I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent.

Isaiah 62 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
² The nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new name
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
³ You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal headband in the hand of your God.
⁴ It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;
But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”
And your land, “Married”;
For the Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
⁵ For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;
And as the groom rejoices over the bride,
So your God will rejoice over you.

⁶ On your walls, Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen;
All day and all night they will never keep silent.
You who profess the Lord, take no rest for yourselves;
⁷ And give Him no rest until He establishes
And makes Jerusalem an object of praise on the earth.
⁸ The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm:
“I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies,
Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”
⁹ But those who harvest it will eat it and praise the Lord;
And those who gather it will drink it in the courtyards of My sanctuary.

¹⁰ Go through, go through the gates,
Clear a way for the people!
Build up, build up the highway,
Remove the stones, lift up a flag over the peoples.
¹¹ Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth:
Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation is coming;
Behold His reward is with Him, and His compensation before Him.”
¹² And they will call them, “The holy people,
The redeemed of the Lord”;
And you will be called, “Sought Out, A City Not Abandoned.”

In today’s text it says:  On your walls, Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent.  It is vital that we understand the charge of the watchmen. God said these would not keep silent, but today there are many watchmen who have failed in their charge. There are many who have kept silent even as God’s people have become like the world. In Ezekiel 3:17-21 God says:  “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way so that he may live, that wicked person shall die for wrongdoing, but his blood I will require from your hand. However if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die for wrongdoing, but you have saved yourself. Again, when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits sin, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require from your hand. However, if you have warned the righteous person that the righteous is not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall certainly live because he took warning; and you have saved yourself.”   Each person has a free will to choose for themselves what they will do and how they will live. But we who have been given eyes to see and ears to hear the truth, are responsible for warning others of the danger that is coming. Just as if we saw our neighbors house was on fire, but failed to awaken them so they could escape, if we see our society and culture becoming increasingly immoral and unrighteous and remain silent, they will die, but their blood will be on our hands.  

James 4:17 says:  So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.  In Luke 12:47-48 Jesus says: That slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.  There are tremendous blessings and benefits that come with our faith in Christ. There is also tremendous responsibility. Of we who have been given so much, much will be required. It is far more than that we just miss out on some of the things God planned for us. If we know what we should do and do not do it, for us it is sin. It is the sin of disobedience and rebellion. In John 14:15;21;23-24 Jesus says: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments… The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him… If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”   The father’s word is: Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.  Jesus word and commandment in Mark 16:15-16 is: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned.”  We are not responsible for how others will respond. The decision is theirs. Knowing what is right, we are responsible to speak and not be silent. 

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, thank You for the tremendous blessings that I have in faith by grace. May I never fail to do what You have shown me is right. May I not be silent, but rather may my words to the world be:  “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”  Amen.