Ezekiel As a Watchman

By Chris Martin

As I serve in the student ministry at our church, I often talk with the juniors and seniors who are beginning to think about life after high school, wondering what it is that God is calling them to do as a vocation. To wrestle with what it is that God wants for our life is difficult at any stage, but especially amidst the tumult of the teenage years. Whether I’m talking with students who are stressed about what college to attend, what major to choose, who to date, or otherwise, my encouragement to them is usually pretty standard: God is with you wherever you go and in whatever you do; trust Him. 

We see in Ezekiel 3 that God is with His prophet, too, even as He calls him to a difficult role. In Ezekiel 3, Ezekiel is being instructed to deliver the prophetic words God chose him to deliver. Being a prophet was, as we’ll see in this book, no desired role. Prophets were tasked with telling God’s people how awful and disobedient they were being, warning them about the consequences that would come if they didn’t get their disobedience straightened out. 

After we see God call Ezekiel, He comes to Ezekiel and says, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, give them a warning from me” (Ezekiel 3:17).

God is calling Ezekiel to be his “watchman,” to stand atop the metaphorical city wall of God’s chosen people and call out warnings of impending judgment. Ezekiel is not responsible for how God’s disobedient people respond to these messages; he is simply responsible for giving the warning, for being the watchman. And (don’t miss this) God is with him throughout. God does not call him to his post and leave him alone. God accompanies Ezekiel in his task.

Think about what God has called you to in your life. In whatever ways God has called you, He expects you to follow His call, knowing He will be with you in it. God’s callings on our lives are often not easy. This isn’t because God wants us to be miserable. It’s because God wants us to trust Him, and if we only ever operated within our comfort zones, we would miss the felt need to trust God. 

To walk the narrow road of the Christian life is to be perpetually called out of our comfort zones, compelled to use the gifts God has given us to serve others and to serve His kingdom.