Watchman on the wall
EZEKIEL 33: 1-16
Are we being Gods watchman on the wall today? Are we warning the lost sinner that he or she is in great danger because of what is on the way?
God has given us His word in black & white that there is a heaven to gain & a hell to shone, are we as His watchman telling and warning people of what He has said, do we really care that people are dropping off into hell every minute of the day? Are we truly watchmen or are we just playing church?
We’ve been told that our nation has a system in place that can detect incoming missiles that are meant to harm us.
But what if after all the time and money which has been spent, and those responsible for watching out for our welfare saw signs that we were under attack, and yet for some reason decided not to alert the military, inform the president, or warn the American people? What if the radar screens were showing clear signs of an impending nuclear attack, the satellites were sending all the right information, the computers were functioning properly, lights were flashing and warning sirens were going off, but those responsible for passing along the warning decided they would rather remain silent than to cause national panic?
Or what if they had fallen asleep because they stayed up too late watching the T.V.
What if they were on the phone with a friend, or just didn’t care to take the situation seriously. What would happen to them and the people they were asked to protect?
Ezekiel is reminded of his call to be a watchman. his ministry is likened unto that of a watchman, or sentry, observing the danger of a coming enemy and then warning his people.
In like manner, he is a watchman to them in spiritual matters. He is to point out their sin and warn them to repent and turn to the Lord.
If, as a prophet of God, he should fail to warn his people, he would be held accountable of spiritual manslaughter.
That is the modern day parallel to the parable **that God spoke about to Ezekiel.
The parable was based on the strategic defense initiative of that day.
The defense system consisted of a large wall, sometimes a double wall, and several feet thick. The wall was made with very large stones, and tall towers were built at the corners. Watchmen were stationed high in the towers to watch for the approach of hostile forces.
Other watchmen walked on top of the wall and were posted at the gates. If an enemy was approaching they were to blow the trumpet to alert the armed troops and call out a warning to the people. If they somehow failed in their responsibility the city would be overrun and the people would lose their lives. The watchman would pay for his failure with his life.
But what if the watchman sounded the warning and no one responded? What if the people that heard the warning didn’t heed the warning that the watchmen were giving and just ignored it and continued on with what ever they might be doing?
Then, the Lord said here in this parable, they would be responsible for their own death as well as the destruction of the city.
Our responsibility today is to warn and proclaim as persuasively as possible, but how the message is received is beyond our control
Listen as I read today’s text found in Ezekiel 33:1-20
1Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, “When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
7So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
8When I say unto the wicked, > O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; < if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
9Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
10Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, >If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? <
11Say unto them, > as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” –
Notice--God does not want to judge. Isaiah said that judgment was His strange work. God wants to save them, and He is urging them to turn to Him and accept life.
2nd peter 3: 9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
12Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
13When I shall say to the righteous, “that he shall surely live;” if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
33:12-13 the right conduct of a usually right living person would not exempt him from judgment if he sinned.
Neither would the sinful conduct of a sinful person exempt him from forgiveness if he repented. The usually good morally person should not take God’s promise of life for right living as a guarantee that he was exempt from punishment if he sinned.
Lets remember that we’re not saved by good works.
14Again, when I say unto the wicked, “Thou shalt surely die;” if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
15"If the wicked restore the pledge, [like something that has been pawned (as holding a security for debt) give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.”
16 “None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.”
33:14-16 God’s warnings that the wicked would die because of their sinfulness also needed to be understood properly. That is, they would die only if they failed to repent. If the wicked turned from his sins and obeyed the Mosaic Law, he would not die (prematurely). God would not hold his former sins against him. He would receive his life as a reward for his righteous conduct. Lets remember, that at that time the Jews were to observe the Mosaic Law. We today are not under the Mosaic Law, but under grace.
17Yet the children of thy people say, “The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.”
33:17 The Jews were saying that the Lord was not dealing with them justly, but it was really their conduct and their thinking that were not right.
18 “When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.”
19 “But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.”
20 “Yet ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.”
And God is still the same today in that we are not accountable for another’s personal sins, only our own.
But we that are saved are held accountable if we don’t warn people when we have an opportunity to warn them.
Let me point out here that “the righteousness of man” that we see in these verses is to do with mans good works or deeds, because man has no righteousness within himself that is acceptable to God.
Isaiah 64:6But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags--
Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh *not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness
==Abraham-* Romans 4:11--all them that believe, though they be not circumcised;* that righteousness might be imputed *unto them also:
Eph. 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Titus 3:5 5Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
And so lets not get the righteousness of man that we’ve been reading about in our text in Ezekiel 33 confuse with the righteousness that is bestowed upon us by the grace of God because of our believing and our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that we read about in the N.T. Apart from Him all our goodness’s are counting as filthy rags.
We learn from Ezekiel: We are accountable for ourselves. God said to Ezekiel, “If anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head.... If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself”
Each of us is responsible for hearing and obeying the Word of God. It is our responsibility as Christians a pastor to tell people what God said in His Word, but we cannot make anyone listen or believe His Word.
It is the responsibility of the hearer to believe and obey what God is saying.
Romans 14:12 tells that us that each of us will give an account of himself to God.
12So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
We will answer for what we have done and the person we have become.
Jesus said in Luke 12:48 --for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:
If we that are saved know what we should do and do not do it, then we will be held accountable. James 4: 17Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
If we that are saved know that we are willfully sinning ,and we continue to do it, then we will answer for it at the Judgment Seat of Christ ,as there each saved person will give account for our Stewardship.
1st cor. 3: 13Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; This FIRE is figurative for judgment. It speaks of the absolute righteous judgment of God.
Let us be aware, that we are the watchmen in the parable today. All of us are responsible for telling people as the opportunity arises, of their responsibility before God.
1st peter 1:15-But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
