Set apart from the others, a tree stands atop the hill behind our home. It’s been battered and broken but refuses to give in and keeps growing. It reminds me of a sentinel at watch.
A sentinel (sentry, watchman) watches, warns, and keeps out unwanted visitors.
It can be a lonely role. I remember holding sentinel posts over the runways at an airbase when I was in the Canadian Armed Forces.
I usually got that role during “exercises,” where readiness was tested through simulated war conditions.
Some officer in a control center dictated the play, writing off various areas as losses to the enemy. During one exercise, my area was written off as lost early and promptly forgotten. Since I was guarding well away from the central part of the base and not in communication with others, no one told me my role was done, so I continued to stand guard.
I was cold, wet, and hungry, but held my post. It wasn’t until the exercise was completed and I didn’t return to my normal duty station that anyone noticed I was missing. After some searching, they realized I was still out in the middle of nowhere beyond the airstrips and came to get me.
In Ezekiel 33, we read of Ezekiel being appointed the watchman over Israel.
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person 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 a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. Ezekiel 33:1-9
Ezekiel was to warn people of God’s wrath and tell them to turn back. He was not responsible for the results, but he was called to give a warning.
Similarly, we are to warn people of the dangers of sin and hell and tell them of the hope in Christ. They are accountable for their actions.
It isn’t an easy task. Like sentries, our warnings can be ignored, and we can stand alone against the crowd, but we are still called to proclaim the truth.
We are called to truth proclamation in words, deeds, and how you live your life. If you and I don’t tell them, who will?
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
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