“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen…” Isaiah 62:6a
I was reminded by a book I just finished reading about watchmen/women and the important role they play. In scripture, they are used physically by warning a city of an impending attack. They see signs, maybe it is a cloud of dust rising up off the desert floor from many horses/camels riding toward the city. Or maybe they see the flames of many fires in the night sky. Whatever the sign may be, they are poised to see them early and give the warning. Paul Revere was a watchman during the Revolutionary war, sending out the cry to be ready as the “redcoats” were on their way.
But people who watch also see what sometimes we do not…signs of spiritual attacks and they give warning for those as Jesus would say have eyes to see and ears to hear. We can also be duped into not paying attention and can be caught sleeping so to speak and miss what is right there in front of our faces and has been all along…signs that tell us we are in danger of some kind or in some way. It is the analogy of the frog in a pot. If you turn the heat up gradually, the frog gets used to the temperature of the water until it is to late and the water begins to boil.
We see this phenomenon of waiting too long even as our own bodies give us warning that there is something wrong and we should go see a doctor. And yet how many of us have waited too long? I know my husband was one of the lucky ones as he had no warnings that we could discern that something was wrong right before we were told he needed quadruple bypass surgery in 2020. And yet, I would say there were signs…we just missed them. We missed them because they were subtle. He was more tired than usual, but we dismissed them because he was working very hard at the time. He was more irritable but again, we dismissed the sign because he was working so hard, and he was tired. Fortunately for him, his knee began to hurt and cause trouble…a lot and he went to the doctor who said it was long past time to have his knee replaced but first he had to be cleared for surgery. This time the signs were unmistakable and impossible to ignore as he failed every test done to his heart.
But how many times do we miss the warnings? How many times do we in our own fear believe what we want to hear because the truth is scary? How many times do we refuse to see what is happening right in front of us but…we are busy, it doesn’t involve us, it won’t happen here, and we are complacent until it is too late and the damage is done and cannot be repaired.
Watchmen/women are tasked to always be vigilant and to be honest with the things they see going on around them. They are like prophets who speak truth into our lives whether we want to hear it or not. And many times, the truths they speak are uncomfortable. They speak to us about change and who among us likes change?
We need watchmen/women in our lives to hold us accountable to staying honest and true to who we are. It is so easy in our modern world to get complacent, to think that why should I do the right thing when no one else is doing what is right? It is a slippery slope that is very difficult to climb up and out once we begin the slide down. And so, we need people who speak truth into our lives. Throughout scripture we see examples of God placing watchmen in the midst of the people of Israel. You may think they are unnecessary in our world today, but watchmen/women are needed more than ever now.
In a world of AI, in a world of misinformation, in a world where even our elected officials lie and twist laws to use for their purposes, we need people who are willing to speak truth to power. People who are willing to stand and say: “What you are doing or saying is not right.” People who are willing to ask questions and point to the danger that is coming and sound the alarm.
Peace,
Beth
Beth's Blog 