The role of the watchman on the wall was vital. Ezekiel was called to be a watchman for Israel. In the same way pastors and elders have the same charge today.
Ezekiel 33: Ezekiel Is Israel's Watchman
1 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 "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,
3 and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people,
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 "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.
8 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.
9 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.
Why Will You Die, Israel?
10 "And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: 'Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?'
11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
12 "And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins.
13 Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die.
14 Again, though I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right,
15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
16 None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.
17 "Yet your people say, 'The way of the Lord is not just,' when it is their own way that is not just.
18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it.
19 And when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this.
20 Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways."
Jerusalem Struck Down
21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has been struck down."
22 Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.
23 The word of the LORD came to me:
24 "Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.'
25 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land?
26 You rely on the sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife; shall you then possess the land?
27 Say this to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence.
28 And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and her proud might shall come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through.
29 Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.
30 "As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, 'Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.'
31 And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.
32 And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.
33 When this comes---and come it will!---then they will know that a prophet has been among them."
Things to think about…
1. Consider the watchman, Ezek 33:1-7. Such a vital role. It was not only lonely and isolated on the wall. It could be a very boring job with long hours of nothing much followed by extremely intense periods of confirming an enemy attack and the blowing of trumpets to warn the people. I think of modern day firies who have a similar experience. The watchman was in danger of falling asleep or misinterpreting what he is seeing until it was too late to give a warning. Pastors are watchmen over the souls of Christ’s flock. Please pray for me and other pastors that we give a faithful word and that we firstly see and then act appropriately to any danger that may arise against the church. Blood is on our hands if we do not do so faithfully, Ezek 33:6. But if the warning is not heeded the blood is upon the one who was warned but didn’t act, Ezek 33:4.
2. In Ezek 33:10-20 the Lord tells Ezekiel that past wickedness does not condemn, and past righteousness does not save. Only faithfulness at the end-of-life matters. Some might be tempted to say, ‘I’ll wait until the end of life to repent”. But when is ‘the end of life’. Dear fatalist, that could be today for you. You do not know the hour or day your heart will stop and your brain waves cease. Repent, turn and live, today is the day of your salvation. Practise righteousness until your final day. Surely you are at least heaping up treasure for yourself the very least! (Matt 6:19-21)
3. Our Lord says again as He did in Ezek 18:33 here in Ezek 33:11 “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked”. Israel would not turn from her sins even though at this point the Babylonians had taken the city, Ezek 33:21. Adultery, Ezek 33:26, idol worship and the breaking of the law, vs 25, continued even up to the point of Jerusalem’s destruction. The Lord of grace and mercy holds out His hand and says “turn and live”. He says the same to the rebellious nation of Australia, “turn and live”, embrace Christ as the Saviour from sin.
4. Sometimes people enjoy hearing the words of a preacher, even when those words are confronting and faithful to the Lord, yet the people will not obey the words being proclaimed. Ezekiel was like one who sang and played well on an instrument, Ezek 33:32, but the people would not obey his voice. The grace of God motivates people to obey God’s voice. Jesus echoes these words when He mentioned John the Baptist’s ministry and His own, “"'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’”, Mt 11:17. We must all dance to the Lord’s tune one way or another.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer points
1. 2 new families on Sunday. Some had never been to church before. Pray for their new journey.
2. God’s word over the Christmas season, and our online ministry.
3. One for Israel ministry.
4. Conflict zones – especially within Africa , Israel and Ukraine
5. Pray for new people to step into ministries at CBC – eg worship, café, sound/technical, giving, podcast.
6. Reform and Revival over our city.
7. Finances to cover our needs
8. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. New Families on Sunday
2. Technical team on Sunday - thankyou
3. The worship team – you guys make it happen. Thankyou Mathys for communion.
4. Café team every week. Thankyou to all those who serve and bring food. Especially Maddie and Suzy
5. Admin team – Suzy, Maddie and Mathys.
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Kids Church and PlayPatch finished for this year.
2. Christmas Day service – 9:00am Thurs 25th Dec
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for December...
Q. 3. What did Christ undertake in the covenant of grace? A. To keep the whole law for his elect people, and to suffer the punishment due to their sins.
