2 Chronicles 16:9 - "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout
the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely
His."
In 2 Chronicles 16 we're introduced to a
prophet by the name of Hanani. We're told next to nothing about this
prophet of God, but his message, short as it is, is a powerful one.
Hanani was sent by God at the time when Asa was king of Judah. At the
beginning of this chapter an army was coming up against Judah, and
rather than trusting in God, Asa sent tribute to the king of Aram asking
for his aid to defeat the army that arose against him, and so the
opposing army retreated before these two kings. Shortly after this God
sent Hanani to Asa, and in 2 Chronicles 16:7-9 we're told - "At that
time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because
you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the LORD
your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your
hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very
many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He
delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.
You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely
have wars." Hanani reminded Asa of what God had done in his past. He
reminded him that mighty armies had come against him in the past, but
because he was devoted to God and he relied on His strength rather than
his own God had shown Himself strong on Asa's behalf.
The message that God gave to Hanani is a powerful one, and one that
can transform our lives if we really take it to heart. "For the eyes of
the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He
may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." God wants to
strongly support us, but there is a condition. He is looking throughout
the whole earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely
His. God wants our complete devotion and trust. The word here
translated "completely" is translated in other passages with the word
"devoted". In fact, this word is used to describe Asa's life prior to
this lapse of faith. In 1 Kings 15 after talking about all that he did
and all that he failed to do, we're told this in verse 14 -
"nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the LORD all his
days." God wants our hearts to be completely devoted to Him. He longs to
"strongly support" us, but He will only do that to the extent to which we
devote ourselves to Him. His eyes go to and fro throughout the entire
earth looking for those whose heart is completely His, looking for those
who are completely devoted to Him so that He can show Himself strong on
that persons behalf. The word "devoted" is also translated 'perfect, full, whole, just, peaceable,' as well as a few other words. It's
the same word used in 1 Kings chapter 6, speaking of the construction of
the temple, where it says - "The house, while it was being built, was
built of stone prepared at the quarry." The word "prepared" is
that same word. I find this interesting. The stones were cut out in a
specific way, designed specifically to fit in to an exact place in the
temple. It was specially designed for one purpose and it was completely
devoted to fulfilling that purpose. 1 Peter 2:5 says -
"you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for
a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ." As the stones of the temple were built into a
physical house, we're told that we are being built up as a spiritual
house. For what purpose? "to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to
God through Jesus Christ." That is the purpose for our lives. We should
be completely devoted to God just as the stones in the temple were
completely devoted to fulfilling the purpose for which they were formed.
That's asking a lot. In fact that's asking everything from us. Complete
devotion means complete devotion. The stones of the temple never
did anything but play the part for which they had been formed. That's
the kind of devotion that God wants from us. Jesus said, in the sermon
on the mount, in Matthew 6:24 - "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate
the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and wealth." You can't serve God and
anything. Devotedness follows a single purpose, serves one master. The
fact is we are all devoted to something. It could be making money or
friends, it could be self or living a comfortable life, it could be all
sorts of things, but as believers it should be God. He seeks our
devotion. He's looking for devoted followers to reveal Himself to, and
He deserves and expects our complete surrender and devotion.
2 Chronicles 16:9 - "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout
the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely
His."
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