Recently my daughter was doing research on our family heritage and I was surprised to know the origin and meaning of Waites, my maiden name. The Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain were the first to use the name of Waites and had a practical origin since it came from when its initial bearer worked as a watchman. This surname comes from the Anglo-Norman-French word waite which means watch. The Waites motto was originally a war cry or slogan for our altars and our home. The coat of arms pictures four shofars and in scripture four is the creation number and refers to family, tongue, nation and country—the fourfold division of mankind. The watchman is one who guards. Let us consider the role of a watchman during ancient times in the Bible; how God uses the role of a watchman to warn and teach; what it means for the work of God today as this world comes to a prophetic crossroads.
In the ancient world of agrarian societies, large watchtowers were placed overlooking the fields where the watchman guarded the crops and the animals. We also find several references in Scripture to a watcher mounting the city walls in times of stress to survey the scene outside the fortifications. If a threat appeared, he would sound a warning and the town would shut its gates and prepare for battle. He could observe the people, their work, their habits and their lifestyles. No wonder God uses this role to illustrate the job of the prophets He sends to comment on society’s behavior, as well as to deliver messages of warning and instruction. “For the LORD will do nothing, unless He has revealed His counsel to His servants the prophets.” (Amos 3: 7)
Focusing on the Old Testament prophets helps us understand the full meaning of the symbolism of a watchman. The prophet Isaiah in Chapter 21 is a watchman that God called to sound a warning to the people to “pay attention.” Isaiah had witnessed the sin of the people in disobedience to God and the LORD called him to warn the people of the coming judgment upon the them if they refused to repent. In Isaiah 21: 6 we read: “For the LORD has said to me. ‘Go, set a watchman—let him declare what he sees!” In Isaiah 56: 10-11 the watchman themselves are rebuked for failing to hear God’s voice. “His watchmen are all blind. All of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, dreamers lying down, lovers of slumber, and the dogs are greedy—they never have enough. They are shepherds with no discernment. They have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all.” The prophet Jeremiah sounds the alarm to the Jewish people to repent and turn back to God to avoid the impending seize of Jerusalem. In 6:16-17 we are read: “Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the roads and look. Ask for the ancient paths—where the good way is—and walk in it. So I set watchmen over you, saying ‘Listen to the sound of the shofar!’ But they said, ‘We won’t listen.” God told the prophet Ezekiel to warn Isarel of its sin and His impending punishment, saying, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me.’ (Ezekiel 3:17)
The role of a watchman is not limited to speaking only about the sins and problems of the society. The watchman was also charged with proclaiming good news about salvation. Notice this in Isaiah 52: 7-10: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ Your watchman shall lift up their voices, with their voices they shall sing together; for they shall see eye to eye when the LORD brings back Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” These passages in Isaiah paint an image of godly people who are given unique vision into the world of today and the world to come. They understand the universal application of the gospel of the Kingdom of God. They see that God will bring that Kingdom to earth and will offer salvation not just to Israel, but also to all nations. They see the reuniting of the tribes of Israel in the Promised Land as the beginning of the times of restoration of all things spoken of by Peter in Acts 3: 18-21: “But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent, ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”
The prophets are God’s watchman who give insight into the world at the end of the age. They see the dark gathering clouds on the world’s horizon that spell the end of Satan’s reign as the god of this world and author of all its evil. This leads them to mount the “walls” of society and shout a warning to any who will hear. To say: “God is sovereign. He will bring a time of judgment on the world to prove that He alone is God. All other gods erected by people to hide His truth will be destroyed.”
Examining the concept of watching in the New Testament helps to complete the picture of the role of the watchman. The Greek word gregoreo, translated as “watch,” means to keep awake, to watch and to take heed. Through neglect or laziness we could let down and be overcome with sin, or a sudden calamity could overwhelm us spiritually. Notice in Mark 13: 28-37 in Jesus’ prophecy of the end time, that He urges His disciples three times to “watch” during the times leading to His second coming. The emphasis is on a personal watch through prayer to know the times. Peter in I Peter 5: 8-11 sounds the alarm to us: “Stay alert! Watch out! Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, searching for someone to devour. Stand up against him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being laid upon your brothers and sisters throughout the world. After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace—who has called you into His eternal glory in Christ—will Himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. All power to Him forever! Amen.”
By prayer and righteous living, we stay tuned to Jesus Christ. Through this way of life one can discern the moral climate of the times and avoid being tossed around with every shifting ideology of modern culture. Walking in God’s laws and instruction insulates us from the course of the world and its deceptions. In our fascination with these earthly distractions, we can easily skip over Christ’s charge: “Behold, I am coming as a thief”—suddenly and unexpectedly. “Jesus shines the brightest in the dark. The world is growing gloriously dark!” (Adrain Rogers)
Jesus pronounces a blessing for those who, during mankind’s darkest moment, watch. That is, they are living prudently and properly. The natural by-product of this close relationship with God is being alert to religious deception. Those who frame their life around the Word and the coming Kingdom of God will watch and keep themselves from the wiles of the devil. This is the end result of fulfilling the role of a watchman within the Body of Christ—to be found standing in the faith at His appearing! “In the future there is reserved for me the [victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that [great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and longed for and welcomed His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4: 8)
God is calling each of us to be a watchman at such a time as this! We as believers in the body of Christ have our marching orders: WAKE UP AND PAY ATTENTION! STAY ALERT! KEEP WATCH!