A Watchman Calls

 I read this section from Ezekiel this morning in my daily readings. It is the call of Ezekiel to be a watchman to warn the nation of Israel to turn from their ways so that they might be saved:

 

Ezekiel 33:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’

 

7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

 

10 “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of[b] them. How then can we live?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

 

Given everything that is going on in our world today, from wars and rumors of war, unprecedented heat waves, flooding, and natural disasters, plagues and diseases previously eradicated becoming common, the threat of human extinction from rogue AI, and the political, social, and economic turmoil, I can't help but believe that God is calling out to us to turn and repent from our sins and return to Him.

 

So, echoing the call of God to Ezekiel, let me encourage all of you to open your eyes -- to see with eyes of faith -- the hand of God moving in this world and calling us back to Him.

 

Let us turn back to Him, while we still can. Let us lay aside all the sins and everything that is hindering our walk with Christ and let us return to Him in true faith and belief.

 

There is still time, but I fear it is fleeting. Today is the Day of the Lord. Today is the Day of Salvation. Today is the day you need to return to Him.