“The eyes of the Lord roam to and fro,” a truth even for today

By Dean Collins

I don’t remember where I learned the song or exactly what year. Back in the eighties there was a movement to put Scriptures to music. Often they were just choruses rather than songs with multiple verses. Here are the words to one of them from part of a verse in 2 Chronicles 16:9. I will use the song version of this verse:

The eyes of the Lord roam to and fro
Throughout the earth that he might find
The one whose heart is completely his,
The one whose heart is completely his,
The one whose heart is completely his,
That he might fully support him.

The song writer intentionally emphasized that one line, I think, for good reason; it is consistent with the narrative of the Book of Jeremiah and even all of Scripture. It is God’s great desire and his rich offer to fully surround and support his creation. Not occasionally. Not partially. God offers his full support to us. He is the great rock on which we can stand. He desires to be our firm foundation.

And he is always looking to catch us trusting him. As a child, I think I had this reversed. I bet some of you did as well. It might have been our tired parents or our fearful pastors who suggested God is always watching, so you better be careful. “Do you want God to catch you doing something you know you shouldn’t do?” We thought of God as someone like Santa Claus who knows when we are sleeping and knows when we’re awake. He knows if we’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!

But this verse is a better and true version of a loving Father hoping to catch us trusting him. His great desire is for us to believe his promises and lean in and on him as our hope and strength.

Misplaced trust

The sad reality is that God’s chosen people were off and on in their obedience and in the confidence in God. And even worse, their kings were no better. If you review the books of 1&2 Kings and 1&2 Chronicles, you find that the bad kings outnumbered the good kings at a ratio of something like 31 to 4 or 5 plus about 4 or 5 more who started off on the right foot and ended up practicing evil by the end of their reigns.

Often the problem of the kings and their followers was their determination to trust in political solutions and negotiations to keep their cities and territories safe. Many prophets warned not to trust in other kings and other countries for protection but to trust that God in his temple would be their defense and firm foundation. But neither Israel nor Judah would listen.

As God’s people trusted Egypt and other allies to fight their battles, God warned that he would remove his covering from his people if they chose to follow other kings and worship other gods and idols. Finally, Jeremiah declared that Jerusalem would be destroyed and exile would come for God’s chosen. God pleaded through his prophet that if the people would submit to the exile instead of running away to others they thought might save them, then he would still provide for them and one day allow them to return to their homeland.

In fact, God told his people that as exiles they could and should build houses, plant vineyards, marry, and have children. They were to live as model citizens even though exiled, and God would show his favor and fully support them even there.

Occupied territory

Our situation may not be that different even today. Jesus modeled the life of an exile. He was the Son of God sent to be the Savior of the world and to usher in a new kingdom that would last forever. But he lived in occupied territory under the rule of Rome. The apostles Paul and Peter speaking to early Christians reminded them (and us) that our time on earth is temporary, but Jesus has prepared both a place and a path for us to live as kingdom citizens. Our loyalty and confidence must rest solely on the foundation of Christ.

Friends, beware of trusting your preferred political party to provide what you need. Beware of believing that either Democrats or Republicans can save us or are worthy of our full support. The eyes of the Lord still roam to and fro throughout the earth, that he might find the ones whose hearts are completely his. He is watching and waiting even in this moment to offer us his full and amazing love, forgiveness, and support.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭16:9‬; Jeremiah‬ ‭29:4-7, 10-14‬ ESV

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash