“Out, d—– spot! Out, I say.” Those are some of the powerful words in Shakespeare’s Macbeth spoken by Lady Macbeth. Why were they uttered? She was trying to wash the imagined blood from her hands. She had urged her husband to commit regicide, killing of a king, so she and her husband could lay hold on their ambitious plans. Today, we say things like “that man has blood on his hands.” Blood on the hands is a metaphor meaning we are responsible to wrong, evil, or tragedy that has happened. Examples are endless for us. Abortion doctors have the blood of babies on their hands. Some godless professors have the blood of naïve students on their hands in the theories they espouse, ruining the lives of these “young skull full of mush.” The last phrase was often uttered by the late great Rush Limbaugh. It is my contention that a great many that stride into pulpits each week have blood on their hands with the false doctrines they teach to congregants who are listening to them, leading them toward damnation.
The Bible isn’t silent about bloody hands. Isaiah 62:6, “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace, day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence,”. Ezekiel 33:7, “So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore, thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.” These watchmen had specific duties. If they failed in these duties God would hold them accountable. How will they be accountable. The answer is found in Ezekiel 33:6, “But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.”
To be a watchman was a privilege. Both of our previously quoted prophets said as much. “I have set watchmen on the walls.” (Isaiah); “I have set thee a watchman…” (Ezekiel). God Himself chose them for their position giving them this great responsibility. It was much more than just a duty; it was a chance for them to protect and secure others from impending doom from an enemy. The larger cities likely had a wall with high watchtowers for better observation of distant movements. The smaller towns would have scouts that would be perched on high places like cliffs or trees, always watching. No matter the perch in which they sat, if danger came calling, a warning sound with the shofar, a ram’s horn, would be sounded loudly. This constant watching was advantageous for protection and preparation for the people to whom they were watching. It gave the people of the cities and towns enough warning and if they heeded the warning, great. They would have a chance in surviving the danger. If they didn’t heed the shofar warning, then their own blood would be on their own hands, not the watchman.
What about watchmen in the church-age, New Testament times? Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” (Underlined for emphasis). Paul told the Thessalonians, “But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.” (I Thessalonians 2:4). Faithful pastors watch for the souls of their congregations. They, as pastor, will give an account for what they preached and taught as a shepherd to that church. To be honest, that’s a sobering reality for me constantly.
Christians are also watchmen. When we became Christians, we immediately had the job of a watchman given to each of us by Christ himself. We were commanded to tell the whole world about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The first five books of the New Testament command us. Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:44-49; John 20:19-23 & Acts 1:8 all tell us we are to preach the Gospel to the whole world. We are watchmen, and if we fail to warn them, their blood will He require. It can be a heavy responsibility, but once we begin, the task gets easier. The family member that is lost, share Christ and if they get saved, you get to be in Heaven with them for eternity. The dear friend from work, share Christ. If they accept the Gospel of Christ, you get to be in Heaven for eternity with them. The only thing you can take to Heaven with you from this old world are other people.
Let me close with a sobering thought for all of us. What if we Christians are standing as witnesses at the Great White Throne Judgment watching as the unsaved are being judged. (Christians will not be judged here, our judgment happens 1000 years before at the Judgment Seat of Christ, for our good works or bad works, not our salvation.) We simply look at the people & proceedings of this great judgment. Someone we recognize, we know them from our time on earth. They are pronounced guilty. Just before the angels take hold of them, hurling them into eternal punishment, they look around and see you. Their eyes meet your eyes. They mouth the words, “You never told me about this!” What will that do for your conscience? Will you and I be like Lady Macbeth trying to get the blood from her hands? What if their blood were to be literal blood dripping from our finger tips? Whether literal or metaphorical, no doubt we will feel the weight and sting of not being the watchmen we are supposed to be. Find someone today and share the Gospel with them.
Pastor Tom