Jeremiah 23:24

My Notes

What Does Jeremiah 23:24 Mean?

God asks two rhetorical questions that establish his omnipresence: can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

Can any hide himself in secret places (mistarim — hiding places, concealed locations, the most private and inaccessible spaces) that I shall not see him? — the question expects the answer: no. No one can hide. The secret places — whatever is most concealed, most private, most deliberately hidden — are visible to God. The hiding is attempted. The seeing is certain. No hiding place is hidden from the one asking the question.

Saith the LORD — the authority behind the question: the LORD himself asks it. The omniscience is not a theological inference drawn by a human observer. It is God's own claim about his own nature: I see everything. You cannot hide from me.

Do not I fill (male — to be full of, to pervade, to occupy completely) heaven and earth? — the second question establishes the basis: God fills (pervades, occupies, is present in) every space. Heaven (shamayim — the cosmic realm above) and earth (erets — the terrestrial realm below). The filling is comprehensive: both heaven and earth. No space — physical, cosmic, or spiritual — is vacant of God's presence. The filling is not partial. It is complete: God fills. There are no God-vacant zones.

The two questions together establish two attributes: omniscience (I see everything — no one can hide) and omnipresence (I fill everything — there is nowhere I am not). The seeing follows from the filling: if God fills every space, no secret place is outside his vision. The hiding fails because the one being hidden from is already in the hiding place.

The context is the false prophets (v.16-32) who prophesy lies in God's name. The false prophets speak in secret — fabricating dreams (v.25), stealing words from each other (v.30), and deceiving the people with smooth falsehood. God's question exposes the absurdity: you prophesy lies and think I do not see? You hide your falsehood in secret and think I am not there?

Psalm 139:7-12 is the poetic expansion of this verse: whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. The omnipresence that God claims in Jeremiah 23:24, David celebrates in Psalm 139. There is no place God does not fill. There is no secret God does not see.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What does 'can any hide in secret places that I shall not see?' establish about the futility of concealing sin from God?
• 2.How does God 'filling heaven and earth' provide the basis for both his omniscience (seeing everything) and his omnipresence (being everywhere)?
• 3.How does the context of false prophets (v.16-32) illustrate the specific absurdity of lying in the name of the God who sees all?
• 4.How is the same omnipresence that makes hiding impossible also the reality that makes seeking God successful?

Devotional

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Can you? Can anyone? The question is God's — and the answer is: no. The secret place you think is hidden is visible to the one who fills every space in the universe. The concealment you constructed — the hidden sin, the private failure, the thing you did when no one was watching — was watched by the one who fills heaven and earth.

Do not I fill heaven and earth? Fill — pervade, occupy, be present in every particle of every space. Heaven and earth — the totality of the created order. God fills it. All of it. There are no God-free zones. No corner of the universe where his presence is absent. No hiding place where his seeing does not reach. The filling is the basis for the seeing: if God is everywhere, there is nowhere to hide.

The false prophets (v.16-32) thought they could fabricate lies in God's name and God would not notice. They prophesied dreams God did not give (v.25). They stole words from each other (v.30). They conducted their falsehood as though God were not in the room. And God asks: do you think I do not see? Do you think there is a place I do not fill?

The verse is terrifying for the one hiding sin — and comforting for the one seeking God. If God fills heaven and earth, the sinner cannot escape. And if God fills heaven and earth, the seeker cannot miss. The same omnipresence that exposes the hidden sin reveals the present God. The one who fills every space is as available to the seeking heart as he is unavoidable to the hiding sinner.

Where are you hiding? What secret place are you concealing something you hope God does not see? The question from the LORD is not a threat. It is a reality check: I fill heaven and earth. There is no secret I do not see. The hiding is pointless. The concealment has failed. I am already in the hiding place. I was there before you arrived.

The same truth that exposes your hiding offers your finding: the God who fills everything is everywhere available. You do not need to search far. He fills the space you are standing in right now.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture