What about a watchman?

I know a man who sincerely believes he has been called of God to be a Watchman (Ezekiel 33) for his local church. Unfortunately, he seems to use this position to justify enforcing harsh Pharisaical rules and regulations on the other members. Is this what God intended?

Once again a message came to me from the LORD: “Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman. When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people. Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’ (Ezekiel 33:1-6)

Is there a position of watchman in the Church?

I think we need to be very careful before we take an Old Testament account of God specifically calling a specific person for a specific job in the Kingdom of Israel, and appropriate that into the church today. Ezekiel was called to be watchman in God’s physical kingdom of Israel on the Earth. This was before the Messiah was revealed as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) This was before Gentiles were added to the church. This was before the Holy Spirit was sent into the world to “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8)

“Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself. (Ezekiel 33:7-9)

It would be foolish to claim to be called as another Adam, Eve, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Samson, Deborah, Elijah, Elisha, Moses, Samuel, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel in the church today. It would be foolish to claim to be called as a Jewish prophet, Jewish priest, Jewish judge, or Jewish king in the church today. I think it would be just as foolish to claim to be called as a Jewish “watchman” in the church today.

Just to be sure, let’s go back and look at why God called Ezekiel to be a watchman…

Then he said, “Son of man, go to the people of Israel and give them my messages. I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand. No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen! But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn. But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are. I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock! So don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks, even though they are rebels.” (Ezekiel 3:4-9)

After seven days the LORD gave me a message. He said, “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me. (Ezekiel 3:16-19)