Living Before the God Who Sees

Genesis 31:44-55

⁴⁴Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.” ⁴⁵So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. ⁴⁷Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. ⁴⁸Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed, ⁴⁹and Mizpah, for he said, “The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight. ⁵⁰If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”

⁵¹Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. ⁵²This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. ⁵³The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, ⁵⁴and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.

⁵⁵Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home.

(ESV)

Thought:
Jacob and Laban both decide to make a covenant, they pile these stones together as a reminder and a witness of the promises that they will make to one another. Laban makes Jacob promise to care for his daughters even when he isn’t watching. Jacob makes Laban promise that he will not cross over this line to harm him, he also promises not to cross in order to harm him.

God is their witness, he is the one that will see. Which is the irony that both of these men have cheated others in their life, while disregarding the belief that anyone was watching them. But yet here we happen upon a truth that ought to be always on our mind.

Proverbs 5:21

²¹For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD,
and he ponders all his paths.

(ESV)

God’s eye is ever upon us. This ought to be a very sobering thought in our minds, that the holy righteous God sees all that we do. But yet its grand purpose is not to bring condemnation upon us, for Christians it is actually a source of great comfort.

Firstly, just as Laban and Jacob warned each other, God sees all our iniquity, all our wrongdoing. Our most immediate response with our sin is to hide it, we don’t want others to see the truth of who we really are, our innermost thoughts, are by God’s grace, locked away where no one can see. But God can see them, this may feel like condemnation, but when we know we can’t hide anything from him, it makes it easier to repent.

Firstly, just as Laban and Jacob warned each other, God sees all our iniquity, all our wrongdoing. Our most immediate response with our sin is to hide it, we don’t want others to see the truth of who we really are, our innermost thoughts, are by God’s grace, locked away where no one can see. But God can see them, this may feel like condemnation, but when we know we can’t hide anything from him, it makes it easier to repent.

Especially to know he is still ready and eager to forgive despite knowing every intimate nook and cranny of who we are and what we have done.

Secondly, God sees everything you are going through. The idea that God will never leave us or forsake us, is a promise of comfort. That he knows and understands our struggles, he is not far off. To know the God of all power and might is not far from our situation but right there with us in the thick of it. It is an incredibly comforting truth we ought to always remember.

Reflection:
Remember today that God sees every part of your life. Let that truth lead you to honest repentance and deeper comfort, knowing He watches over you with love.

Prayer:
Father, thank You that Your eyes are always upon me. Help me live honestly before You, turning from sin quickly and resting in Your constant care. Let Your nearness steady my heart and remind me that You see, You know, and You remain with me. Amen.