“Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:23–24, NRSV)
Jeremiah spoke for God. He was a prophet of God. He had many interactions with God in his life. During those interactions, Jeremiah got to know God intimately. One aspect he discovered of God’s character was God’s “omnipresence”. This word, “omnipresence”, comes from the combination of two words, “omni” meaning all, and “presence” meaning “at hand or nearby”. The combination of these two words means that God is always present, always nearby, always able to see what is happening.
In our scripture for today, Jeremiah describes this omnipresent characteristic of God. He quotes God in Jeremiah 23:23 as saying “Am I a God nearby…. And not far off?” With this statement, God is saying that He is both near and far, both able to be close enough to listen but being far enough off as to be uncontainable. In Jeremiah 23:24, God expands this line of thinking to question: “Who can hide in secret places that I cannot see them? Do I not fill heaven and earth?”. The people of Israel and Judah made the false assumption that they could hide their grievous sin from God. They worshiped other gods and went against God’s commandments in secret. They thought they were safe. They were not. God sees everything you do.
In ancient times, gods were often anthropomorphized. This means they were given human attributes and human forms. The Greek gods, for instance, had human or earth-like bodies. People also believed that they had human-like characteristics. Many Greek worshipers believed you could hide from God’s eyes or that God could not see you if you were in certain places at certain times. They believed that as a human cannot see behind the head, a Greek god also could not see when his face was turned away from you. Though there are traits of God in the Bible that seem human (like God walking in the Garden of Eden), we know that God is much greater than any human limitation. Humans die, while God cannot die. Humans can only see certain things, but God sees all. Humans lack understanding. God does not (omniscience). As the theologian Karl Barth spoke and wrote about it, God is “wholly other”. God is so great and powerful we humans cannot comprehend the vastness nor greatness of His power. Certainly, we cannot imagine the greatness that is involved in a God who is omnipresent, who is able to be everywhere at every time.
“While we may not see the face of our Creator, the omnipresence of God confirms that God continually looks upon mankind. Adam and Eve tried to “hid(e) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8). The prophet Jonah attempted to “flee from the Lord.” In reverent awe, David realized, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7-18). In all creation, there is no hiding place from the Lord. Through His Spirit, God’s reach extends to every corner of the universe as well as into the hearts of mankind. “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them” (Psalm 11:4).” (from allaboutgod.com)
Like people in the days of Jeremiah, Jonah, and even in the Garden of Eden, sinners can lie to themselves by thinking that God will not see or will ignore their evil deeds. Humans notoriously try to hide their offenses, bury their less than faithful doubts, keep quiet about their sinful habits. These actions may hide a sinful lifestyle from other humans, but it does nothing but reveal your deceit to the eye of God.
“Frederick Charrington was a member of the wealthy family in England which owned the Charrington Brewery. His personal fortune, derived solely from his brewing enterprise, exceeded $66 million.
One night, Charrington was walking along a London street with a few friends. Suddenly the door of a pub flew open just a few steps ahead of the group, and a man staggered out into the street with a woman clinging desperately to him. The man, obviously very drunk, was swearing at the woman and trying to push her away. The woman was gaunt and clad in rags. She sobbed and pleaded with the drunken man, who was her husband.
“Please, dear, please!” she cried as Charrington and his friends watched. “The children haven’t eaten in two days! And I’ve not eaten in a week! For the love of God, please come home! Or if you must stay, just give me a few coins so I can buy the children some…”
Her pleas were brutally cut off as her husband struck her a savage blow. She collapsed to the stone pavement like a rag doll. The man stood over her with his fists clenched, poised as if to strike her again. Charrington leaped forward and grasped him. The man struggled, swearing violently, but Charrington pinned the man’s arms securely behind his back. Charrington’s companions rushed to the woman’s side and began ministering to her wounds. A short time later a policeman led the drunken man away and the woman was taken to a nearby hospital.
As Charrington brushed himself off, he noticed a lighted sign in the window of the pub: “Drink Chrarrington Ale.” The multi-millionaire brewer was suddenly shaken to the core of his being. He realized that his confrontation with the violent husband would not have happened if the man’s brain had not been awash with the Charrington family’s product. “When I saw that sign,” he later wrote, “I was stricken just as surely as Paul on the Damascus Road. Here was the source of my family wealth, and it was producing untold human misery before my own eyes. Then and there I pledged to God that not another penny of that money should come to me.”
History records that Frederick Charrington became one of the most well-known temperance activists in England. He renounced his share of the family fortune and devoted the rest of his life to the ministry of freeing men and women from the curse of alcoholism.” (Ron Lee Davis, Courage to Begin Again, (Harvest House, Eugene, OR; 1978), pp. 81-82)
For a long time, Frederick Charrington could ignore or hide his family’s responsibility in the perpetuation of alcoholism. He could sleep soundly at night knowing he was just “running a business”. However, when he saw his own responsibility for breaking families apart that night in front of the pub, he realized what God knew all along. He had never faced up to his own responsibility in causing pain. It’s not that alcohol in itself is sinful. However, when alcohol is abused, it can easily become a source of great suffering and sin. That is what Frederick Charrington fought against until the day he died.
Is there a responsibility for sin that you have been ignoring for some time? Look at your life from God’s omnipresent perspective. What has God seen you do over the years? How does God view your past actions and statements, deeds and accomplishments? Face to face with God at this moment, would you see anything differently?
In our scripture for today, Jeremiah describes this omnipresent characteristic of God. He quotes God in Jeremiah 23:23 as saying “Am I a God nearby…. And not far off?” With this statement, God is saying that He is both near and far, both able to be close enough to listen but being far enough off as to be uncontainable. In Jeremiah 23:24, God expands this line of thinking to question: “Who can hide in secret places that I cannot see them? Do I not fill heaven and earth?”. The people of Israel and Judah made the false assumption that they could hide their grievous sin from God. They worshiped other gods and went against God’s commandments in secret. They thought they were safe. They were not. God sees everything you do.
In ancient times, gods were often anthropomorphized. This means they were given human attributes and human forms. The Greek gods, for instance, had human or earth-like bodies. People also believed that they had human-like characteristics. Many Greek worshipers believed you could hide from God’s eyes or that God could not see you if you were in certain places at certain times. They believed that as a human cannot see behind the head, a Greek god also could not see when his face was turned away from you. Though there are traits of God in the Bible that seem human (like God walking in the Garden of Eden), we know that God is much greater than any human limitation. Humans die, while God cannot die. Humans can only see certain things, but God sees all. Humans lack understanding. God does not (omniscience). As the theologian Karl Barth spoke and wrote about it, God is “wholly other”. God is so great and powerful we humans cannot comprehend the vastness nor greatness of His power. Certainly, we cannot imagine the greatness that is involved in a God who is omnipresent, who is able to be everywhere at every time.
“While we may not see the face of our Creator, the omnipresence of God confirms that God continually looks upon mankind. Adam and Eve tried to “hid(e) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8). The prophet Jonah attempted to “flee from the Lord.” In reverent awe, David realized, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7-18). In all creation, there is no hiding place from the Lord. Through His Spirit, God’s reach extends to every corner of the universe as well as into the hearts of mankind. “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them” (Psalm 11:4).” (from allaboutgod.com)
Like people in the days of Jeremiah, Jonah, and even in the Garden of Eden, sinners can lie to themselves by thinking that God will not see or will ignore their evil deeds. Humans notoriously try to hide their offenses, bury their less than faithful doubts, keep quiet about their sinful habits. These actions may hide a sinful lifestyle from other humans, but it does nothing but reveal your deceit to the eye of God.
“Frederick Charrington was a member of the wealthy family in England which owned the Charrington Brewery. His personal fortune, derived solely from his brewing enterprise, exceeded $66 million.
One night, Charrington was walking along a London street with a few friends. Suddenly the door of a pub flew open just a few steps ahead of the group, and a man staggered out into the street with a woman clinging desperately to him. The man, obviously very drunk, was swearing at the woman and trying to push her away. The woman was gaunt and clad in rags. She sobbed and pleaded with the drunken man, who was her husband.
“Please, dear, please!” she cried as Charrington and his friends watched. “The children haven’t eaten in two days! And I’ve not eaten in a week! For the love of God, please come home! Or if you must stay, just give me a few coins so I can buy the children some…”
Her pleas were brutally cut off as her husband struck her a savage blow. She collapsed to the stone pavement like a rag doll. The man stood over her with his fists clenched, poised as if to strike her again. Charrington leaped forward and grasped him. The man struggled, swearing violently, but Charrington pinned the man’s arms securely behind his back. Charrington’s companions rushed to the woman’s side and began ministering to her wounds. A short time later a policeman led the drunken man away and the woman was taken to a nearby hospital.
As Charrington brushed himself off, he noticed a lighted sign in the window of the pub: “Drink Chrarrington Ale.” The multi-millionaire brewer was suddenly shaken to the core of his being. He realized that his confrontation with the violent husband would not have happened if the man’s brain had not been awash with the Charrington family’s product. “When I saw that sign,” he later wrote, “I was stricken just as surely as Paul on the Damascus Road. Here was the source of my family wealth, and it was producing untold human misery before my own eyes. Then and there I pledged to God that not another penny of that money should come to me.”
History records that Frederick Charrington became one of the most well-known temperance activists in England. He renounced his share of the family fortune and devoted the rest of his life to the ministry of freeing men and women from the curse of alcoholism.” (Ron Lee Davis, Courage to Begin Again, (Harvest House, Eugene, OR; 1978), pp. 81-82)
For a long time, Frederick Charrington could ignore or hide his family’s responsibility in the perpetuation of alcoholism. He could sleep soundly at night knowing he was just “running a business”. However, when he saw his own responsibility for breaking families apart that night in front of the pub, he realized what God knew all along. He had never faced up to his own responsibility in causing pain. It’s not that alcohol in itself is sinful. However, when alcohol is abused, it can easily become a source of great suffering and sin. That is what Frederick Charrington fought against until the day he died.
Is there a responsibility for sin that you have been ignoring for some time? Look at your life from God’s omnipresent perspective. What has God seen you do over the years? How does God view your past actions and statements, deeds and accomplishments? Face to face with God at this moment, would you see anything differently?