Ezekiel Is Israel's Watchman

 

Ezekiel 33:1-9

 

January 19, 2024

 

Ezekiel Is Israel's Watchman

The word of the Lord came to me: “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, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, 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.

“So, you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.  If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.  But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

 

Grace verses Law, Ezekiel was called to be the watchman over the house of Israel.  You can read God’s requirement for a watchman. A watchman had great responsibility, souls hung in the balance over his doing the will of the Father.  

 

As a follower of Christ, are we called to be watchmen, what is God’s calling on those of us who have Christ's Spirit living in us?  Have we not been instructed to “Go and Tell, all that God’ has done for us?  Shall we explore the Scriptures, and see what God has called us who are in Christ, and He in us, are to do?  “And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19)  How about Mark 15:16, And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.  

Often I seek better understanding from those with insight into the Scriptures, and “Got Questions” is a good source, this is from them.

Ezekiel has shown all Christians that we are to be obedient to God’s call on our lives. God told Ezekiel to groan with a broken heart and bitter grief for the coming judgment, and, through his dramatic book, Ezekiel tells us the same thing. Judgment is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. We, like Ezekiel, can warn others, and we can also share with them the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice