Watchmen

There is a movie called Watchmen coming out, based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller, and it looks like a lot of fun.

In Isaiah 62, God declares, "I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem."

In Ezekiel 33, God appoints Ezekiel to be a watchman for the house of Israel.

Ezekiel 26-32 summarily drives home the point that you don't want to be on God's bad side, whether you're the prince of Tyre (earthly ruler serving Satan), the king of Tyre (Satan), or anyone in Egypt or Sidon or Assyria or Edom or the surrounding regions. "Their iniquities will be on their bones ecause of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised and lie with those slain by the sword." (32:27-28) Probably a good time if any to get out of the country, maybe take that long forestalled trip to the Yellowstone, and generally not be in the Middle East when God utterly and furiously decimates the kingdoms of the earth.

Reading these chapters by yourself at night is a pretty frightening reminder that God's Word was never meant to be boring.

Here's what Chapter 33 says:

"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. But he who takes warning shall save himself.

"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.

"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 shall 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."

The chapter continues on to remark, in verses 17-20, that therein is God's justice: that the righteous-turned-wicked will die and the wicked-repented-righteous will live.

This passage offers a lot of insight towards a lot of questions we often ask about God's justice. What about those people who never hear about the gospel? If we don't take up the Great Commission, then won't God in His grace use someone else? If what the Bible says doesn't seem fair, does that mean we just have to believe that God's definition of fair supersedes our societal and otherwise derived notions of justice?

God's revelation to Ezekiel offers a few key points here. The first is that the wicked die in their own iniquity; in other words, nobody is unjustly or undeservedly punished. I think that idea is something we try to marginalize as Christians when we say that surely people need to hear the full four-law gospel before deciding to reject or accept salvation. Romans 1 makes the claim that "since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen [...] even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God." It's a big topic, but my point here is that this notion in Ezekiel 33 is certainly not without scriptural corroboration -- there is almost never such a thing as innocent, undeserving victims who are swept away by God's wrath. And I say "almost" because I'm not entirely sure what to do with Ezekiel's wife, from Chapter 24.

The second really cool thing about this passage is the role that watchmen play in the salvation (or at least possible salvation) of a people under siege. It's at least part of God's provision, part of His plan for grace, part of His justice. When people query, why doesn't God do something about those people who haven't heard of or been exposed to the goodness of His kingdom or the redemption of His gospel, they can forget in close-mindedness that watchmen are part of God's provision: watchmen who stand on the walls and warn people about the approach of destruction and help bring about the possibility of redemption and salvation.

I think it follows (as in, it's not a stretch) that Christians are called to be watchmen of sorts. Are we condemned (have we "failed to deliver our souls") if we tarry or fail in our appointment? Up until the point that "there is no condemnation in them who are in Christ Jesus." Over whom can we be called watchmen? Over those people who are facing destruction.

Whenever anyone makes a point, the immediate danger is that you can take it to an extreme. There's always the danger that someone will literally walk up to someone else and say, "O wicked man, you will surely die!" There's always the danger that we'll believe we are the only means God has for the salvation of a select number of people, and cut God out of the deal: how decisive our role is and exactly many degrees-of-freedom God gives things is also a big question and we'll never decidedly know during our earthly lifetimes. I'm not saying anything ridiculous here.

But I am saying something extreme, in that I am saying that Ezekiel 33 says something extreme: destruction is coming in a terrible way, and God has made you and I watchmen on the walls to warn people, and for this duty, we are accountable. How often we praise God that we are "saved" and forget that we are "saved" from a terrifying reality of destruction! How often we forget how many people are still without hope of salvation! And how much would God be glorified if His watchmen weren't so often asleep on the job.