Watchman

It says this in the Word of God in Ezekiel 33:1-12, “Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘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, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 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. 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. 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.’

‘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. 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. 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.

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?’ 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?’

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.’”

Ezekiel was a prophet of God and was appointed a watchman to God’s people to pronounce judgment on Judah and the surrounding nations for their sins.  After Jerusalem had fallen, he continued to be a watchman, but his message had changed from gloom and doom to restoration and hope; there are times that he still brings forth warnings but these are a part of the larger picture of hope.  This is an important turnabout in this book, God’s people had refused to face their sins but now they had heavy guilt because of their sins, rebelling against God for so many years.  Therefore God assured them of His forgiveness if they repented.

God wants everyone to repent and turn to Him.  He gives us the opportunity if we, in all sincerity, will respond by turning from our sins and asking Him to forgive us, which He will, praise God!!  Just like God said to Ezekiel in verse 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?’”

It says this in 2 Peter 3:8-9, “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

God is very patient waiting for every sinner to repent and turn to Him.  The Word says this in John 3:14-18, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”   

This is the good news, that Jesus came to earth so that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  He gave His life willingly, nobody took it, He allowed Himself to be crucified, the innocent for the guilty.  He shed His blood, died, was buried and rose again three days later so that through his shed blood all who would put their trust in Him and repent of their sins would find forgiveness.  His precious blood would cleanse their sins and Jesus would cover them with His righteousness, the only possible way they could be reconciled to God the Father.  

I have given you something to think about.  If this message is speaking to you and you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, repent, which means to turn away from your sins and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and come into your life and be your Lord and Savior.  Let Him fill you with His perfect peace, love and joy, then you can walk away rejoicing and praising Him for what He has done and don’t forget to share what He has done for you with others.  Pray about the church He would have you attend then go and start growing in your new found faith.  May the good Lord bless you and may you have a super day!!