“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
A watchman's whole job is inconvenient. He stands somewhere boring, staring at a horizon, and his only real function is to speak up when something is coming — not to make the danger go away, just to make sure people know it's there in time to do something about it.
God gives Ezekiel that job here, and it's worth noticing what it doesn't include. He's not asked to guarantee people will listen, or to control what happens after he warns them. He's asked to hear the word and pass it on. The responsibility for what people do with it belongs to them.
Most of us carry some version of this — a truth we're aware of about someone we care about, a warning we could give but haven't. This verse doesn't promise the warning will be welcomed. It just makes clear that saying nothing isn't actually the safe, neutral option it can feel like.
Whose warning are you still holding back, waiting for a guarantee it'll be well received?
A short video on this is coming soon — for now, read on.