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A WATCHMAN MUST WARN THE PEOPLE We can draw many lessons from Ezekiel 33:1–20 – 1 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ 7 "So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. 10 "Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, "If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?"’ 11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ 12 "Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’
13 When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. 14 Again, when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right, 15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live. 17 "Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair! 18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. 19 But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. 20 Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways."
Verses 1–6: A Watchman must warn the people God uses His own watchmen to proclaim His word and warn the people. If a person ignores the warning, his blood shall be on his own head, not the watchman’s. But if a watchman fails to deliver the warning, the blood of the people shall be on the watchman’s head. As Christians, all of us ought to be intercessors and watchmen. God did not call you to be a watchman to gossip or choose whom you want to deliver His warning to. Verses 7–9: Rebuke wickedness of people Many of us do not want to warn the wicked because we do not want to get into fights with those people. You may think that someone else’s child is not your problem. But remember, we belong to one family. You have every right to rebuke believers, to turn them to the truth and righteousness. Before you do that, you must first be living right and above reproach. No one must be able to accuse you of sinful behaviour. If you do not warn the wicked to repent, God will hold you responsible. Verses 10–11: People must turn from their wicked ways All of us must turn from our wicked ways. Our tears need to be tears of repentance, not springing from self-pity, self-bitterness or self-centredness. You are the problem. Stop putting the blame on others or casting your bad influence on them. Verses 12–13: Iniquities override righteous works This passage clearly opposes the doctrine of "Once saved, always saved". Such teachings are not scriptural. This doctrine only serves those who wish to continue sinning, instead of wanting to attain righteousness. Be watchful of such false doctrines. If the righteous commit sin, they shall die. The righteousness you had yesterday cannot save you from the sin you commit today. Verses 14–20: Wicked will be saved if they repent If a wicked person repents and lives righteously, God will save him. None of his wickedness shall be remembered by the Lord. For those who think this is not fair, the Lord says that He will judge every one according to his own ways. Salvation is individualistic. You cannot say that someone is going to heaven or hell because he is good or bad. Likewise, as the watchman in the above passage, a minister or prophet who does not warn a lukewarm church of God’s coming judgment, will be held accountable for the state of that church. If you go to a church that is sinking in sin, only to speak sugary messages in order to obtain a good offering, God will judge you. If you speak the truth, you may not even get a love offering, but you would have obeyed God. Just as Moses, it is better for you to suffer with God’s people than to enjoy the pleasures of sin. God does not spare sin. You have to call sin "sin". As believers, we are responsible for sharing the gospel with the world as Jesus commissioned in Matthew 28:19 – Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Apostle Paul declared in Acts 20:26–27 – Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. We should not be afraid to declare the truth. It may hurt, but it will set us free. If you are a watchman and fail to perform your duties effectively, the Bible states that you deserve death. When Abner failed to protect King Saul from assassination, David challenged him in 1 Samuel 26:15–16 – So David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head." Ezekiel was faithful in warning the people of God’s judgement. Jeremiah preached the gospel for over 40 years, yet not a single soul repented. But that did not stop him from preaching. Have you stopped reaching out to people because those you have preached to, did not repent? Even if the people do not listen, you must do your job as a watchman to warn people.
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