In a recent thread, my friend Frannie Linaberger mentioned the scripture verse Ezekiel 33:8 in reference to “being held accountable” if we do not speak the truth to our brothers and sisters. This really convicted me to dig deeper into this passage and I read Ezekial 33 from the beginning of the chapter. Let me share it here with you:
33 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people 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, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’
7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.
In these passages, this was God speaking to Ezekial. But I wanted to know “who is a watchman” so I did some further digging. By using my DuckDuckGo search, I ask, “Who are called by God as watchmen?” One of the first links I pulled up said that, as Christians we are all called to be “watchmen”. Here is an excerpt from that:
CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE WATCHMEN IN THE END TIMES
With the continual threat of division, darkness, and terrorism presently in the world, watchmen are critical to warn others of the coming of the seven years of tribulation. In fact, it is felt to be a mandate from the throne of God! Any Christian who has a heart for God and a heart for others, and who is willing to humble themselves before God with a pure heart is encouraged to pray about being a part of this call.
Jesus said the End Times would be even crueler and more violent than the time He walked the Earth. He said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37) And what characterized the times of Noah? We read in Genesis 6, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”[8] and “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the Earth was filled with violence.”[9]
The role of the watchman is described in scripture in both the Old- and New Testaments. In a key parable, Jesus shows how a Christian may be commissioned by Christ as a dedicated watchmen, while at the same time Christ emphasizes that every believer is to have the attitude of a watchman.
So why do I say all this? I guess to encourage myself and other believers to accept the call of “Watchman” and be willing and bold enough to speak out in a day and age where we see evil permeating our society at such an alarming rate. When we see evil, we must speak out.