Ezekiel 33:7-9 - "A Watchman"

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost 9-7-08

Pastor Troy Slater Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Herington, Kansas

We've probably all taken our turn at being the watchman, right? As kids playing cowboys and Indians - you know back when it wasn't 'politically incorrect' to do so - maybe it was you who kept an eye on the enemy - maybe the indians - as your fellow cowboys planned their ambush. Or maybe as a younger sibling it was you who had to peek around the corner of the shed and watch for mom or dad while the rest of the group got into a little mischief. Or maybe it was at work - someone always has to keep an eye out for the boss while everyone shares their tales from the previous weekend. A watchman.

Of course the military is familiar with watchmen - someone to keep an eye out for the enemy while the rest of the troops rest or prepare for the next stages of battle. And in fact it is that military sense of the word watchman that forms the backdrop for our Old Testament reading for this morning from Ezekiel chapter 33. Of course that reading picks up at verse 7 of the chapter but in the first 6 verses the Lord relates to Ezekiel how when a city is expecting an attack, they appoint a watchman - one who is to sound the trumpet to warn the people when the enemy is coming. And if the watchman does blow the trumpet but some in the city do not heed the warning, well, their blood is on their own hands - they were warned. The watchman faithfully did his duty. But if the watchman doesn't do his duty and blow the trumpet when he sees the enemy coming, well, of course that will be bad for the people, but it will be doubly bad for the watchman for the blood of the people will be on his hands.

And so it's against this background that the Lord then turns to Ezekiel and says, "I am appointing you to be a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me."

You see, basically what has happened is that "the house of Israel" - God's OT people - again and again they had turned from God and His ways. And again and again the Lord God had sent prophets to warn the people - to try to bring them to repentance. But again and again the people did not listen and so again and again the Lord brought His judgment upon them. And one of these judgments even included sending the pagan nation Babylon in to drag much of "the house of Israel" off to exile. Jerusalem with its temple to the Lord was destroyed while the people were taken to a foreign and pagan land - Babylon - modern day Iraq in fact. And so there they were exiled; 'the Babylonian captivity' as it is often called. In fact that is what has been going on in Ezekiel's lifetime - and in fact Ezekiel is even one of the exiles sitting in Babylon when this word of the Lord comes to him.

Of course naturally the people in exile were discouraged, overwhelmed. I mean imagine, you think you are God's chosen people and as a result you think you're untouchable - "we can go on doing as we please and nothing can touch us." The problem is of course that they had gone on "doing as they pleased" with no regard for a right heart toward God. And again, God had warned them that they were heading down a dangerous path - He had sent the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah among others to warn the people. But they didn't listen. And now - in exile - he sends Ezekiel to "speak His Word and to give them a warning." He sends Ezekiel to serve as a watchman..

But Ezekiel's job as a watchman is not to warn the people of the Babylonians or Egyptians or Assyrians or of any other of their traditional enemies. No, rather the Lord sends Ezekiel to serve as a watchman against a much greater enemy - that enemy that ultimately was the reason they were sitting in exile - that enemy of 'sin'. For you see Israel had no greater enemy. Sin - their sin - was the one thing that threatened to lead them not just to Babylon - but to hell; to eternal damnation; to a life without the God of all goodness and love. You see they were in a war - a spiritual war with eternal ramifications. And so the Lord sends Ezekiel to be a watchman for the exiled people of Israel to warn them of their enemy - to call them to repentance - to urge them to turn away from their sin and turn back to the Lord God and to life forever as His people. ……

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are in a war. And no, as important as they are I'm not referring to the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq or even the larger "war on terror." No rather I'm talking about a war of cosmic proportions - a war like with Old Testament Israel that is raging for your souls; a war that is raging for the souls of your children and grandchildren - a war that has eternal ramifications.

It's a war being waged against our entire beings - soul, body, and spirit. It's a war, as St. Paul says, "not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Do not be fooled, Satan is real. But Satan knows he is defeated. The final victory has been secured as Jesus has conquered Satan by His death on Calvary's cross and resurrection from the grave. Satan's end IS destruction; he's on the highway to hell. But that of course doesn't stop him from trying to take as many down with him as he can. He has lost the war, but that's not stopping him from attacking you and me and our children and our grandchildren.

And how's he do that? … Well one big weapon he employs very effectively is to lull us to sleep; lead us into doubting or even ignoring God's Word; trick us into NOT repenting of our sin.

For you see there are watchmen in this war - watchmen for God's people. And I suppose we could say our church leaders - pastors and teachers are the ones called to be those watchman - to declare God's Word to us - to warn us of the danger of sin and to call us to repentance. Pastors and other church leaders are there to proclaim the fullness of God's Word - to call sinner's to repentance. We are to call a spade a spade - a sin a sin. That's part of being a watchman.

And for that reason I must say it's actually quite sickening and very disheartening to see so many churches overlook and in some cases even promote sin by despising God's Word. Issues such as abortion, couples living together without marriage, the teaching of evolution, unscriptural divorce, adultery, the accepting of homosexual activities as good and natural - the fact that these are accepted or considered no big deal in so much of the church shows that the church has largely neglected its call to be a watchman for God's people.

And if we as the church become afraid or ashamed to speak God's Word and call sinners to repentance, then we've become just a social organization of no real lasting value. Actually we're doing more harm than good - we're patting people on the back as they follow Satan down that highway to hell. And if that is what we do, what we become, well we had better be afraid for as the Lord tells Ezekiel in our text, "When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do NOT speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold YOU accountable for his blood." …

Now I suppose we could go on and on about those great sins of our day and how the church has largely neglected the duty to serve as watchmen against sin. But I want to bring this matter into the pew - into the lives of each of us as members together of the church. For that's actually what Jesus does in our Gospel text in Matthew, chapter 18 - and especially beginning at verse 15. For Jesus says, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over." And then of course Jesus says if he won't listen to you, bring another in as a witness, and if they still won't listen, then tell it to the church. And if they still won't listen to the church - "then treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." In other words excommunication and then thus the need to bring the spiritually lost individual back into the church all over again - "reconvert" them I guess we could say.

But notice that Jesus says here that the goal is always "to win your brother over." None of us, not a one of us is exempt from falling into sin; we all daily sin much and need to go again and again to the cross - confessing our sin and receiving Christ Jesus' free gift of forgiveness won by that cross. We all need it. Of course because of various reasons be it pride or denial or maybe just plain ignorance of the fact that we have become trapped in the web of sin, sometimes we need someone - and no, not just the pastor - but we need someone to come to us and open our eyes that we might see how we have sinned against the God of heaven. We need our eyes opened to see the danger of how Satan is attacking us and leading us in our unrepentance to hell. We need someone to go with us to the cross that we might there confess our sin and receive Christ's blood-bought forgiveness. We sometimes need it, our fellow believers sometimes need it. "Win our brother over." That's the goal. That's being a watchman for our brother or sister in the faith.

Each of does have the responsibility to be a "watchman", be it for the one who is sitting next to you this morning or behind you or in front of you. If he or she is caught in sin as Jesus describes it, that should concern you - that should concern you very much. They, you, me, we are a part of the body of Christ, having been redeemed by the cross, washed with His blood we are in this together. You are your brother's keeper. You are your sister's keeper. As a watchman, you are called "to speak God's truth in love to your neighbor - even when that truth might hurt." Of course that isn't an excuse to go butting ourselves into other people's business whenever we might want to. But we are in a war - a spiritual war with eternal destinies at stake. At the right time, in the right place, with the right tone - that is a tone of love - we are watchmen, you are a watchman to speak God's Word to an erring brother or sister. …

Of course today we are celebrating Rally Sunday and so I would like to close with a quick word of relating all this to Sunday School. I mean talk about what a wonderful opportunity to serve as watchman for our children and grandchildren. Making sure they are brought up in the fear and knowledge of the Lord as they learn of their God's plan of salvation for them; as they learn of the cross and empty tomb; as they learn of how their Lord now brings them into His kingdom - protecting from Satan's fierce attacks. Yes offering a Sunday School is a wonderful opportunity for the church to serve as watchman for our children and grandchildren.

But you know, those little ones are watching - they are watching each of us. And if Sunday School isn't important for us, it won't be important for them. In our Gospel text Jesus says, "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." Are we being watchmen for our children - not just telling them but showing them the importance of being in the Word. This is a war that we are in - one with eternal ramifications.

Next week we're starting a new Bible study - about a 6-week study on the book of Jonah. Small book - only 4 chapters - but big on content. Be a "watchman" for our children - not just in word, but in deed. Although dare I say there is not a one of us that doesn't need to be in the Word for ourselves. I mean that's where our strength and wisdom comes from for enduring Satan's attacks. God's Word is our life. "Hear the Word I speak," the Lord told Ezekiel. "hear the Word I speak and speak it to others." We have the greatest word imaginable. We have the good news of Jesus, the one who went to the cross that He might be a watchman for our souls - that He might save us from our sin and Satan. That's the Word that we have. Let us hear that Word, let us live it, let us share it, let us be watchmen, even for our children. .. And may that peace of God which passes all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus your Lord. Amen.