God Can See In The Dark

May 25th, 2023

by Pastor Andrew Wolfenbarger
05/25/2023

Ezekiel 8:12 - “Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.”

Ezekiel 8:18 - “Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.”

I once went on a ride along with one of the men in our church who is a police officer. He worked the afternoon shift that spanned from about 2-10 pm. I signed a mandatory waiver and even had a brief training session to warn me of the potential risks. I knew I was in good hands, but I was admittedly a little alarmed. Early in the ride, we were called to a few different scenes and made one traffic stop. It was par for the course. We ate supper, and he took me on a tour of areas he patrolled frequently. Up to this point, I was a bit underwhelmed by the activity level of the evening. We watched as the sun set and darkness fell over Burleson, and almost immediately, the calls began coming from dispatch right and left. As the city should have been preparing to sleep, crime was just waking up. After dark, we made several more stops that I was not even allowed out of the car because of the potential danger of the situation. I am not sure what it is about the darkness that invites all manner of wicked activity, but this seasoned veteran of the police force said it was that way every night.

In Ezekiel’s day, the Israelites had committed all sorts of abominable practices in the Temple of God. They had polluted it with every false and evil worship practice imaginable. What is worse is, they thought God had failed to notice. They said, “The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.” They assumed this because they were doing it “in the dark”. They had no idea how wrong they were as God closes the chapter by proclaiming an unimaginably severe judgment upon them for this blasphemous and irreverent behavior. God had been watching the entire time.

Colossians says this: “Who [God] hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” (Col. 1:13). As children of God, we no longer operate in the shadows. We have been brought out of darkness into light. Our evil deeds were exposed by the light of Jesus Christ so that we could see them for how wicked and destructive they truly were. In faith, we turned to God for forgiveness and cleansing. Yet, the temptation is there because our flesh deceives us in that if we return, there will be no consequences for our rebellion. Our heart may deceive us and tell us that if we keep things hidden in the dark, no one will ever find out. May the Spirit of God remind us that the cover of darkness is no shield from God’s omniscient eyes. He will see, and He promises to chasten and rebuke His children.

I recognize the unpopularity of a message like this. We prefer to be built up and encouraged when we read our Bible. However, in Ezekiel’s day, God had no cheerful message to give. He only called for repentance. We need to recognize that every time we see God call for repentance, it is also an invitation to find mercy. The singular most destructive force that prevents God from moving in the lives of His people is sin. If any of us are to see God’s hand upon our lives, we must be willing to turn from our public and private sins so that we may be restored and renewed through God’s forgiveness.

Proverbs 28:13, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”