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 the 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).