The word of the day is “eyes.”  We attribute importance to the events that advance the world’s history.  And we count the occasions of births, graduations, weddings, and funerals as having special meaning.  But do the seemingly trivial moments of our­ lives have any lasting significance?  Does what we say and do on ordinary days count for anything?  In our reading of Proverbs 5:15-6:3, the wise poet teaches that the Almighty sees all we do from day to day.  Nothing escapes His scrutiny.  The sage writes, “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths” (NKJV vs. 2).  Today, we consider what it means that God sees everything we do, hears everything we say, and knows everything we think.

Let’s begin by noting that adultery is one of the major sins that needs to be hidden.  Once the betrayal of the marriage bed is known, the illicit relationship becomes a problem and a burden.  While concealed, it may offer temporary excitement and pleasure.  But when discovered, it will certainly give heartache.  Therefore, the poet of Proverbs repeatedly warns against being ensnared by “loose women.”  Thus, today’s reading says, “Do not be intimate with a strange woman, neither cling to the embrace of a woman, not your own” (OSB vs. 19).

Secret Sins Cannot Be Concealed

Yet adultery might stand for other sins that must be kept hidden from the eyes of others, concealed wrongdoings such as embezzlement, betrayal, burglary, fraud, cheating, lying, and murder.  Those who carry out these things in the darkness of secrecy may think that they have succeeded if no one knows about them.  They are mistaken, and most will be found out.

Yet the sage gives a deeper reason for avoiding adultery that can apply to all secret sins.  The omniscient God sees “all our ways,” and He considers “all our paths” (vs. 21).  This all-seeing vision of God is a reoccurring theme in the scriptures.  The book of Chronicles says, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth” (2 Chronicles 16:9).  And the Psalmist writes, “The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men” (Psalm 11:4).

Thus, secret sins cannot be concealed from the all-seeing God.  He observes even the most discrete and subtle transgression.  And He sees into the hidden motives and schemes of the heart.  Thus, Jeremiah writes, “For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eye” (Jeremiah 16:17).

You see, everything is in the scope of God’s sight, even the most trivial things.  In the Book of Job, we read, “For His eyes are on the ways of man, And He sees all his steps” (Job 34:21).

God Knows and Weighs All We Say and Do

God sees all.  He watched the coming and going of every man and woman on earth, and everything they say and do is significant to Him.  In today’s reading, the poet of Proverbs says that God “ponders” all our ways (NKJV vs.21).  The Hebrew word translated “ponder” means “to weigh mentally” (Strong’s Hebrew 6424, 226).  The Greek Septuagint (LXX) uses a Greek word that is derived from the verb “to take aim,” which is to “mark” or “consider.”

This choice of words teaches that the omniscient God not only sees but He considers all that He perceives.  He weighs our every word, deed, and thought against His righteousness and justice.  The sage in Proverbs teaches, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”  (Proverbs 15:3).  Therefore, nothing, not even an offhand remark or a seemingly inconsequential deed, escapes His attention and His appraisal.

For Reflection

The Almighty God will see and evaluate whatever we say and do today. What will be His estimate of the path we will take?  The Almighty has given this day to us.  It is for us to live throughout the day as if it were of ultimate importance, for in God’s sight, it is.