Hide and Seek

From the age of 8 to 10, my family lived in Germany as military dependants.  At that time, we had a German Shepherd named Hero, who was an amazing dog in so many ways.  One of those was his ability to find hidden things and devour them.  One evening while we were out, he found the Halloween candy put away in a drawer, which he opened and helped himself to the hoard of sweets (he also helped himself to a night of being "sick as a dog").

Another time, he scoped out the contents of our fridge, using that super-hero nose, detecting its contents, which he managed to make his own by pulling down the old style handle.  On yet another occasion, he got into a drawer in the bathroom, finding several bars of soap, which seemed to meet the demands of his palate.  Apparently his palate was not as refined as his nose.

In truth, you couldn't hide anything from that dog's nose.  He could find anything or anyone in very short order.  Playing hide and seek with was a losing proposition for you could be assured he would find whatever you hid, wherever you hid it.

When the Israelites finally came to cross over the Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manassah wanted to stay in the Trans Jordan land of Gilead rather than go up with the rest of the tribes across the Jordan.  Moses told them that God would not allow them to enjoy the fruits of this land while their brothers were fighting on the other side of the river, to which they replied that they would go up with Israel and fight until each tribe had its own possession.

Moses agreed to their request with a strong warning against them changing their minds and withdrawing before the Lord released them from their responsibility: "If you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that our sin will find you out" (Num 32:23).

Sin, like our dog Hero, is unbeatable in "Hide and Seek."  Whatever hidden sin you think you have, is not really hidden.  You may not have noticed your calling out yet, but it is coming.  There is no place to hide from your lies, your indiscretions, your taking what is not yours, your...  There is no place to hide because, as Moses said, "you will be sinning against the Lord."  Where, exactly will you hide from him?  How will your secret be safe from the One who "judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb 4:12).  How will you keep it hidden from "God [who] will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or bad" (Eccl 12:14)?

The answer, of course, is that we cannot hide anything from the Lord.  Our sins will find us out unless we out our sins.  If we try to hide them, we will be exposed but if we choose to expose them, we will be healed: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn 1:9).  Jus' Say'n.