“Son
of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear
the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the
wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to
warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man
shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if
thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked
way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.” Ezekiel 3:17-19.
Who
is a watchman? A watchman is a man whose job is to guard a building or city in
order to protect it, especially at night. He is the man at the gate watching
over lives and properties.
Watchmen
are men at the gate. They are the determinant of who and what enters. The
watchmen determined the destiny of the city. The greatest havoc a watchman can
do to any city or destiny kept under his watch is to sleep while on duty
thereby allowing enemies to strike unnoticed as it happened in the parable of
our Lord Jesus Christ… “A man which sowed good seed in his field:
But while men slept (including the guards), his enemy came and sowed tares
among the wheat, and went his way.” Matt. 13:24-25.
A.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WATCHMEN
Most
important, we must know and see God as our watchman watching over our body,
soul and spirit. These and some other scriptures tell us about His watch over
us:
“He
will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy
keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee
by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he
shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming
in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” Psalm 121:3-8;
“In
that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. I the LORD do keep it; I
will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.” Isaiah 27:2-3;
“Hear
the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and
say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth
his flock.” Jer. 31:10.
The
duties and relevance of a watchman include these…
·
He watches over
lives, destinies and properties against violence and robbery.
·
He sees afar
ahead of others and could discern the mission of anyone coming in. This is to
say, he is highly sensitive to things going on around him.
·
A watchman takes
decision whether to allow anyone/anything in or not.
·
He keeps awake
while others are deep asleep & insensitive to things around them.
·
The city (house)
depends on his watchfulness and timely alertness for security and defense.
As
spiritual watchmen, we are to
·
Keep speaking of
the Lord day and night, not to be silent – Isaiah 27:3,; Isaiah 62:6 “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem,
which shall never hold their peace day nor night… ye that make mention of the
LORD, keep not silence”.
·
Hear at God’s
mouth and blow the trumpet of warning or call for battle at the right time
–Ezekiel 33:2-7.
·
Give account of
our stewardship to God – Heb. 13:17.
B. QUALIFICATIONS A WATCHMAN SHOULD
POSSESS.
·
He must have
genuine personal experience of God – “Only
take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things
which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of
thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons.” Deut. 4:9.
·
He must give
himself to personal examination and watchfulness – 1 Tim. 4:16; Psalm 39:1.
·
He must not be
easily carried away by distractions of the enemy or of this world -- 1 John
2:15-17.
·
He must be a man
of clear vision – not a blind or a short-sighted person.
·
He must not be
given to drunkenness or immorality, as enemy can count on it and ensnare him
astray from his primary divine assignment.
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