Years ago, my family lived in a new city. We had met some of our neighbors who had lived in the community for a while, and we got along well. We hadn’t gone to the city hall or the chamber of commerce (I’m not even sure they had one), but it was a small community and didn’t take long to get around. We were across a river from a major city, so we had amenities readily available. We enjoyed our little community.
Until the tornado came.
The television stations and radios had been warning about the approaching storm and possible dangerous conditions. At one point, we were told that there was a tornado warning, and to take proper precautions. (I believe there were even warning sirens that sounded, but it was a long time ago and I really don’t remember.)
We lived in a three bedroom townhouse at the time. Our kitchen was in the back of the house, the living area was in the front, and our dining room was in the middle of the home. There were other townhouses on either side of us.
When we were told of the tornado warning, we got our three preschool children and hunkered down under the round oak dining table in our dining room and we waited it out. We kept the radio on and when we felt it was safe, we ventured from the makeshift protection of our solid oak table. My wife went to the window to see what the weather was doing.
As she watched, she noticed a stream of people exiting the fire station just down the street from where we lived. We found out the next day that there is a storm shelter large enough for the community beneath the station. Everyone in the community knew to make their way there in case of inclement weather.
Well, not everybody.
Fortunately, the tornado that did enter our area skipped our town entirely and everyone was safe. And we made a note of where to go should the need ever arise again.
In the book of Ezekiel, twice God refers to the prophet has a watchman for the nation of Israel (Ezekiel 3:17; 33:7). In both instances, God tells Ezekiel that the watchman’s duty is to warn the city of impending danger. If the watchman fails to warn the city, then the calamity that befalls it will be on the watchman’s head. But if the watchman fulfills his duty, then any calamity that may fall on the city will be the fault of those who failed to heed the watchman’s warning.
America Needs a Watchman
Our society needs a voice of reason and submission to speak God’s word faithfully and fully to our people. We live in a nation that is divided into factions, unwilling and unable to listen to each other because we choose to listen to different voices telling us what is true and what is not true. There are those who reject the message of main stream media, claiming it is a purveyor of false information. There are others who look to the tried-and-true voices of information and reject information that comes from other sources. We can put it in a more succinct way: There are those who listen to Fox News and the talking heads of radio, and there are those who listen to NPR and who read the Washington Post. Those who embrace Fox reject NPR and the Post, while those who rely on NPR and the Post cannot accept what is being said on Fox and the radio.
When we cannot agree on a common source of fact and truth, where else can we turn?
The answer, for the believer, is turn away from politics and all that goes with it and turn toward God and the Bible. Instead of looking at a particular issue and forming our opinion from the talking heads of our preferred source of news, we should be looking to the Bible and prayerfully considering what God has to say about society and relationships.
The Bible is very clear on many matters. Granted, they are open to interpretation, but the person who comes to Scripture with an open heart and submissive spirit will gain insight on matters. We must come without pre-conceived notions, not reading into the Bible that which we want it to say, but letting it speak to us. Trusting the Spirit to guide us, He can change us and open our eyes to His truth.
What Does the Watchman Do?
“At the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from Me” (Ezekiel 3:16-17).
God’s instructions to Ezekiel regarding his role as a watchman was to be a faithful proclaimer of God’s word to the nation of Israel. The people had gotten away from doing the things of God, while still doing the rituals associated with God.
It’s not uncommon for a people to associate the trappings of worship with actual worship. To go through the rituals is a very concrete thing. The danger is in substituting the act of something for the actual relationship with God.
In Isaiah, the people complain that their fasting seems to do no good, that God is not pleased with their fasting. God’s response is, “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists” (Isaiah 58:3b-4). God goes on to say, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter?” (Isaiah 58:6-7a).
Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 to the Pharisees: “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’” (Matthew 9:13). The full quote is, “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offering” (Hosea 6:6).
Clearly, God expects His people to walk in humble obedience to Him, walking with and learning from Him. The whole purpose of God’s intervention in our world through Jesus’ ministry was to bring us into right relationship with Him. Toward that end, we need to refocus our attention on this matter. It’s not the going to church and the daily rituals we may embrace; it’s the experience of knowing God.
The watchman’s role is to first know the One whose message we are to tell. Then the watchman can be effective in forth-telling to a nation in need of truth.
What Does the Watchman Say?
There are a number of things we do wrong as a society—abortion, exploitation of the weak and disenfranchised, racial and ethnic divide, materialism, religion in name only, broken families—the list can seem endless. God’s word speak to each of these and more.
But, here’s where I think the watchman needs to focus on. It’s easy to rail against injustices in the world. It’s another things to speak out against the injustices in our world. “The world” consists of things that are national and international in nature. “Our world” takes place in the world in which I actually live—my neighborhood, my community, my work, my acquaintances.
Years ago, I read a joke that went something like, “My wife and I decided early on that I would make all the major decisions, while she would make the minor ones. So, I get to decide on world finances and international relations. She gets to decide where we live, what we’ll eat, what I get to wear. . .” The effective watchman will not be unaware of the world’s problems, but he or she will speak to his or her world’s problems first.
And the watchman will speak out on what the Bible says. The words of the watchman will not be, “Well, I think. . .” Instead, the watchman’s words will be, “The Bible speaks to that issue. Here’s what it says.” If the watchman couches God’s word as the watchman’s opinion, then it can be taken as such and disregarded as what I think. I can be dismissed without peril. We dismiss God’s word at great risk.
Conclusion
We need God’s word being spoken in our world today. We need to let the full message of His word be heard today. We cannot pick and choose the parts of God’s word that supports my position and ignore or omit the parts that are an inconvenience to me and my views. For the followers of Jesus, we are to be transformed by Him and His Spirit (cf. Romans 12:1-2; Philippians 2:13), not the other way around. Where we need to change, we need to be willing to do so with glad heart and spirit.
We need watchmen who are faithful, who are courageous and who are submitted to God’s leadership.
© 2020 Glynn Beaty