“Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land’” (Ezekiel 8:12). In this second vision of the book, Ezekiel witnessed the leaders of God’s people worshipping idols in secret. They thought that God was somehow limited like humans. Because God had forsaken the land, they thought He would no longer be present to witness their doings (Ezekiel 9:9). But nothing could be further from the truth.

David by inspiration extolled the Lord’s omnipresent knowledge of man, when he wrote, “Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You” (Psa. 139:12). This is comforting for those who follow God. Jesus instructed, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Mt. 6:5, 6).

However, for those who are disobedient, it is unsettling to be told God sees all. Isaiah 29:15 warns, “Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, And their works are in the dark; They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us? ”. Men love darkness when their deeds are evil for they think it will hide them from God (Jn. 3:19). But it is not God who is blind; those who sin secretly are really the ones who are unable to discern the truth (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Jn. 2:11). The wicked man says that the Lord does not see (Psa. 10:11; 94:7).  But God is able to judge through the deep darkness (Job 22:13). Indeed, “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13). As the old song goes, “There’s an all-seeing eye watching you.”

God took Ezekiel to see what was done in secret. The prophet initially was outside the wall of the outer court of the temple and dug through into a room which was inside the wall. God asked Ezekiel, “Have you seen what they do in the dark?” to reveal to him the behind-the-scenes sins of men. Do not be deceived by sin (Heb. 3:13). Keep yourself from “secret” sins for no sin is really hidden from the Great Judge (1 Cor. 4:5). Come to the light and live a life of integrity before God (John 3:19-21; Eph. 5:13-15).

-Mark Day