Watchman

A watchman was a person who kept guard over a city or military place. Watchmen helped protect the people from surprise attacks or dangers like fire or war (1 Samuel 14:16; 2 Samuel 18:24–27; 2 Kings 9:17–20; Isaiah 21:6–9). A watchman stood in a high place and watched for danger. If the enemy was coming, the watchman would warn the people. A watchman also announced the start of a new day (Psalm 130:6; Isaiah 21:11–12).

God sometimes called prophets “watchmen.” Like a watchman, a prophet had to warn the people if danger was coming. The prophet warned about sin and about God’s judgment. If the prophet failed to warn the people, he would be guilty of their death (Ezekiel 33:2–9; compare Jeremiah 6:17; Ezekiel 3:17; Hosea 9:8).

Not all leaders were good watchmen. Isaiah said some leaders were like blind watchmen. They could not see the danger and did not help the people turn back to God (Isaiah 56:10; Micah 7:4). Faithful prophets were the first to see the destruction coming to Israel. But they were also the first to say that God would bring the people back to their land (Isaiah 21:11–12; 52:8).