The Watchmen

Introduction

Good evening and welcome back!

Tonight we are going to be taking a journey with what I would call the first steps to the re-birth of the nation of Israel and their restoration.

And, the first step in Israel’s restoration will be a national renewal.

And what had happened here is that Israel as a nation “died” when she went into captivity.

Her homeland was gone, her temple destroyed, and her kings dethroned.

Israel’s enemies had triumphed.

Her false leaders within had led the people astray, and her neighbors outside had plundered and decimated the land.

And for Israel to experience God’s blessing she will need to be “reborn” as a nation.

Which is what we are going to be talking about tonight, under the backdrop of Ezekiel 33.

And there is quite a bit of Scripture that we will be looking at.

Tonight we are going to be looking at verses 1-9 and maybe next week looking at the next part of the chapter.

We will see where the Lord leads us, but I do think that it’s important to look at the whole thing in the context of what is actually going on with Israel at that time.

And I titled the message tonight The Watchmen, because that is who we are going to be talking about, those watchmen that are on the walls warning of an impending attack by the enemy.

And overall though, I want us to also think about the idea of Just Do It!

And what I mean by that is when we make a commitment to follow God, really at its most basic core there shouldn’t be a lot of discussion or debate.

Really it boils down to we need to Just Do It!

We need to just take the plunge—that first step and follow God.

And the Watchmen is a part of that plunge, a part of Just Doing It!

So, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get into it.

In Ezekiel 33, starting in verse 1 . . .

Scripture Focus

Ezekiel 33:1–9 NIV84

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your countrymen 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 take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’ “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. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.

The Faithful Watchman

Now, I know that this was quite a bit of Scripture to absorb in one sitting very quickly, so I’m going to back up and start to break it down just a bit.

And from this snippet found in verses 1-9 of the passage we can gain understanding that there are two types of watchmen that Ezekiel is referring to.

First the faithful watchman and second the unfaithful watchman.

For the faithful watchman, Ezekiel writes . . .

Ezekiel 33:1–5 NIV84

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your countrymen 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 take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself.

So, we see here as part of their national restoration, they are to set a watchman on a tower to watch for the enemy.

If that watchman sees the enemy coming they are to blow the trumpet, warning the people that danger is coming.

And as long as they do their job and warn the people, then what happens after that is on the people.

If they die because they were not vigilant, in watching, preparing, and defending themselves, then its their own fault and their blood is on their own heads.

And we can translate this same mentality to the Church today.

Remember what Peter taught us . . .

1 Peter 5:8–9 NIV84

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And how we often apply this is to the preacher or the pastor.

The pastor is the watchman of the flock.

Which is true, but here’s the thing.

All of us are watchmen.

Or at least all of us should be.

Paul writes this . . .

Ephesians 6:18 NIV84

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

And . . .

Galatians 6:1–3 NIV84

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

So, as watchmen, when we see the enemy approaching we are to sound the alarm.

When we see the enemy trying to dig his heels into our church, our family, our lives.

When we see a brother or sister about to fall, going down a path that leads to destruction.

We step in and we sound the alarm!

And we stop blaming everyone else for when we failed to do something when someone else has sounded the alarm.

James 1:13–15 NIV84

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

And what James is saying here is hen we see things in those beginning stages, "temptation", "lust", and eventually "sin," we sound the alarm and deliver the Word.

Because when sin is done it brings forth death.

When we hear the trumpet and fail to heed the warning then our blood is on our own head.

We can't blame the preacher

We can't blame the church

We can't blame our spouse

We can't blame the government

We can't blame society

We can't blame our parents our how we were raised.

We can only blame ourselves for failing to heed the warning of God.

However, if we heed the warning, then our soul shall be delivered.

The Unfaithful Watchman

But what happens if no one sounds the alarm?

What happens if there is no one there to warn us?

Who’s fault is it then?

Starting in verse 6, Ezekiel writes . . .

Ezekiel 33:6–8 NIV84

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’ “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. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.

So, you see, even though we think we are not responsible, as watchmen we are.

And as watchmen of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we will be held accountable for our inaction.

And if we as watchmen see the enemy coming and fail to give the warning and if any are carried away into sin.

That person will die because of their sin, because we know that . . .

Romans 3:23 NIV84

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

And . . .

Romans 6:23 NIV84

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But guess, what, that person's blood is also on your hands.

Because you knew of it and turned a blind eye, you are also guilty and accountable to God.

Because you failed to warn that child of yours of their sin.

Because you failed to warn your spouse that what they are doing is wrong.

Because you failed to hold a brother or sister in the Lord accountable for their actions.

Because you failed to be the watchman God has called you to be.

They are guilty, but their blood is on your hands.

And why is it that way?

Well, by failing to condemn sin, you condone it.

By condoning it you give the impression that it is okay, that God doesn't mind if we have a little sin in our lives.

Things like . .

"God understands,"

"God knows we don't mean to."

And we don’t speak out because we don't want to alienate people, seem insensitive, offend anyone.

We don't want them to quit paying tithes or doing whatever it is they are doing that benefits us.

So, we turn a blind eye to sin and then wonder why the Holy Spirit isn't active, why God isn't moving.

Well, Hebrews 12 tells us . . .

Hebrews 12:14–16 NIV84

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.

And then Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5 . . .

1 Thessalonians 5:22 NIV84

Avoid every kind of evil.

And when we are letting it go on right under our noses, knowingly and not doing a thing about it, then we are not acting in a Holy manner and we are definitely not avoiding evil, or sin.

But, if we do our job then Ezekiel has this to say . . .

Ezekiel 33:9 NIV84

But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.

We have done all we can do and there is nothing left to do.

Warn them, teach them, and pray for them.

Altar/Challenge

So, the question for tonight is are we faithful or unfaithful watchmen?

Are we standing guard on the wall or slacking off on our responsibilities to God and to each other?

We are the only ones that know that answer and we are the only ones that decide.

Let’s pray . . .