalmist writes, “The LORD pays attention to (lit., the eyes of the LORD are toward) the godly and hears their cry for help” (Ps. 34:15). In both of these psalms, David rests secure in God’s protection because he “watches” over his people with his eye, and that is enough to protect them against any enemy who might attack.
Eyes And Believers
“Protect Me As You Would The Pupil (lit., little one, [the] daughter of an eye) Of Your Eye” (Ps. 17:8)!
Scriptures use our eyes as indicators of our relationship with the Lord—whether we are believers or not and, if we are believers, whether or not we are living our lives for the Lord. Unbelievers have “undiscerning” eyes toward the Lord and are unable to “see” him (Jer. 5:21). Believers on the other hand have eyes that can “see” God—because he has opened their eyes by grace to understand their need of Jesus Christ as their savior. In his trial before Agrippa, for instance, Paul reports that the Lord sent him to the Gentiles in order to
open their eyes so that they turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:18).
Faith is likened to open eyes, unbelief to blind eyes. The gospel is likened to the light that shines in open eyes, and unbelief to the darkness produced by the power of Satan. Eyes symbolize our spiritual condition before the Lord.
continues at url below:
http://bible.org/seriespage/%E2%80%9C-pupil-your-eye%E2%80%9D-god%E2%80%99s-eye-and-our-perception
Eye of God, image from Nasa
