Watching out for our marketplace

Watching Out for Our Marketplace Ezekiel 3:17 

God uses the word sāpâ to describe a watchman that makes him or her self so aware of all of their circumstances that they are able to gain an advantage over their enemy. It also suggests the ability to lie in wait or to ambush. In a negative way the wicked are said to watch the righteous in order to find an opportunity to slay him (Psalm 37:2), but on the other hand a wise woman looks to (or watches over) her household (Proverb 31:27). Watchmen were commonly employed by rulers of a city to warn against attack or to look out for something or someone (1 Samuel 14:16, 2 Samuel 18:24, 2 Kings 9:17-20) and Ezekiel was appointed as a watchman over the house of Israel so that he could convey God’s warnings to the people.

The role of the watchman is prophetic, he or she is appointed to warn against danger and to alert the inhabitants of a city to the threats they face. God has appointed you as a watchman or woman over your community and marketplace. If you are going to be effective in your task then you must be fully aware of the dangers and threats as well as the requirements God places on the people. What are the threats that face your community or marketplace today? Are there significant moral issues, perhaps hotspots of drug abuse or crime in your neighbourhood? Maybe there are business practices that are unethical or even illegal in your workplace. Are there people you care for whose lives are on a downward spiral due to alcohol, promiscuity, greed or dishonesty? The watchman is to warn against danger and alert the people to the consequences of their action. Ezekiel was told that if he failed to warn the people he was to watch over then he was liable for their lives, but if he faithfully proclaimed God’s message then he was free from any other responsibility toward them even if they refused to listen.

God has appointed you as a watchman or woman. The wise woman in Proverbs 31 diligently took care of her family’s every need; this is the first responsibility of every father or mother. This is how you exercise your role as a watchman. Then you are responsible for your part of the marketplace, the lives of those under your influence are your responsibility. If you don’t warn them of the danger they face, their lives will be held to your account. This is an awesome responsibility – it would be well to pause and think on this for a moment. God has placed you on the wall of your community or workplace to look out for the people and to tell them whatever he has to say. This is why you are there, you are his spokesperson, he is depending on you.

It is not popular to speak out against the moral, social and ethical ills of our community and workplaces; it is much easier to just pray about them. But there comes a time when the watchman does more than pray, he or she also speaks out. If you are to be God’s watchman or woman then you must be prepared to be more than just a quiet witness, certainly there are those who have been clearly given a prophetic gift or office, but all of us are called to watch out for those under our care. The good watchman makes himself aware of the dangers and takes action to warn those at risk, in this way he or she complements the intercessor who brings these needs to God in prayer, but at the same time he or she is urgent in making the threat known.

The battle we face is a spiritual one, it is fought in the heavenly places but its effect is felt right down here on earth. While the intercessor takes up the fight in the heavenlies the watchman prepares the troops for battle on the ground. He or she is informed about the enemy’s strategies and also the weaknesses in the community’s defence. If the watchman is doing his job, then not only will the people in the city be prepared for the attack when it comes, it will be delivered and the enemy defeated