God's Lens

“And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,” (Ex 14:24 AV)

The Bible tells us when Israel was safely over on the other side of the Red Sea, the pillar moved from in front of Israel to behind them.  The pillar, at this point, was between Israel and Egypt.  Thus, it was in front of Egypt, blocking their progress.  What caught my eye was the manner in which God looked at Egypt.  A God who is omnipresent can see all things everywhere and at all times.  He does not need to look through anything.  God could look at the enemy of His people from the glories of heaven and see it all in one moment.  Yet, He chose to use the pillar as a magnifying glass.  Not for His sake.  Not that He might examine Egypt closer.  Not that He needed to.  His examination of Egypt was for their benefit and God’s glory.  By looking through the pillar, God gave context regarding the nature of His relationship with Egypt.  At the moment, they were not His favorite people.  They sought to enslave His people at any cost and they refused to take no for an answer.  Now, they were stuck.  Their wheels broke off because the horses were trying to do a one-eighty rather quickly.  They stuck fast in the mud and broke right off.  God looked through the pillar right at Egypt and they knew it.  This is why it troubled them so.

Nowhere else does this type of phrase occur.  At least not in the exact phrasing as above.  God looks toward, upon, and into.  Mostly, upon.  When I think of God looking through a lens, I think of definition for the one upon whom the gaze is cast.  We can think of it as our parents whose disposition changed depending on the circumstances at the moment.  Our parents could look at us through the lens of an authority figure in one moment and a mentor the next.  They could look at us with the eyes of friendship yet also share a glance of disappointment.  Our parents could be so proud of what we have accomplished, and then a few minutes later, see faults that need addressing.  When God looked at Egypt, He saw them through the lens of His wrath.  This is what troubled them.  They had seen the pillar lead Israel.  The pillar was not something new.  It was safely at a distance.  It was in front of their prey.  While there, it could be assumed a benign cloud only of concern to the Israelites. But it moved.  It moved and its character changed.  No longer was it a pillar of cloud by day.  It was not a pillar of cloud and fire by day.  The gaze of God changed direction and nature.  This is what troubled the Egyptians.

But what of the believer?  How should we see this?  How should we apply God’s gaze?  Does He see us with the eyes of wrath as He does His enemies?  Surely not.  We are His children.  But it does beg the question.  Through what lens does He see us?  We know there are certain lenses that are always in place.  He sees us through the lens of the blood of Christ.  We are His children made pure by the Son’s sacrifice.  He sees us through the lens of everlasting love and grace.  He sees us through the lens of purpose and function in the scheme of His will.  However, there are times when these lenses are a bit more complicated.  He may see us through the lens of pleasure or disappointment.  He may be looking through the lens of patience and kindness.  The question we can ask is how does God perceive us as we are presently walking with Him?  One thing that is hard is for a parent to continually see us as a minor even though we are grown adults.  The perception of others bothers us somewhat.  Therefore, the question this morning is how does God perceive us and what can we do about it?