On Prophets as Watchmen
On the Prophets as Watchmen.
“The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim.” (Hosea 9:8).
The Lookout. The Hebrew word for watchman was “mishmereth,” which means one who looks out in order to protect, to guard, to keep safe. The good watchman needed to have particular abilities: the mental discipline to be constantly alert, attentive and focused; to be fearless, calm and composed; to be shrewd and not easily fooled; to have acute hearing and eyesight; to be extremely observant and aware of surroundings; to be ready for anything, expectant, poised to act when called upon; to be someone who is able to wait patiently; to be able to discern the good from the bad, the welcome from the welcome.
The Prophet-Watchman. The literal watchman became a symbol that God used to describe the duties of His prophets. These men and women were appointed by Him to be spiritual watchmen, watching over the souls of His people like a watchman would watch over a city. The prophets, like any good watchmen, had to be vigilant in their observation of spiritual matters regarding His people, calling on them to obey God, to live faithfully before Him, to warn them if they were in danger of the Lord’s judgment due to their sinful behavior. God expected the prophets to be receptive at all times to hear the words of the Lord, to listen carefully to what He is telling them, and then to speak His words to the people. Sometimes the prophet-watchman would shout out the good news of the Lord’s mercy and comfort and hope. But when called upon, the prophets would sound the alarm of spiritual danger. The voice of the prophet was to be like the blare of the trumpet from the watchtower, sounding the alarm that would alert the people that they were in spiritual danger, that the Lord’s judgment is approaching if things don’t change. God considered prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel and Habakkuk to be His watchmen for the spiritual welfare of His chosen people.
The Watchman Ezekiel. “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You are going to die,’ and you don’t’ sound the alarm warning them that it’s a matter of life and death, they will die and it will be your fault. I’ll hold you responsible. But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they’ll most certainly die for their sin, but you won’t die. You’ll have saved your life.” (Ezek. 3:17-19). “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. The minute you hear a message from me, give them warning.” (Ezek. 33:7). He was a Hebrew prophet, a priest and a street preacher in Babylon during the captivity of the Israelites. God appointed him at the tender age of 30 years old, and he continued in this role for 22 years. Time and again, God asked Ezekiel to not just speak but also demonstrate the Word of the Lord. God seemed to have a larger list of expectations for Ezekiel than most other prophets, and so Ezekiel had the widest spectrum of methods as he spoke and demonstrated what God had on His mind. You name a method and he did it: visual aid, demonstration, show and tell, poems, proverbs, parables, direct prophecies, and visions that were other-worldly and difficult to comprehend. As the watchman over a people whose city had been destroyed, Ezekiel tended to preach about Israel’s judgment as well as its salvation and hope of restoration. He experienced many otherworldly visions, both apocalyptic and heavenly. He had a rich and lively imagination that was put to good use by the Lord. God showed a sense of humor when He told Ezekiel that He is going to make him just as stubborn as the Israelites in exile. “I have made you as obstinate as they are. I have made your forehead as hard as granite. So don’t be afraid of them.” (3:8). Even with all his sounding of the alarms, those Israelites in Babylon were stubborn and resistant to the Word of the Lord. For most of them, Ezekiel seemed to be no more than an interesting distraction. No matter how strongly Ezekiel preached from his prophetic watchtower about the holiness and moral perfection of Yahweh, the people wouldn’t respond. They were consistently apathetic and rebellious, and they simply wouldn’t admit their sinfulness, just as the Lord had warned at Ezekiel’s calling.
The Watchman Habakkuk. “I will climb to the lookout tower and stand at my watchpost, scanning the horizon from my place of observation. I’ll wait here to see what God says in response to my complaints, and what answer I will give when I am rebuked.” (Hab. 2:1).The prophet said here that he was going to his watchtower to wait for the Lord to respond to his honest complaints to the Lord about two things: Why He wasn’t punishing the people of Judah for their wickedness and allowing the evil-doers in our midst prosper while the righteous seem to suffer? His other complaint was questioning the Lord on why He was using their wicked, pagan enemies to exert His will of judgment on Israel. Habakkuk here is assuming the standard prophet’s stance as God’s watchman, waiting and listening with an attitude of expectation, patiently watching for God, keeping an eye out for the Lord to speak and act. It’s doubtful Habakkuk was referring to a literal watchtower, where one could see in the distance for any visitors approaching the city. Instead, Habakkuk’s watchtower was his undisturbed place of spiritual meditation and focus. His watchtower was where he was to receive God’s word. It was his spiritual lookout tower to wait for the Lord’s response. In this case, his watching and waiting bore fruit, because God indeed approached him and speaks about all the reasons God wants divine justice for both Israel and the Babylonians: pride, arrogance, greed, corruption, violence, extortion, murder, gluttony, idolatry. And the list goes on. God will not stand for all those deadly sins running rampant. Is it any wonder, God asks, why I want to punish Babylon severely? The clock is ticking, their time is coming. Be patient, God says to Habakkuk in his prayerful watchtower, I will act at the appointed time, and no earlier. Wait for me to act, even though to you it may seem to linger. But justice will surely come. You can trust me on this, Habakkuk.
The Watchmen in Isaiah. “The Lord says to me: ‘Go, post a watchman and have him report what he sees… And the lookout shouted, ‘Day after day, my master, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post.” (Is. 21:6-9); “Someone calls to me from Seir, ‘Night watchman! How long till daybreak? How long will this night last?’ The night watchman calls back, ‘Morning is coming, but for now it’s still night.” (Is. 21:11-12). “Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy! When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes!” (Is. 52:8). “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem! They will never be silent, day or night. They will continue praying, calling out to the Lord. They are to give Him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem as He said He would do, reminding the Lord of His promise to make Jerusalem famous as the City of Praise.” (Isaiah. 62:6-7).
The Watchmen in Jeremiah. “The word of the Lord, saying, ‘Go stand at the crossroads and look around. Ask for directions to the old road, those ancient paths. Ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Discover the right route for your souls.’ But they said, ‘Nothing doing. We aren’t going that way.’ I even provided watchmen for them to warn them, to sound the trumpet, to set the alarm. But the people said, ‘It’s a false alarm. It doesn’t concern us.’” (Jeremiah 6:17-17). “The Lord has appeared to us in the past, saying, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with mercy and lovingkindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful…There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God!” (Jer. 31:3-6).
The Watchman in Micah. “I’m overwhelmed with sorrow! Sunk in a swamp of despair! There’s not a decent person in sight. Right-living humans are extinct. They are all out for one another’s blood, like animals preying on each other. They’ve all become experts in evil. Corrupt leaders demand bribes. The powerful rich make sure they get what they want. The best of them is like a brier of thistles, the most upright are worse than a thorn hedge. The day God visits you has come, the day your watchmen sound the alarm. (Micah 7:1-4).