Upholding Truth: The Call of the Watchman
Isaiah 21:6
For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
It is an unfortunate thing when the watchman declares not what he sees, but what others want him to see! It seems as if we’re living in a land of spiritual make-believe, as we have heaped to ourselves teachers, having itching ears. We have shut our ears from the truth of the watchman warning us of the dangers ahead, and have instead hired entertainers who will occupy us long enough for us to forget the trouble that is ahead until at last it comes upon us so swiftly that we have no time to repent. But I say, “God, give us a watchman, a preacher who will tell it like it is!”
Our text says that the watchman is to “declare what he seeth.” Why do we resent those in our lives, who, at the risk of being resented and rejected themselves, care more to tell us the truth than to tickle our lustful ears? Paul asked, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth [Gal 4:16]?” Jesus also said, “And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not [John 8:45].” Even in a world where truth is known, people still choose not to believe because truth is often too hard for them to accept.
It’s one thing to be deceived, but it’s another thing to have known the truth, and willingly walk away from it! We need Christians like Dumah in our text, who will say, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night [Isa 21:11]?” Or, “Preacher, don’t tell me what I want to hear, but tell me what I need to hear!” It is funny as a pastor to observe how others think it’s a light thing for a preacher to be the bearer of a warning from the Word of God!
To the contrary, our text indicates in Isa 22:1, “The burden of the valley of vision…” The truth is, to bear the burden of the vision of the watchman is almost unbearable at times, were it not for the Lord’s anointing to enable us to sound the alarm! But oh how sweet it is when at last someone heeds the warning and is spared from sudden destruction! Friends, let us sound the alarm and uphold truth at all costs!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
It is an unfortunate thing when the watchman declares not what he sees, but what others want him to see! It seems as if we’re living in a land of spiritual make-believe, as we have heaped to ourselves teachers, having itching ears. We have shut our ears from the truth of the watchman warning us of the dangers ahead, and have instead hired entertainers who will occupy us long enough for us to forget the trouble that is ahead until at last it comes upon us so swiftly that we have no time to repent. But I say, “God, give us a watchman, a preacher who will tell it like it is!”
Our text says that the watchman is to “declare what he seeth.” Why do we resent those in our lives, who, at the risk of being resented and rejected themselves, care more to tell us the truth than to tickle our lustful ears? Paul asked, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth [Gal 4:16]?” Jesus also said, “And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not [John 8:45].” Even in a world where truth is known, people still choose not to believe because truth is often too hard for them to accept.
It’s one thing to be deceived, but it’s another thing to have known the truth, and willingly walk away from it! We need Christians like Dumah in our text, who will say, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night [Isa 21:11]?” Or, “Preacher, don’t tell me what I want to hear, but tell me what I need to hear!” It is funny as a pastor to observe how others think it’s a light thing for a preacher to be the bearer of a warning from the Word of God!
To the contrary, our text indicates in Isa 22:1, “The burden of the valley of vision…” The truth is, to bear the burden of the vision of the watchman is almost unbearable at times, were it not for the Lord’s anointing to enable us to sound the alarm! But oh how sweet it is when at last someone heeds the warning and is spared from sudden destruction! Friends, let us sound the alarm and uphold truth at all costs!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill