Watchmen

In Ezekiel 33:1-7, the Bible says,

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘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; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 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; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.

There are some who use the preceding passage to validate their self-appointedness as “watchdogs” (not watchmen) over the church. There are at least two errors in the application of the passage when such is the case.

First, this is an Old Testament command to a prophet concerning physical Israel. Since we are no longer under the Old Testament as a schoolmaster, no human alive today holds the prophetic office, and we do not constitute the physical, fleshly nation of Israel (being Gentiles), this passage cannot be used as validation for any Christian to assume to watch over the church (Galatians 3:24-25; 1 Corinthians 13:8; John 10:16).

Second, those who watch over the church today are designated and commanded to do so in specific office or work. In Hebrews 13:17, we read,

“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”

The Bible also shows by example who these people are that rule over the church, watch out for its welfare, and must give account for it. In Acts 20:28-32, the Bible says,

“Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

From the context of the two aforementioned passages, it is clear that ELDERS are the “watchmen” of the Lord’s church. They are the ones who must give account for its welfare. Part of their duty as watchmen is to guard the flock from the savagery of “wolves” who attempt to infiltrate the church, and from men who speak perverse things to attempt to gain a following for themselves and are already in the church. These kinds of predators have long been a problem to the church and still remain so today (Jude 17-19; Titus 3:10-11; Romans 16:17).

Like the watchman of old, elders who do their duty faithfully must warn the flock of danger, sometimes taking extreme measures to protect the flock while placing themselves in “harm’s way” as they do so (Titus 1:9-14).

We need to remember our elders in prayer, esteem them highly for their work’s sake, and help them as best we can to stand against those who would harm the body of Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)