EXOD19 The Omnipotence of God created in the heart of the Jew a sense of reverence for the life around him and a holy awe for its mysteries. The pages of Holy Writ reflect such longings and sensations. [Gen XX.II; this verse; Ex iii.6; Ps. ii. II; viii; cxi. 5; Prov. i.7; ix. 10; xv. 33; xvi.6.] When this attribute was combined with divine omniscience, the folly of sin was and made all the more glaring. Since His knowledge is limitless, penetrating the innermost recesses of the heart, how can erring man hope to escape detection? The Midrash provides the answer. [Gen. R. xxiv. I.] "It can be compared with an architect who is appointed a collector of taxes. Is it not the height of futility for the evader taxes to conceal his wealth in some hidden crypt and underground cave? Did not the architect himself construct the secret hiding places? Similarly foolish are the devices of the sinners who do evil in secret places. From whom do they seek to conceal their actions? "Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say: 'Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?'" [Is. xxix. 15].