“For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him...” (2 Chronicles 16:9)
The context of this verse is a reprimand of a King of Judah, who had until this point trusted in Jehovah and sought Him for help in every trouble that faced his kingdom. Just this once the King turned to another Ruler for help, rather than seeking God first. The King likely thought that it made perfect political sense to ask for an alliance against an enemy, and I think he probably knew that his purpose would be blessed by God. It seems to me that the attitude he had at this point was one of confidence, not only in the plan he had made but in his own means of accomplishing them.
God’s reaction to this was to say “why didn’t you come to me? Haven’t I always helped you in the past? Haven’t I won many battles for you and given you peace and rest? Now you have done foolishly, and from now on you will face wars.”
There are two things in this verse that provoke a sense of awe in me. One is that God is really seeing us. All of us. He is watching and looking for those who seek Him and know Him, who trust Him according to His character.
I don’t think the phrase “those whose heart is perfect towards Him” means sinless perfection. Because God would never find a single person to show Himself strong on behalf of! I think it means, rather, a person who defers to God FIRST in all matters.
The big things, the little things; the things that confuse and confound us, as well as the things that we understand and have enough “common sense” to figure out on our own. The things that scare and overwhelm us, as well as the things that we may take lightly, or consider to be ‘no big deal’. The times when there seems to be no real solution, as well as the times in which there are many obvious and equally ‘acceptable’ options.
The second thing that strikes me is that there are real and often immediate consequences when we fail to have ‘hearts that are perfect towards God’. When we rely on our own wisdom, or on other fallible people, telling God “I don’t really need you for this...” we will lack the peace and rest that He desires for us to have, and instead find ourselves in a constant state of “war” and unrest—spiritually, emotionally, and maybe even within our relationships with others.
But seriously. The eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, seeing us, and He wants to show Himself strong for us! That’s pretty incredible, don’t ya think?
