“A picture is worth a thousand words” is a proverbial saying that has been in use about a hundred years. The earliest confirmed use was in a newspaper editor’s talk to a group of advertisers in 1911. Long before then print media had proven the adage by capturing people’s attention and imagination by using drawings and, once the camera was invented, photos. That power increased exponentially with the explosion of movies and television in the 20th century. That saying is supported by recent photos and videos showing people in Afghanistan desperately seeking to escape the Taliban.

That saying is also supported by the Biblical description of Joab’s murder of Amasa that we briefly mentioned a few days ago in a video called The Christian Revolution. Amasa had been selected by David to replace Joab and command his armies in putting down a second rebellion following the defeat of Absalom (2 Samuel 20:4). But when Amasa took too long getting the army ready David turned to Abishai and Joab (2 Samuel 20:5-7).

When they were heading out with the army they met Amasa on the road, and in a repeat of his elimination of a previous rival, Abner (2 Samuel 3:26-30), Joab embraced Amasa in greeting and then stabbed him with his sword (2 Samuel 20:9-10).

Here’s where “a picture is worth a thousand words” comes into play. At first Amasa’s body was left on the road, and he wasn’t even dead. The text says “Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the highway.” So, despite Joab’s supporter calling for the soldiers to follow Joab, they stopped at the scene of the crime and stared. When the supporter realized everyone was stopping to look he callously pulled Amasa’s body off to the side and covered it up (2 Samuel 20:11-13). He may have covered it up so the soldiers couldn’t see what Joab had done (deleted the picture we might say), but God saw it and made sure it was recorded for all to read.

Here’s the lesson for us. We can hide our sin from the world by covering it up in the darkness of our heart where no human can see. We can be filled with lust, greed, envy, hatred, bitterness, faithlessness, etc. and no human camera can capture it. But God sees what’s there. It’s captured forever in the divine camera. We may even speak out or act out the sins that pollute our heart, but “get away with it” because they weren’t captured on camera. But God sees and captures it on His camera. Thankfully the believer can repent and be forgiven. Through the blood of Christ the photo can be deleted.

What picture is God’s camera capturing in your heart?