" I have made you a watchman" (Ez. 3:17 NCV).
As I read the Bible preparing to write about the prophets. I have found that many of the prophets were told this. This made me wonder what the watchmen job involved, so I looked it up. this is what I found out.
A watchman for a town or village would be put in a tower near the crops to watch over them near time of the harvest to watch over them day and night to make sure that no animal or thieves would steal the harvest. This was a VERY important job as they would starve without the food.
A watchman on the wall of a city, would daily stand guard watching all that was going on in his part of the city. Much like a policeman would these days.As he watches over the people, he gets to know how business and daily life flows. This knowledge helps him to know when something isn't right, like when bad weather is coming or when an enemy is approaching on a road, in a gate, or among the people. When he saw these dangers it was his job to sound the alarm warning the people of it.
With that in mind, I looked closer at the prophets. What I found was that most of the prophets played the role as spiritual watchmen for God's people. god gave them a clear view of the trouble that was coming, so that they could sound the alarm warning them of the it, and how to keep it from coming. Their job also was to encourage the people during the time they were in bad situations like, exile. I found it interesting that man of the prophets were ministering to God's people just before, during, and after the exile. No wonder God called them, watchmen!
Let us keep that in mind as we look at the prophets.
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