God's X-Ray Vision - 2 Chronicles 16:9

"For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His."

These words were spoken by a prophet named Hanani to Asa, king of Judah and Solomon's great grandson, when he rebuked the king for forming an alliance with King Ben-Hadad of Damascus.

Israel's King Baasha was at war with Judah and was beginning to fortify the town of Ramah, near the border of Israel and Judah, to block access to Jerusalem. Additionally, Baasha had formed an alliance with Ben-Hadad, king of Aram (Syria).

But King Asa emptied the treasuries of the temple in Jerusalem in order to bribe Ben-Hadad to break his treaty with King Baasha of Israel.

So Ben-Hadad attacked several cities in Israel and forced King Baasha to stop his work on Ramah. King Asa then disassembled Ramah and used the materials from the city to fortify his own towns to protect Jerusalem.

It's perplexing that Asa turned to Ben-Hadad because Asa had withstood a Cushite (Ethiopian) invasion by a superior army of a million men and three hundred chariots with a Judahite army of less than six hundred thousand and no chariots. But Asa cried out to God for help and "the Lord routed the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled" (vs. 14:12).

God even sent a prophet to King Asa to remind and reassure him of God's favor: "So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, 'Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you'" (vs. 15:2).

Now, God was unhappy with Asa's treaty with Ben-Hadad, however, because he had "depended on the king of Aram and...not depended on the Lord your God" (vs. 7).

So, God sent the prophet Hanani to Asa to issue a rebuke and a warning that God was all-knowing. God not only sees what is happening in all of His creation, but He sees within the hearts of people to know if they are loyal and faithful to Him.

We might call it x-ray vision. God's "roaming eyes" not only keep watch over all His creation, but His eyes are equipped with x-ray vision to penetrate human hearts and see who completely trusts in Him.

Let this scripture be a reminder that we cannot hide any thought or motive from God's "roaming eyes." God sees what is on the inside and we are accountable not only for our actions and behavior, but for the motives and intentions influencing our behavior.

May God's x-ray eyes behold in us hearts that completely trust in and depend on Him and He will be our strength!