“A Watchman Who Listens”
Series: Unexpected Truths”
Pastor Nate Walther
15th Sunday of Pentecost (9/6/2026)
This summer our family climbed one of the old fire towers east of the Smoky Mountains along the Blue Ridge Parkway. These watch towers were built early in the 20th Century as a first line of defense against forest fires. Someone would man these sites, scan the horizon at all hours of the day, and when they caught sight of that first wisp of smoke, they would immediately phone it in on a dedicated forest service line. It also made these watch towers the most important line of defense against forest fires. If you didn’t stop the fire before it spread, it could easily grow beyond containment
As we climbed this old fire tower, abandoned some 100 years later, it struck me how difficult life must have been for these individuals, and how lonely they must have felt suspended between earth and sky. They were constantly exposed to the elements, and they wouldn’t see another human for weeks on end. We got a feel for that ourselves as we climbed it with the wind howling, the tower creaking, and not another no soul in sight. We agreed we wouldn’t want to live in a place like that, even though we very much appreciated those who were willing to do so!
Today’s sermon text describes how God called Ezekiel to be a watchman, because there were many similarities between his role and what we just described. But there was also one key difference: God called Ezekiel to be A WATCHMAN WHO LISTENS. And we do well to listen also, because God calls us to do likewise, and his voice helps with such a difficult task.
Ezekiel was originally meant to be a priest, but in our sermon text he is serving as a prophet instead. The two roles may sound the same to us—pastors today are sometimes called “priests” today, and their work may sometimes be described as “prophetic” in nature—but in Old Testament times these were completely different positions. Where prophets went out among the people and shared what God had to say with a sometimes unwilling audience, priests performed sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem as people willingly came to them.
At least, that’s how it used to be. But then God’s people rebelled against him for the hundredth time. Then God finally made good on many warnings over a thousand years to send them into exile. Then the Babylonians began to carry away God’s people from Israel. That’s where Ezekiel found himself: in Babylon, far away from the temple, no longer able to serve as the priest he was trained to be. But far from his work being over, it was just getting started. God now called Ezekiel to be a prophet, though he had no formal training for it.
It’s because God saw his people needed this most. Despite their sin, they still weren’t taking their sin seriously. Instead of repenting, they pinned their hopes on the fact that as long as the temple still stood back at home, God was there, and he would fix things soon. But God knew the temple would soon fall. News of it comes in the very next chapter of Ezekiel. God would allow this because his people needed to come to grips with sin and its consequences. And that’s why he sent them Ezekiel: to call out this raging fire of sin, so that the fire could be contained before it destroyed them.
Our sermon text hammers this point home. Right from the start, God calls Ezekiel a “son of man”. We’re familiar with those words as a title for Jesus, but there wasn’t really anything special about them. “Son of man” was a basic way that Hebrews talked about human beings. In fact, it helps explain why Jesus adopted this title for himself! He wanted to highlight that he was truly a human being, but he also wanted to draw attention away from himself (as the son of God) before his time had come. For Ezekiel, it just highlights how ordinary he must have felt, especially when God called him to be a watchman “for the house of Israel”… How overwhelming that must have sounded! Like a watchman would call out danger that approached a city, Ezekiel was to announce such news for the one true God’s chosen nation. Talk about responsibility!
With that, notice something curious at the end of verse 7, “Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you are to warn them from me.” In that we find a clue: this task wasn’t just about what Ezekiel saw, nor was it about the difficulties of the job. It was about listening to God, which would impact everything else. Namely, verse 8, when Ezekiel listened to what God said was evil, and when he saw someone living in sin, he was to warn them about it. If he didn’t, God says he would hold Ezekiel responsible for their sin as well, just as watchmen are responsible for those under their care. Again, it’s a heavy burden. But it wasn’t all bad. Verse 10, if Ezekiel warned them, and if they came to grips with the reality of their situation, then as Ezekiel continued to listen to God, he could share a very different message. Verse 11, Say to them, “As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from their way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel?…”
Now it’s true that despair isn’t enough. Feeling bad about your sins and feeling sorry for yourself won’t fix anything. Because if they didn’t “turn” from your sins—which is literally the same word we translate as “repent”—God said the guilt would remain on them. “Why should you die, O house of Israel!…” But that’s not what God wants. Instead, he wants this: “As surely as I live, declares the Lord – which is God literally swearing on himself! – I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they live…” and then God pleads with his people to repent. Almost like we might get down on our hands and knees, God repeatedly begs them to come to their senses. And as he spoke from God, that’s what Ezekiel’s job was ultimately about in the end.
Like watchmen in a fire tower, those prophets had lonely, difficult lives. But was it important work? Definitely. We’re talking about matters of life and death, where the stakes are literally heaven and hell. If the people can’t see that clearly—if they can’t see the forest for a few trees—it is vital that they have someone watching over them who can warn them. And we get that. It’s why we rightly honor watchmen like those policemen who keep an eye on our physical well-being when we’re asleep at night. So also, shouldn’t we honor spiritual watchmen even more?
I know what you’re going to say. You do appreciate us pastors! I can’t begin to tell you how many people in my short year here have expressed appreciation for all that we do! Thank you. I know you mean it. It’s just like how we understand the importance of Christian parents who raised us well, or good Christian friends who have always pointed us in the right direction. We truly see the value of that!… At least, until we’re being called out. Until we are told that the sin we like is actually endangering us! And we should be grateful in those moments. Here’s something that could literally kill us in more ways than one, and somebody cares enough to say something! Yet what is our natural instinct? Fight back! That’s how deadly our sinful nature is! I saw it in my first parish. I could have 10 years of a really good & really blessed relationship with someone. But the moment I had to call out a sin that they committed? Everything changed.
Don’t we all struggle with that? Perhaps it’s even why you shy away from this kind of work yourself. Maybe you see something that doesn’t look right, but you think, “I’m not trained as a pastor. Am I seeing that right?” Or maybe you think, “Who am I to judge? Besides, they won’t respond well to me!” Those excuses sound very sensible in the ears of the world. But they blatantly ignore what God tells us in his Word. There he simply calls out what is right and wrong, and he wants us to do likewise. I mean, if we hear truth from God but we don’t say anything when we see differently in someone’s life, God makes it clear today: he will hold us responsible for their blood!
When you think about such responsibility… thank. God. for Jesus. Because wherever we are responsible for the sin of others, and wherever our own blood should be spilled for staying quiet, Jesus spilled his. And it meant infinitely more coming from him! For all the lonely moments we have in the wilderness of this life–perhaps feeling suspended between heaven and earth as Christians, like those watchmen in a fire tower–Jesus had it worse. Not by climbing up to safety of a heavenly watchtower, where he could safely view the fire from a distance and warn us: “Hopefully they’ll listen!” No, he descended down into the raging inferno of hell where he climbed on to a tree set ablaze by the fire of our sin. Indeed, he perished on that cross.
It couldn’t be more clear. God loves you. God means it when he says, “I don’t desire the death of anyone but that they repent and live… Why will you die? Why, when I burned my own Son for your sins, and then raised him to give you life?… Repent! Turn from that sin! Find life through faith in my son Jesus!…” Yes, be thankful for watchmen. For pastors who have not been trained to do what’s easiest or what will make the most people like us, but we have been trained to listen to God, to scan the horizon carefully for smoke, and to warn people – whether they want to vacate their homestead of sin or not. And be thankful for good parents who tirelessly raised you in the faith throughout your childhood as well – maybe you wandered away at some point, yet here you are back in church, in no small part due to the foundation they laid. Also, be thankful for Christian friends who didn’t give up on you—perhaps even when family did!—but not them, and they also didn’t give up on sharing God’s Word with you. And especially, in all of this, be thankful for Christ.
But don’t stop there. If you’re thankful for this, be someone whom others can be thankful for as well. Because we all share in this ministry. Whether you’re trained to be a “prophet”, or you’re trained differently like Ezekiel was at first, anyone can be a watchman. That is, anyone can listen, watch, warn, and love. (In fact, where someone may not listen to such a warning precisely because it comes from a “trained” pastor, they very well may listen if it’s coming from someone like you – someone they know and trust.)
Of course, go about it in the right way! First, when you’re looking to correct someone’s behavior, take the plank out of your own eye—make it clear to others that you’re approaching them as someone who has repented of sin and needs rescue too. Then, follow Jesus’ pattern in our gospel (Matthew 18:15-20): talk to others first before you bring it to anyone else. (So often, people don’t do that. I can’t tell you how frequently people come to me about someone’s sin, but they haven’t talked to the person first! Is it any wonder that this fire spreads so quickly and so out of control?) Finally, use tact and be loving as you do this… But in the end, do point out sin. Because sin’s fire is deadly. If you don’t put out that spark quicky, it will spread and grow out of control. Again, if we’re ultimately talking people being saved from the dangers of sin & the fires of hell, this matters more than anything else you will do in your life. That’s why it’s not enough to just have a few pastors or a few trained prophets doing this. This is a calling for all of God’s people.
So be a WATCHMAN. A watchman who LISTENS. Don’t miss the last part. It helps with all the other difficult parts. And you’re not alone, we’re in this together. But even when you feel like you’re alone, there’s still a voice that never leaves you, who promises you good things as you go about this hard work, who never asks us to go down into that fire ourselves. He already did that, you’re safe. Just listen, just watch, just warn. And know that however people react, you’re doing good work. Amen
