Watching for the Lord
March 24, 2023 | Blake M (ES 2024)
image description: watch tower
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
whole nights.”Isaiah 21:8
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
Psalm 127:1
The ancient city demands much of a watchman. He spends all day or all night with nothing to do but watch: waiting for signals from other cities or the signs of enemy armies. Uneventful weeks and months pass. Yet, in a few key moments, everyone in the city depends on him to be alert. On an ordinary day, he is given little praise; should he doze off and miss the signs of an incoming army, he rightly shoulders all the blame.
The Old Testament is full of references to watchmen. Ezekiel is called a watchman for the Lord: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me” (Ezekiel 3:17). The Lord says to Israel in Jeremiah, “I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’” But they said, ‘We will not pay attention’” (Jeremiah 6:17).
But the Lord doesn’t only call His prophets to take up the virtues of a watchman. At Gethsemane Jesus tells Peter, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” (Matthew 26:38) But when He returns to find Peter, Peter is fast asleep. Jesus admonishes Peter: “So, could you not watch with me one hour?” (Matthew 26:40) What strikes me about this passage is that Jesus’ request is so simple. He only asks Peter to stay awake, but Peter fails even to do that. Sometimes important acts of obedience to God occur in the smallest of things. Peter’s disobedience here foreshadows his later denial of Jesus. His smaller acts of disobedience compound into larger ones later. Jesus tells Peter to be vigilant: “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)
The virtue of the watchman is that he keeps his patience and focus even in the most mundane of times, even when his role itself seems unimportant. The everyday Christian life rarely mimics that of great biblical war heroes. In 2023 we may never find ourselves in a literal lion’s den like Daniel or being stoned for our faith like Stephen. Yet, we can relate closely to the life of the biblical watchman: patiently waiting for the Lord’s plan to unfold, keeping the faith even through the most mundane and insignificant of times, and maintaining our focus and attention in an age of information overload and distractions around every corner.
During Lent, as we await Easter, we take upon the role of a watchman more than ever. Our Lenten sacrifices help to remove distractions and clarify our focus on the resurrection.
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.Psalm 130:6
This piece is a part of a series for Lent 2023. Read more at https://www.yalelogos.com/lent2023