Skip to main content

Day 127: The Watchmen 2 (SoS 3:3)

 The watchmen who go about the city found me; I said, “Have you seen the one I love?”  (Song of Songs 3:3)

In the previous lesson, we said that in the New Testament, it is not only spiritual leaders that are watchmen but every individual believer: our duty is to watch over ourselves and others.
There are three major reasons scriptures ask believers to watch:
  1. Against temptation:
In Matthew 26:41, Jesus told His disciples:

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
And James 1:14 in the New Living Translation says:

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.

Temptation is powerless unless it harnesses human desires. These desires are often not necessarily evil but when we succumb to fulfilling them in inappropriate, inexpedient manners, we fall into sin.
So as Jesus said, to avoid temptation, we must look out for desires that are not in keeping with God's word and commandments.
  1. For the enemy
1 Peter 5:8 says:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Since Eden, the devil's only purpose has been to steal from, kill and destroy man. We must strive to not be caught off guard by and resist him each day.
  1. For the Lord's coming
Matthew 24:42 says:

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

As we await the Lord's coming, we must not be carried away by the cares and pleasures of this world. We must remain true to our Lord till He comes again, living our lives expectant of and ready for His return.

How do we watch?

Every time Jesus cautioned in the gospels, He didn't just ask us to watch alone but also pray. It is safe to conclude that there is no watching without prayer and no prayer without watching. One is ineffective without the other.

In Luke 22:31-32 (The Passion Translation) Jesus said:

“Peter... Satan has obtained permission to come and sift you all like wheat and test your faith. But I have prayed for you, Peter, that you would stay faithful to me no matter what comes. Remember this: after you have turned back to me and have been restored, make it your life mission to strengthen the faith of your brothers.”

Every believer standing firm in the faith is a product of somebody's watching and praying. So intercession is the duty of every believer. Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1 said:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people

Isaiah 62:6&7 says God sets watchmen that they may continually pray for His people and concerning His promises.

In Habakkuk 1, Habakkuk had questions about the state of the godless nations and God's disposition to them. He did not just sit around for answers, grumpy at and nagging God. He said in Habakkuk 2:1&2 (New Living Translation):

I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint. Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

The watchtower is a metaphor for the place of prayer. To watch is to observe carefully and intently. It is to wait on the Lord in prayer till we hear and see what He says. Seeing denotes divine revelations and spiritual insight.

What we see most often is a message/vision to be proclaimed or a task to be fulfilled. We can therefore conclude that our effectiveness as ministers of the gospel and co-laborers in His vineyard bringing men to salvation and nurturing His flock depends on our watching and praying.

A man on a watchtower sees farther and better than a man on the ground. The watchman's work is however not just to stand on the watchtower. Also, he is tasked with going about the city because there are corners and dark places that cannot be seen from standing in one position.

After we have seen, we must go, we must run. It is in going about the city even in inconvenient times that we find men who need what we have seen and known. Only in going can we keep safe those who wander like the Bride in our text seeking their Lord.

A watchman is not self-preserving. No believer should be self-absorbed. We must be willing to risk our comfort and lives. We must watch long enough to see as the Lord sees so we do not hurt those who wander not for evil intent but in desperation to be united with their Lord.
We must finally be willing not only to help by our intercessions but to seek and accept help from fellow watchmen in the night seasons just like Paul often urged the church to for him and the Bride asked a question she was desperate to have an answer to: ‘Have you seen the one I love?’

PRAY WITH ME:
Dear Lord, I commit today to the ministry of intercession for all men. I pray that You fill my heart with compassion and a strong desire to see all men saved, safe, and in Your perfect will. Amen.

REFLECT AND ACT:
  • What is your response to tragedies in your community and around the world?
  • Do you have scheduled prayer times to pray for all men?
  • What do you do when you see believers in their night seasons?
  • Are you diligent with the message of the gospel and the special tasks given to you by the Lord?

Comments

Post a Comment

What do you think about today's lesson? Please share something you learnt.

Popular posts from this blog

Day 152: To the Mountain of Myrrh (SoS 4:6)

Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. (Song of Songs 4:6) In the previous lesson, we began to examine the Bride's response to the Beloved's seven-fold compliment. We discussed how she finally gave a positive reply to a request he had previously tendered in SoS 2:17. We examined a part of her response, and now let's explore the next part: ...I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. We have mentioned a couple of times in this series that myrrh is a burial spice. Its mention in the Bible often signifies death and sacrifice. It was one of the spices presented to Jesus at His birth and was also used to prepare Him for burial. In the same way that Jesus embraced death on the cross, the Bride goes to the mountain of myrrh embracing death to self. She knows resolute obedience will cost her that. Jesus said in Luke 14:27: ...whoever does not bear his cr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 53: The Unforced Rhythms of Grace (SoS 1:7a)

“ Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions? Song of Songs 1:7 Aft er the Bride's experience of being overworked, she didn't seek her Beloved in His chambers, nor did she seek Him in a place of leisure. Rather, she sought Him at His workplace. When we find ourselves in a spiritual crisis, especially when we're overworked or burnt out by activities, we must realize that oftentimes, the problem is not how much or what we're doing but how we are doing it. There is only so much the human flesh and mind can handle when it comes to physical work talk less spiritual. Paul did express in 1 Corinthians 15:58 in the Amplified version that we are to labor in our work for the Lord to the point of exhaustion . I believe it's why Paul in praying for the Ephesian church prayed for them to be strengthened with might by God's Spirit in their inner man . Thin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 149: Virtues of the Maturing Bride 6 (SoS 4:4)

Your neck is like the tower of David, Built for an armory, On which hang a thousand bucklers, All shields of mighty men. (Song of Songs 4:4) In Lesson 63, we examined the meaning of the neck as used in the scriptures. We spoke about how the neck represents our will. We also spoke about how a stiff neck in scripture often refers to a stubborn, proud, and unyielding heart before God. However, it is beautified by our submission to Jesus. In SoS 1:10, the Bride's neck was beautified because of her submission to Christ. In this verse, her neck is said to be like a tower. Let's look at that. There isn't any record of a tower of David in the scriptures but Nehemiah 3:25 gives a hint. It mentions a '...tower which projects from the king’s upper house...' Towers are long upright structures built to withstand assaults. They are also often higher than other structures so watchmen were posted there as part of the defense of a city. The Bride's neck like a tower allu...
Post a Comment
Read more