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The
Watchman
I want to start
today’s message with a warning; the message that I bring
today is not for the faint hearted. In other words, it
is a message that some of you may consider a bit harsh.
I say that it is a harsh message because today we will
be analyzing our role as Christians. Now, before we
proceed to the scriptures that we will be using today, I
want to ask a question. I am not asking anyone to
answer me out loud; rather it is a question that will
make us reflect about our life. Have you ever received
a message that has displeased you? Let’s reflect in our
past and search our present, has that ever happened? I
ask this question because there are numerous people that
upon hearing a strong message, or should I say, a
message that does not concur with their way of thinking
or being, the first thing they do is get upset or mad,
and they never bother to look beyond the message that
they have received. In other words, they allow the
impulses of the flesh to lead them to a state of
rebellion and disobedience. However, there is a
question that we should all ask ourselves upon hearing a
message that does not concur with our way of thinking,
there is a question that we must ask ourselves upon
hearing a message that perhaps upsets us, and this
question is: Why does God allow this to happen? Let’s
now turn to the Word of God to find our answer.
Ezekiel 3:16-21
- Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that
the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 17“Son
of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of
Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give
them warning from Me: 18When I say to the
wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no
warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked
way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in
his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
19Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does
not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way,
he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered
your soul. 20“Again, when a righteous man
turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I
lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because
you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin,
and his righteousness which he has done shall not be
remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
21Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man
that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin,
he shall surely live because he took warning; also you
will have delivered your soul.”
To have a better understanding of the message that God
has for us today, it will be necessary to know this man
called Ezekiel a little better. Ezekiel was a priest
and a prophet and he had to minister during the darkest
days in the history of Judah; the seventy-year period of
Babylonian captivity. Ezekiel was carried to Babylon
before the final assault on Jerusalem, and he used signs
and symbols to dramatize God’s message to His exiled
people. Like most other prophets Ezekiel’s messages
were divided in two parts, condemnation and
consolation. And one last detail that we should also
know is that Ezekiel made great emphasis in God’s
sovereignty, glory and faithfulness1.
Knowing this servant a little better, let’s now continue
with our study for today.
The first thing we see here is that God speaks to him
saying, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for
the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My
mouth, and give them warning from Me.” But what is
the significance of the word watchman? What does this
word tell us today? To have a better understanding of
the significance of this word we will have to transport
ourselves to the past for a brief moment. As we all
know, the cities of antiquities were very different than
what we have now. Today we find numerous cities full of
people, but in those times the cities were quite smaller
in comparison. We should also keep in mind that the
protection or security that we enjoy today did not exist
in those days. This means that the only way that a
governor could protect the inhabitants of a city was by
erecting walls around the city. Tall strong walls with
strong doors that could stop an enemies attack. The
most common thing was for the doors to remain open so
that the citizens and visitors could freely come in and
out. However, these great doors were closed to prevent
an enemy from taking the city; that is, as long as there
was sufficient warning. In other words, the soldiers
and/or the citizens were able to protect the city as
long as they were not caught by surprise, which was the
only way to do it. If the city was not taken by
surprise the attacking army would have to siege it, and
that could take months. So here we have the role of the
watchman.
The watchman was the person or persons responsible so
the city would not be taken by surprise. We are
speaking about people that in my opinion had the most
important job in the entire city. I say this because
the well being of all the citizens and the city depended
on them. These people had the responsibility to be
constantly watching and searching for danger signs in
their surroundings. It did not matter if the weather
was good or bad, if it was raining or sunny, if there
was thunder and lightning, the watchman could not
abandon his position. The watchman could not fall
asleep, and most important of all, could not neglect his
post at any time. The watchman had to constantly scan
the horizon for signs that could indicate that an
invasion was eminent. If they saw any threat, they
would sound an alarm, typically a trumpet so that the
doors would be closed and the soldiers would man the
walls to defend the city. Keeping this in mind, let’s
now continue with our study today.
How does any of this apply to us today? In these verses
we see that Ezekiel received a great responsibility; he
was not called to be the watchman of a city, he was
called to be the watchman for all of the people of God.
He was called to bring the Word of God to all of those
that rebelled against Him; he was called to bring the
Word of God to all of those that were living in sin.
And his mission was not very easy; I say that his
mission was not easy because he did not always present
them with messages that would encourage them; he did not
only preach messages that were popular. He would bring
messages and the strong words from God. I ask, is this
any different today? The truth of it all is that there
is no difference between Ezekiel’s time and ours. When
we take the time to examine the condition of the world
today, it will not be very difficult to discover that
there are numerous people that have rebelled against
God. It will not be very difficult to discover that
there are a large number of believers that are living
according to the will of the flesh, and not according to
the will of God. I am talking about people that have
allowed the enemy to slowly and surprisingly re-enter
their life.
In these verses God speaks to His people today. As I
said in the beginning, I am sure that at one point of
our Christian life or another, we have all heard a
message that we did not like. I am sure that we have
all heard a message that has made us mad. This is
specifically true for all ministers and for all
believers that have taken seriously the mission that God
has given us here on earth. I say this because the
people that have taken seriously the mission that God
has given them here on earth will not always present a
popular message. I believe that I can speak for the
majority of the ministers and preachers when I say that
we do not prepare a message with a particular person in
mind. I can guarantee you that I do not. Preparing a
message is something that takes time, and more than
anything, a lot of prayer. I say this because if we
present a message without first asking for the guidance
of the Holy Spirit, then we are not doing the will of
God; we are simply allowing the impulses of the flesh to
guide our words.
Why am I saying all of this? I am saying it because I
want us to be very conscious of the fact that when we
hear a message that appears to be scolding us, it is not
man doing the scolding, it is the Word of God. Look at
how this is something that is clearly declared in
Hebrews 4:12 when we
read, “For the word of God is living and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to
the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart.” Tell the person sitting next to you;
the Word of God gives you conviction. However, we must
also use extreme care in those situations. I say this
because it is exactly at that time that the role of the
watchman, in other words, the role of all faithful
Christian comes into play. As I have said on numerous
occasions, our enemy will employ all tactics and
strategies at his disposal with the purpose of
penetrating our life, and in that fashion separate us
from God’s presence. This is why I do not get tired of
saying that as faithful believers we have to be able to
discern between the things of God and the things of men,
or the flesh. We have to be able to discern between the
doctrines of men and the doctrine of our Lord and
Savior. This is something that is clearly reflected in
the apostle’s warning as we find in
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
when we read, “For such are false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into apostles of
Christ. 14And no wonder! For Satan himself
transforms himself into an angel of light. 15Therefore
it is no great thing if his ministers also transform
themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end
will be according to their works.”
As we have seen, the role of the watchman is to be
vigilant at all times, it is to be alert and to sound
the alarm upon spotting a sign that could indicate an
attack. Why have I repeated this? I have repeated this
because as faithful believers, we have the
responsibility to zealously guard the blessings that God
has given us to prevent the enemy from coming along and
take us by surprise. Therefore, tell the person sitting
next to you, be watchful.
Continuing with our study we find that God referred to
Ezekiel as “Son of man.” I want us to note the
great importance that this has. God could have sent an
angel or a legion of angels to preach to His people, but
He did not do so. God chose a simple man, He chose
Ezekiel to bring His message to the people. God has
chosen us in the same fashion; this is something that is
clearly stated in our Lord’s mandate as we find in
Mark 16:15 when we read,
“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature.” Tell the
person sitting next to you, God chose us. All of us
that have decided to serve God were chosen and called to
be the watchmen of this world. Just as the prophets of
antiquity, the messages that God inspires us to deliver
will not always be the most popular, in other words,
they will not always be words that will please
everyone. But the truth is that a true laborer in God’s
kingdom is not called to please everyone at all times.
This is something that is clearly reflected in
Galatians 1:10 when we
read, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I
seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would
not be a bondservant of Christ.” We are not called
to please men, we are called to serve God, and as a true
laborer in God’s kingdom we are called to preach the
truth. We are not called to caress sin, we are not
called to ignore things; as true laborers in God’s
kingdom we are called to bring the truth where the lie
now exists; our responsibility is to bring the light to
the darkness.
There are many that think that because they do not have
an official position in the church, that they have no
responsibility at all in God’s labor, but if you think
this, I want to tell you that you are very wrong. All
believers need to be very aware of something, and this
is that we have all been called to labor for God. This
means that it is our obligation and responsibility to
preach God’s truth; why must we preach it? It is as His
holy Word tells us in John 8:32
when we read, “And ye shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free.” God’s truth is the only
thing that can free man from his slavery to sin; God’s
truth is the only thing that can deliver man from
eternal damnation to salvation. But we must be very
conscious of the fact that one day we will all have to
meet face to face with God, and we will have to account
for what we have or have not done. We will have to
account for all of those things that we have chosen to
ignore; we will have to account for all of those things
that we assumed were not our responsibility. Why do I
say this? I say this because God will judge the
watchman according to his faithfulness. Something that
is very evident here is that the watchman will not be
judged only by his actions, but also for the actions of
others. Let’s quickly read this over again so that you
can see this detail. The Word tells us, “Son of man,
I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel;
therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them
warning from Me: 18When I say to the wicked,
‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor
speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save
his life, that same wicked man shall die in his
iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
19Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does
not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way,
he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered
your soul. 20“Again, when a righteous man
turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I
lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because
you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin,
and his righteousness which he has done shall not be
remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
21Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man
that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin,
he shall surely live because he took warning; also you
will have delivered your soul.” What does this
mean?
This means that if we see something wrong, if we see
things that we know are against God’s will and we do not
do anything to correct it, or at the very least show the
person that what they are doing is wrong, then we will
be blamed for their blood. This is why all ministers
and preachers have to deliver the message that God has
placed in their heart. This is why all people that
profess to be believers, all people that have made a
genuine commitment with Christ have to always preach the
truth. The truth is not easy, and on occasion it
offends; the Word of God is not easy, but it is life.
The Word of God can be and is the difference in the life
of all people. If the watchman, the believer, or the
preacher does not sound the warning trumpet, does not
bring forth the truth, does not call things as they are,
then he is not serving God as He wants.
In conclusion,
we have to be faithful servants of God. Our labor as
the people of God here on earth is something very
serious. As I have said on other occasions, the
believer can be the difference between the life and
death of a person. Not by our own ability or strength,
only by the perfect sacrifice of our Lord on the cross
at Calvary is this possible. Let’s always remember that
God abhors evil, but will restore the life of all of
those that come to Him. Let’s always remember that
this responsibility that we have received is not
something to be taken lightly; it is not something that
we do only if we feel like it; it is not something that
we do every now and then; the responsibility that we
have been given is for us to do at all times. Let’s
always remember that although on occasions a message can
hurt us; that although on occasions a message may not
please us; that although the sound of the trumpet may
cause us to feel bad because it has revealed our sin or
exposed our wound; we can never close our ears to them.
We can not close our ears to them because in that
trumpet, in that message, God is delivering words of
life. In that message that made us analyze ourselves,
God has revealed to us what we have to change or
overcome. In that message that our flesh has hated, God
has revealed to us the danger that is approaching.
1. The
Wilkinson & Boa Bible Handbook
© Jose R. Hernandez |
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