Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth, and give them warning from Me. 

Ezekiel 33:7, NASB (1995)

Ezekiel, a prophet of God, was appointed to be a watchman. This was not all that unusual since all prophets are essentially watchman appointed by God to warn the people of danger, but in Ezekiel's case this role of a watchman was especially emphasized. In the 33rd chapter of Ezekiel, God points out that there are times of danger of impending invasion from an enemy. In such situations, it is necessary for those who are being threatened to post an around the clock watch made up of individuals whose job it is to keep an eye peeled for the enemy and to raise the alarm if the enemy is indeed spotted.

The Lord told Ezekiel that this was such a time, and he was such a person. As a watchman, it was his duty to raise the alarm. After that, the duty fell to the people to react in a manner that was appropriate to the situation at hand. It is important to note that it was not the watchman's responsibility to make the people respond, his job was merely to raise the alarm. If a person heard the alarm and reacted in the right way, the person's life would be saved. However, if the person ignored the warning, his blood was on his own head and the watchman was innocent of any harm that might befall anybody who had been properly warned. But if the watchman failed to do his job, whether he simply was not watching closely enough and the enemy snuck up on the city, or if he had seen the enemy but didn't think their presence merited a warning, then the watchman would be held guilty. The people would suffer because he had not been warned, but the watchman's life would be forfeit because he was derelict in his duty.

Do you see the application? God has effectively set each one of us in a position of a watchman. The scope of that duty will depend on our personal circle of influence, but we are all watchmen whether we recognize that fact or not. If you are married, you are a watchman over your spouse. If you have kids, you are a watchman over them. If you are a teacher or a policeman or a preacher or Bible class teacher, you are a watchman. You don't have to like it (though decent people should) you just have to do it.

And as to this decent person should status. If you have children, why would you want to do anything but raise them up in the love, the fear and the admonition of the Lord? We love our kids, and we want the best for them. We know that there are dangers in this world - enemies, if you will, who are seeking to harm or subvert our children. It's our duty, but also our privilege, to watch over and protect them. When they are young, it will be our duty to make them be safe. As they approach adulthood, we still have a duty, but we no longer force them to be responsible, at least not after they have left our house, but we do still have the duty to watch and to warn.

I'm not referring to a "mother hen" (or "father rooster" for that matter) constantly hovering over them in an inappropriate and unnecessary manner; rather, I am just referring to our duty to make sure that they are at least aware of the dangers that we might be noticing from the real enemies that do lurk in the shadows, and from their own careless and inattentive habits. We also have close friends who may not possess the advantages we have had in a Christian upbringing or from a deeper study of the Bible. They need to be warned as well, not because we are being nosy or meddlesome, but because we love them and are genuinely concerned for them.

Bosses have their own areas of responsibility. Are they a good example? Do they permit foul language and crude joking? Do they cut corners in serving their customers? Do they permit their employees to be idle or careless? Instilling good habits in those who work for you if you are in a supervisory role, for your students if you are a teacher, for your players if you are a coach, is vital.  So, whatever the circle of responsibility that you may have, are you being a watchman?

The passage in Ezekiel goes on to explain why we are doing this. If a wicked person repents of their behavior, God says they will be saved. If a righteous person takes heed to proper warnings, they will continue on their righteous course. But, if they are warned and ignore the warning - the righteous person leaving the path of righteousness, and the wicked person staying on his own wide path that leads to destruction - well, their blood will be on their own heads. If the watchman warned them, then he will at least have tried and he will have saved himself. But if the watchman does not warn when warning is needed? The people who failed to protect themselves will still die, but the Lord will hold the watchman accountable.

So, why all this cheery talk about watchman - especially at the dawning of a new year? The point, hopefully, is obvious: We not only have an obligation to warn those who are in our circle of influence when they are in danger, but it is our privilege to do so. We love them (don't we?) and we want the best for them. God has given us a tremendous set of blessings that we enjoy on a regular basis, shouldn't we want the same for those we care about? A watchman watches because it is his or her duty to do so, this is true, but they also watch because they care for those they are entrusted with. It gives us great joy and peace to see our children doing well, and it gives us great satisfaction when we see our close friends, employees, students and players succeeding in life's most important areas.

We've been given a great gift, when you think about it. The role of a watchman has great responsibility, but it also comes with tremendous reward. Those who are faithful to God will get to be with Him forever someday. And the life they lead until that point will be greatly enhanced, if we can just gently watch over those we have influence over, and give them a helpful warning when the situation calls for it.

Who, do you think, God has made you a watchman over? Are you taking your responsibility in this area seriously? It's something to think about.