"For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths"
This seemingly small verse tucked away in a section warning against adultery is a lesson in theology. When understood properly, it is shattering and unnerving.
God created the universe by having a 4+ dimensional space-time entity spring to life out of eternity from no pre-existent matter. This dimensional space is what we call our universe with its stars, space, planets, comets, etc. God is completely outside of our universe, understanding everything about it. He is not limited to being in the universe or limited by any of the universe's laws. He is outside, beyond, above – in a word – transcending the universe. He can see immediately every part of it. For He dwells outside of it. We inhabit one little habitable planet in one galaxy. Remember, He is beyond our dimensionality and can see, know, and understand more about us than we can know about ourselves. He sees everything about us – even our thoughts and internal struggles – before anything becomes words or actions.
The best analogy I have been able to use to explain this is the movie The Truman Show, which is the fictional story about a baby that is adopted by a television corporation so that it can film everything about its life. They build a huge dome in which they create a city called Sea Haven where this baby grows up and lives. They have cameras everywhere, capturing everything about his life. It is the concept of always being watched that I want to draw from the movie. He can't go anywhere where he is not watched. We cannot go anywhere without God seeing all we do.
The Bible declares that we are being watched – by God and by angels. Even when we are behind closed doors in the dark, we are being watched. The following verses are just a few that show this idea: Psalm 139:1-6, 7-12f; 1 Peter 1:12; Luke 15:10; Ephesians 3:10; Colossians 2:15; Job 7:20; Daniel 4:13,17, 23; Matthew 18:10; Genesis 6:11; Proverbs 3:4; Luke 1:6; 2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 7:12; 12:19; 1 Timothy 2:3; 1 Peter 3:4; Acts 24:16
Understand that you are living your life in front of God. He and, at some level, angelic creatures can see into your life, into your actions, and into the private places. God actually sees into your thoughts as they are forming and the whys of your motives.
Solomon is declaring a forgotten truth. God sees everything you are doing. That is why Solomon is arguing so strongly to stay away from adultery. Because it is not hidden; it is not secret. It is being watched as you are doing it.
This makes me think of what we would do differently if everything we did was caught on tape. If a film crew was following us around capturing everything we said (even the grumbling) and everything we did (even the hidden stuff), we would live different lives. What we need to understand is that this is exactly what is happening. We are being watched all the time – by God and other angelic beings.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz