Watchman Of The Family
WATCHMAN OF THE FAMILY
Ezekiel 33:1-6 (ESV)
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, 3 and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people,4 then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
Every year in BCI, we regularly have reserved the months of May and June as family months, because of the celebrations of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. For this year’s family emphasis, we have chosen the theme: “Families At Their Best.” Our pastoral team had decided on this theme around November last year, but as I rethink about it, I feel that this subject still fits perfectly during these unprecedented times of difficulties, because we certainly want to see that every member of the family would be at their best behaviors in order for our families to thrive in the midst of all our challenges.
Of course, nowadays, one of the areas that every family could be stressing about is their protection. We want to make sure that the deadly virus is totally kept out of the house. In order to pull this off, we have meticulously taken some practical and preventive measures in order to protect ourselves. Here are some of the things we want every member of the family to observe:
We practice physical distancing when we leave the house.
We maintain good hygiene and wash our hands regularly.
We must wear our facemasks when we are outside the house.
We regularly sanitize high-touch surfaces, including countertops, phones, keyboards, doorknobs, toilets, light switches, faucets, etc.
We always cover our mouth and nose with a tissue when we cough or sneeze or use the inside of our elbow.
We definitely cannot overemphasize the importance of observing these protective habits. And I believe we need to get used to them because they will be our new normal for quite some time.
Of course, it is commendable that we are doing whatever it takes to ensure the physical health of our families. However, my bigger concern is: What are we willing to do in order to make sure that we are also protecting our families from destructive sins that can invite God’s plague or judgments upon us? In the Bible, it is evident that because God is holy and righteous, He has directly dealt with His people whenever they have disregarded His commands and chose to live in sin. Obviously, He adequately warned them concerning these judgments:
Leviticus 26:21-25 (ESV)
21 “Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins. 22 And I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that your roads shall be deserted. 23 “And if by this discipline you are not turned to me but walk contrary to me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. And if you gather within your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
These verses contain strong warnings whenever God’s people decide to disobey His laws and live in sin. The Lord even gave specific examples on how He would discipline and judge them, like sending them wild beasts (in verse 22), or send them sword and pestilence (in verse 25). If you still remember the sermon last Sunday, the family of Naomi suffered famine in Bethlehem and experienced the death of his husband and sons in Judah. All these were specific times in the history of Israel when they had suffered directly because of their sins.
Now, with this pandemic before us, could it be possible that God is using this in order to discipline us as His people and bring us back to Him? One significant truth in the Old Testament is that as the Lord started the act of discipline, He also, at the same time, would raise and designate someone as His spiritual watchman. This morning, as we study our passage in Ezekiel, we will find him as one of those watchmen whom God has called to protect His people. Well, with our emphasis on families, I would like to submit to you that just like Ezekiel for the nation of Judah, it would benefit us if we should also have spiritual watchmen for our families. How would this setting look like in our families? Let me help you understand this need by emphasizing at least three basic elements about it:
I THE CALL FOR A WATCHMAN (vs.1-3)
As we begin to study our passage, it is important for us to establish that this invitation is not the first time God has impressed to Ezekiel. This part of his responsibility as His prophet is for him to be a spiritual watchman for God’s people. Check out Ezekiel 3:16-17 (ESV):
16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
So, in Ezekiel chapter 33, we simply find the Lord reiterating his call as a spiritual watchman. Why is there a need for this reminder? To give you some critical context, Ezekiel was the prophet raised to minister to his fellow exiles in Babylon. They were part of the first batch that was carried to this pagan country to serve as captives. Unfortunately, for these Jews who were already in exile, the assumption was that God was almost done punishing, and so they have to start preparing to be restored back anytime soon. However, if you begin reading the first chapter until chapter 32, the Lord has revealed through Ezekiel that the discipline of the Lord is just starting, and there were more severe judgments coming to Jerusalem and the other pagan nations.
On the basis of this confusion, Ezekiel was once again reminded of his significant calling as a spiritual watchman for God’s people. Therefore, the question is: What exactly were the main purposes of the watchmen? Well, based on the custom during the Bible times, the people were familiar with guards placed on the city walls whose main responsibilities were twofold:
They were looking out for the enemies who were coming to invade them.
Once they saw that the enemies were coming, they need to sound the trumpet in order to alert everyone in the city.
In comparison, as a spiritual watchman, Ezekiel must carry out the same responsibilities. The only difference is that spiritually speaking, the enemies that can endanger the lives of God’s people were the judgments coming from God against the sins they committed against Him.
How important is this calling that was being given to Ezekiel? First of all, it is important for us to see that God was giving this role to prophet Ezekiel because He is a merciful God. Many times when we talk of God judging sins, people often misrepresent Him as someone who is strict and impulsive, always waiting to catch His people make mistakes because He enjoys punishing them. This assumption is absolutely false! The fact is that God is patient with His people, and He often delays His judgments. Listen to the words of Ecclesiastes 8:11 (ESV): 11Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.
In here, what is actually happening is that because God delays His judgments, it emboldens people to commit more sins. Then, the next verse is found in 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV): 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Instead of being impulsive and punitive, God is very patient in waiting that people will repent, even so that there will be no more need for punishment.
In addition to this role, the establishment of a spiritual watchman also reinforces this truth that God is merciful to sinners. Why? It is because God wanted the watchman to provide the necessary warning to the people, hoping that this would bring about repentance from them.
In the same way, today, we need to consider becoming just like Ezekiel, a spiritual watchman, first, to our families, and then to our country. If you consider the timeline, during the time of Ezekiel, God has just started sending His judgment, and more were about come. Is it possible that in our time, this global pandemic is just the start? If it is, then, we need spiritual watchmen to set the alarm to warn people about God’s judgments.
II THE CHARACTER OF THE WATCHMAN
The next important element about the watchman that we can find from the text is the character that is involved in being a watchman. To be able to faithfully carry out his role and responsibilities, there are two spiritual characteristics that we must emphasize:
A. He Must Be Elevated Spiritually
As I mentioned earlier, customarily, the watchman is placed on the city walls, so that he would have a much better vantage point in watching for the coming enemies. Spiritually speaking, Ezekiel, as a prophet of God, had to maintain a higher level of spirituality that allows him to hear directly from the Lord. One verse that proves this is 2 Peter 1:21 (NKJV):21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Notice, according to this verse, prophecies came from the Holy Spirit through Holy men. Now, if this is the case, does it mean it is only reserve for the chosen few? Absolutely not! In the New Testament, our unique relationship with God had given us the privilege to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This doctrine simply means that since every believer of the Lord Jesus has direct access to the Holy Spirit, every believer who wishes to maintain a more intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit can actually enjoy the same privilege. The apostle Paul talks about this truth in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (ESV): 9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
In here, Paul explains that God has so much prepared for us that we often miss, because of our lack of love towards God. The reality is that the more we love God, the more the Holy Spirit can help us understand the deeper things of God.
B. He Must Have the Courage to Warn Everyone:
The faithful watchman is also tasked to sound the trumpet once he becomes aware that there are invading enemies who are coming. When applied to Ezekiel, verse 3 plainly states, “if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people.”
Evidently, it is not enough for the watchman to know that invaders were coming. The more critical responsibility was to warn the people quickly. Let’s translate this truth into our context – If God is truly disciplining us through this global pandemic, and God is just starting to judge, how many of us would have the courage to sound the alarm, and warn others about it, most especially our own family and friends?
In the Bible, a perfect illustration of this work of a watchman is Jonah found in Jonah 3:4-5 (ESV) 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
Jonah was sent by the Lord to go to Nineveh because God was about to judge them. At first, he arrogantly avoided fulfilling his responsibility. Instead of going to Nineveh, he boarded the ship to Tarshish. As a result, he ended up being swallowed by a great fish, until he finally told the Lord that he was ready to go to Nineveh. When he finally got there, he started warning the Ninevites regarding God’s coming judgment. And the people heeded his warnings, and repented of their sins. So, God withheld His judgment to Nineveh. My prayer is that the same would happen to us today. If we faithfully sound the alarm, and the people start humbling themselves and repent, perhaps God would be gracious and decides to withhold further judgments on us.
III THE CULPABILITY OF THE WATCHMAN
Lastly, our main text is also very clear about the culpability of the watchman. Listen to these verses – “Then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand” (vs. 4-6).
If you examine these verses, they can clearly be divided into two categories of culpability:
A. Zero Culpability
When the watchman fulfills his responsibility of warning the people, and they fail to listen to him, then, he is no longer culpable for their destruction. In other words, God is holding Ezekiel, the spiritual watchman, responsible for the house of Israel. If he saw the judgment coming and adequately warns the Israelites, then, they become responsible for their own response to God’s warnings.
B. Great Culpability
However, if the watchman fails to warn the people and they perish, then, “God will require their blood at the watchman’s hand.” Meaning, he will be accountable to God for their death.
There is no question that becoming a spiritual watchman for our family is a serious responsibility, because the lives of our loved ones are at stake. It is so easy to make an excuse for not sounding the warning. We may say, “They may not understand me,” or “They may not really listen to me,” or “They are very busy at the present time.” But the reality is that since the lives of our loved ones are at stake, and so, it is always worth risking everything!
Time and again, we have heard stories of parents willingly donating their kidneys to their son or daughter who has a kidney failure. Or sometimes, it is a brother or a sister donating to a sibling. These are always great stories whenever we find people putting themselves in harms way to save their loved ones. But, many times, the same people would take for granted their spiritual mandate of being a watchman or watchwoman for their family. This negligence is unacceptable, because so much is at stake—eternity is at stake. May we all continue to reevaluate whether or not we are faithfully discharging our calling as watchmen or watchwomen for our family! God bless!
-Dr. Jeremiah Lepasana