The Ministry Of The Watchman

In ancient times, watchmen were posted to observe enemy activity in order to provide safety for the citizens of a region or city. Given the responsibility to guard life and property, watchmen were assigned to important locations, such as the city gates, walls, or areas where the enemy intended to enter, attack, weaken, or rob. One group of watchmen was called natsar, a Hebrew word for a person standing guard in a watchtower (see 2 Kings 17:9; 18:8). The Hebrew word for watch is mishmereth and alludes to "setting a sentry or a guard at a post to safeguard something or someone." These stone watchtowers were built high so watchmen could oversee olive crops and grape vineyards, farms, or grazing areas where large herds of livestock were during the day. The watchmen were to be on alert for thieves coming to steal goods or for wild animals, such as lions, bears, and leopards, that would attempt to devour livestock. A second Hebrew word for watchmen is Shamar, meaning "to hedge something in by keeping a close guard on it." This word is often used to describe watchmen who were secretly sent out to walk around a city to observe the activities of people out late at night. Shamar is used twice in Song of Solomon, when Solomon's Shulamite bride was going out into the city at night attempting to find him (see Song 3:3; 5:7). Isaiah uses the same word when he writes that the Lord said, "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem." (Isa. 62:6).

A third word used for watchmen in the Old Testament is tsaphah, which means to "lean forward or peer into the distance." It is found in Isaiah 52:8, 56:10; Jeremiah 6:17; and Micah 7:4. This word describes the physical action of a watchman who is alert and awake. During the day, this watchman leans forward and peers across the horizon; at night, he watches for flickers of light indicating lit torches in the distance. In the Roman period, the watches were divided into four sections of time, but the Jews had three watches: the first (see Lam. 2:19), the middle (see Judg. 7:19), and the third (see Exod. 14:24; 1 Sam. 11:11). The Romans divided the night up into military watches. The Jews used three. The Romans added a fourth watch. In the parable we read of three watches, the evening watch ended at 9:00 p.m., the midnight watch concluded at mid-night, and the cock-crowing watch ended at 6:00 a.m. When the Romans introduced a fourth watch, the first watch began at six in the evening, the second watch was at nine, the third watch began at midnight, and the fourth watch began at three in the morning (Wesley's notes on Matthew 14:15). In the Old Testament, certain priests were appointed as watchmen on the walls of the city.

Their assignment was to remain awake throughout the night to alert the sleeping town's people, in the event that an invading army would be sneaking across the mountain, or to allow entrance to a stranger or a messenger who arrived at night because the city doors were closed and locked each night to prevent unwanted individuals from gaining access to it. Also, the watchmen reported what they saw to the elders and leaders (see Isa. 21:6). Often today, the church will appoint "spiritual watchmen" as prayer intercessors. Like the watchmen of old, intercessors today may need to stay awake for portions of the night or rise early to seek the Lord (see Jesus' example in Mark 1:35). They also need to be responsible to report what they see in the Spirit to the elders and leaders of the church, not to anyone who could misuse or misunderstand what the Spirit has revealed in prayer. Elders and those in leadership should be the ones to decide what should be shared with the flock they lead.