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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your
people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people
of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees
the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then
if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes
and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. Since they heard
the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on
their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved
themselves. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the
trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that
person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman
accountable for their blood.’”
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of
Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to
the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out
to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin,
and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked
person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their
sin, though you yourself will be saved.”
Ezekiel 33:1-9
This ends today’s
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Are you familiar with the word “watchman” as it relates to
biblical times?
Many cities were fortified and protected by high walls
topped with towers where soldiers would be on the lookout for enemies who might
advance with the idea of attacking. Because of their unique vantage point,
elevated above the landscape, the watchmen were able to see for a great
distance and thus be able to provide advance warning about any forces that
might be in the city’s vicinity.
Why the discussion about watchmen?
Because it is central to our scriptures today as we look at
the opening verses of Ezekiel 33. Look again at these words again here:
The word of the Lord
came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring
the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men
and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and
blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does
not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will
be on their own head. Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not
heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the
warning, they would have saved themselves. But if the watchman sees the sword
coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and
takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin,
but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’”
“Son of man, I have
made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give
them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will
surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that
wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their
blood. But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do
not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.” Ezekiel
33:1-9
In the first half of this passage, we find the Lord speaking
about watchmen in hypothetical terms. Specifically, his words are centered on
the duties of the watchmen and the consequences attached to whether or not he
fulfills his duties correctly.
If the watchmen does his job and sounds the alarm, blowing
his trumpet to warn the people of impending danger, then any harm someone might
suffer as a result of not heeding the watchmen’s warning would be their own fault.
God states the obvious that if they had listened to the warning and reacted
properly, then they would have survived, saved by the prompt action of the
person tasked with keeping an eye out for danger.
But note if the watchmen failed in his duties and people
perished as a result of his negligence, then God would hold the watchmen accountable
for his failure to protect His people, even if the people died as a result of
the sins they had committed. The watchmen would not be excused from not
fulfilling his responsibilities.
Why did the Lord lead with this?
Because He wanted Ezekiel to firmly understand what He was
about to say next, that He was appointing His prophet to be a “watchmen for the
people of Israel.” What this meant was that God was using Ezekiel to sound a
warning to His people, a warning of pending judgment if they did not turn away
from their wicked ways and return to the righteousness God expected.
If Ezekiel warned the people properly and they failed to
heed the warning, then the wicked person who died from their sins would have no
one else to blame but themselves. God would not hold Ezekiel accountable for
their blood because he would have done as he was supposed to do.
But note what would happen if Ezekiel did not do as God
commanded, refusing to speak out on behalf of the Lord to dissuade a wicked
person from their wicked ways. In that instance, God would not only bring
judgment on the sinful person but also on Ezekiel, the watchman who did not
carry out his obligations.
As you can see, a lot was at stake when it came to the
watchman and whether or not he did what he was supposed to do.
So what does that have to do with us here in the 21st
century, more than 2,000 years after these words were written?
Well, I believe the Lord is reminding us of one very
important truth:
If you are a Christian, you are called to be a watchman.
Don’t believe that?
Maybe you need to be reminded of these words of Jesus, the
Savior we believe and trust in before He ascended to sit at the right hand of
God the Father:
Then Jesus came to
them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.” Matthew 28:18-20
Friends, judgment is coming on the world and it will be the
end of everything as we know it, a judgment that will come when Jesus returns
to judge the earth and everything in it. There’s no arguing this will happen
because the scriptures make it clear that it will and on that day, there will
be a sorting of the people of God. Those who placed their belief, hope, and
trust in Jesus as Savior will be counted in one number (referred to as the
sheep in the Bible) while those who rejected Him and the offer of His salvation
will be placed in the other group (the goats). The sheep will go on to eternal
life while the goats will be thrown into eternal damnation, the fiery lake of
judgment, never to be seen again (Matthew 25:31-46).
This is where we come in, carrying out the Great Commission
of Jesus. We are the watchmen of the Lord, tasked with sounding the warning to
all who need to hear about the judgment ahead. If we warn someone and they
ignore the warning, then we would have fulfilled our duties and the judgment
that the person suffers will be their own fault. But if we fail to warn
someone, if we balk at our responsibility to sound the alarm of judgment to
someone, making them aware of Jesus and the eternal life found in Him, then we
will be held accountable for our incompetence and the blood of the person at judgment
might be on our head.
With this, perhaps we had better ask ourselves the following
questions:
How well am I doing in my calling to warn others of the destructive
judgment that awaits them if they do not accept Jesus as Savior?
Am I succeeding in making disciples of all nations, leading
others to their salvation through Jesus Christ?
In sum, to help others know their Savior and the opportunity
through Him is really our life’s calling as Christians and it’s not optional.
Every day is a chance to change someone’s life forever. We
just need to be good and vigilant watchmen, following the lead of Jesus who
promised to be with us even until the end of the age.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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