“The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, but He overthrows the words of the faithless (Proverbs 22:12).
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Prov. 15:3) simplifies God’s omniscience into two basic functions:
- To protect and provide for the righteous. “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry…For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (Ps. 34:15; 2 Chron. 16:9).
- To thwart and overthrow the wicked. “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin. He shall die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray…Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth” (Prov. 5:21-23; Amos 9:8).
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Gen. 6:8), because he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, like David (1 Kings 15:5) and Asa (2 Chron. 14:2). Because Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord (1 Kings 16:25), he did not.
