Proverbs 22:12
The Eyes of the Lord Preserve Knowledge
A. Usage of the Expression “Eyes of the Lord”
1. The eyes of the LORD speak of God’s knowledge – His omniscience.
a. Prov.15:3 – his eyes are everywhere and behold everything—and thus know everything.
b. Prov.5:21 – all our ways are before His eyes. He knoweth the WAY that I take.
2. On other occasions, the “eyes of the Lord” refers to right or wrong… good or evil as GOD sees things. (It may differ from man’s standards… from the way man sees things.)
a. I Kings 15:5 – David did right “in the eyes of the Lord.”
b. I Kings 16:25 – Omni did evil “in the sight of the Lord.”
3. Sometimes the “eyes of the Lord” speaks of things done in God’s presence… things, words, events, that did not escape God’s notice… and thus His protection.
a. Deut. 11; 12 – His eyes are upon the land… observing and protecting.
b. I Sam. 26:24 – David prayed that his life would be lived before the “eyes of the Lord” that God might protect him.
4. Sometimes the “eyes of the Lord” indicate not just His protection from evil, but an actually SEEKING to bless those who fear Him.
a. II Chron. 16:9 – to “show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect before Him.
b. Ps.33:18 – His eye is upon them for good.
c. Ps. 34:15 – His eye is upon them who pray, and His ear is open to answer prayer. (I Pet.3:12)
5. The eyes of the Lord speak of His watchful providence over His people… to meet their needs… to protect… to guide…
a. Ps. 32:7 – “I will guide thee with mine eye.”
B. His Eyes Shall Preserve Knowledge
1. Preserve: To watch; guard; keep; guard from dangers; to maintain; to watch over; the word refers to people’s maintaining things entrusted to them.
2. God’s eyes are watching over knowledge.
a. He watches it… He observes how it is treated… He notes how individuals use knowledge… (or abuse it)
b. He watches it to guard and protect it…
c. He watches it to maintain it… that it might continue…
d. He watches to punish those who abuse and mistreat knowledge and truth.
e. He also watches to bless and reward those who fear Him and thus love knowledge and truth.
f. He watches over knowledge to make sure that the truth is preserved.
g. His eyes speak of His omniscience. He Himself is omnipotent. He is surely ABLE to watch over knowledge and truth and successfully preserve it.
3. The eyes of the LORD do all that. However, from our perspective, with the eyes of man, it does not always APPEAR to be the case.
a. It often appears that knowledge and truth are being trampled over.
b. It appears that those who have the knowledge of God and truth about God and His Word are a tiny minority.
c. And this might cause us to become discouraged…
d. What we see with the “eyes of man” is not the same as what God sees with the “eyes of the Lord.”
e. God sees things as they truly are—from eternity’s perspective.
f. We see things from a VERY limited perspective—the earthly and natural.
g. We see just a snapshot. He sees the whole parade.
4. What we need are the eyes of FAITH.
a. We need God to open our eyes so that we can see the invisible… things that God sees from His heavenly, eternal perspective.
b. God has recorded knowledge and truth in His Word. And with the eyes of faith, we CAN see what He sees.
c. Heb. 11:1 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
d. Heb. 11:3 – Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
e. The eyes of the Lord SEE knowledge and truth. He preserves knowledge and truth.
f. Though with our natural “eyes” we are unable to see or understand this knowledge; yet with the eyes of faith we CAN see the invisible things of God… we can understand knowledge the world does not know or believe…
g. So while we may THINK that God is not preserving knowledge and truth… and that it is dwindling away, by FAITH, we can see as God sees.
h. Knowledge and truth are just as safe as could be. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
i. Thus, as Christianity and the Bible dwindle in importance and influence in the eyes of men, (not to fear!), God is still on His throne. The eyes of the Lord are still preserving the knowledge of the truth. His truth and His Word are eternal in the heavens… unchangeable.
• The Bible stands like a mountain towering, far above the works of man; its truth by none ever was refuted, and destroy it they never can!
j. As the Christian world view is being replaced before our very eyes by a Christ rejecting world, (not to fear!), truth is being preserved.
k. From our perspective, looking at the world from the eyes of a man, it sure appears that the knowledge of God is NOT being preserved, but is being discarded.
l. Ps. 119:89 – “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”
m. Faith believes what God says. By faith we can see and understand how God IS observing the way knowledge and truth are handled.
n. By faith we KNOW that there a day of reckoning is at hand!
5. On a macro scale, God is observing knowledge and truth in His universe. But on a micro scale, He is also observing and protecting knowledge and truth in our individual lives.
a. When a co-worker lies about you in the office… God’s eyes are observing the knowledge of what REALLY happened.
b. When your words are misrepresented and used against you… the eyes of the Lord are observing… taking notes. And every idle word of those who misrepresented you will be brought into judgment.
c. When gossip and rumors are spread about you—God’s eyes are observing who said what and why… and they will be held accountable.
d. But let’s not forget that the Word is a two edged sword.
• The eyes of the Lord behold the evil done against us.
• But the eyes of the Lord also behold the evil that WE do!
• And we too will be held accountable for how WE handle knowledge and truth…
A. The Words of the Transgressor
1. Transgressor: (not the usual word for sinner) – An unfaithful man; a treacherous man; a betrayer, one who is not trustworthy or reliable.
2. The transgressor (unreliable; unfaithful person) is not careful and faithful with his use of knowledge and truth.
a. His words are unreliable.
b. His words may be words of betrayal and treachery.
c. His words may not be truthful.
d. His words may be as daggers designed to inflict pain on others leaving deep wounds.
3. Too often THIS is what we see with the eyes of a man: the words of transgressors… words that are unreliable… outright lies… deception… misinformation (sometimes intentional; sometimes not)… philosophies and world views that pass like any other new fad…
a. And it seems like God is not paying attention.
b. It appears to us from our earthly perspective that the eyes of the Lord seem to MISS a lot…
4. But Solomon reminds us that the Lord will OVERTHROW the words of the transgressor—the man who plays fast and loose with knowledge and truth.
a. Overthrow: Twist; pervert; distort; overturn; ruin.
b. Basically, Solomon is saying that the Lord will destroy the words of the transgressors.
c. However, Solomon chose an interesting expression:
• The transgressor (unfaithful; unreliable) man TWISTS and distorts knowledge and truth.
» Like politicians who put a SPIN on every piece of information to make it appear favorable to their side. (Both sides do it!)
» The transgressor may present accurate knowledge as far as he goes, but he leaves out key pieces of information that really distorts the meaning.
• But God knows how to twist the information too. God will twist the knowledge BACK to the way it SHOULD BE.
• God is observing knowledge and taking notes. Nothing escapes His watchful eyes.
• When the transgressor leaves key pieces of information out, the Lord will bring it to light one day.
• When the transgressor puts a spin on the truth, the eyes of the Lord are observing that too. He will put an end to the spinning.
5. Knowing who God is and what He is like, we don’t have to worry about knowledge and truth.
a. If the scientists are promoting theories that are not true… God’s eyes see all that. By FAITH, our eyes can SEE how the worlds came into being. Their theories will be exposed one day.
b. If the politicians put their spin on the economy, or healthcare, or national security, the knowledge of the truth will ultimately triumph and their lies will be exposed.
c. If your neighbor is gossiping about you and many people believe his lies, there is no need to worry about that either. The eyes of the Lord are watching over the truth with great care. Ultimately, the Lord will overthrow the words of the transgressor.
d. God watches over and preserves knowledge (and those who handle it properly) and He overthrows the words of those who transgress against knowledge.
e. He beholds both the good and the evil—and rewards each according to his works.
f. As Peter put it (I Pet.3:12) – “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
g. Though error seems to have the upper hand in this life, and the truth is maligned, ridiculed, and for the most part rejected, the truth ultimately triumphs over error.