“I have set watchmen
on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You
who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,” Isaiah 62:6
“"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:” Ezekiel 3:17 (also 33:1-9)
“Be watchful, and
strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found
your works perfect before God.” Revelation 3:2
A
position or description of a watchman is used throughout the Bible. Since man has always wanted to build his own
kingdom, he also needs to protect what he has from other self-seeking men. Many cities were established through the
settlement of families, who then pooled their resources for buildings, goods,
and other improvements. A wall was often
built surrounding these cities (such as we see in Jericho in the book of Joshua.) On top of these walls would be this position
of a watchman. He would keep his eyes
open and searching for any signs of trouble approaching; and when trouble was
seen he would raise his voice or blow a trumpet announcing it to the whole city
to prepare. Man understood this need to
protect his physical goods and established this very important position; yet
when God called men to be watchmen, He wanted to protect the spiritual
houses.
God intended man to be holy as God is holy; without blemish or
weakness. Many misunderstood laws in the
Torah concerned not marrying other nations, having garments of differing
materials, or otherwise mixing different types together. God knew that when these were mixed it would
weaken the strength of the garment, or the nation. So spiritually a watchman was to watch for
infiltration of foreign practices into the nation of Israel. Throughout the prophets we see time after
time that Israel’s priests and scribes, their established watchmen, failed to
protect the nation. They allowed
foreigners and their practices to pull the Jews from God. So the prophets then called for new watchmen
to step into the position vacated by the priests, as in Ezekiel.
We have some great watchmen in our midst today, but we always need more
men and women to accept the call also.
We seek the well-being of our homes, small groups, community, and our
church. Even those not taking a
leadership of a watchman, should also remember to pray and strengthen their
watchmen. Any of our human leaders are
not Jesus, and therefore are subject to the same sins and discouragements as we
are. So let us heed the warning of the
church of Sardis, and “strengthen those that remain.”
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