On the walls of Jerusalem there is a walkway. Originally,
this served for the guards or the watchmen to walk on. They would take turns
day and night to protect the city from their enemies, especially during the day
when the doors would remain open. From the top of the wall they could
distinguish anyone who approached the city; if they saw the enemy’s army, they
would immediately close the doors so that they could not penetrate.
In a spiritual sense, the intercessors and the prophets
serve as watchmen for the people of God. They have the gift of seeing long term
and discerning the spiritual dangers. Their spiritual mandate is to “blow the
trumpet” and warn the people of any spiritual threat.
(Jeremiah 6:16-19) Thus says the LORD:
“Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good
way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will
not walk in it.’ (17) I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the
sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’ (18)
Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
(19) Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit
of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for
my law, they have rejected it.
If we are wise, we will hear the word of the watchmen, the
warning of the prophet. Many times they will tell us things we don’t want to
hear, because sometimes the truth hurts. But the warning is for our own good,
and we have to pay attention to it.
When it comes to the watchman and the prophet, they have the
obligation to speak out. Although they run the risk of being rejected because
of the strong message that they bring, they have the responsibility before God
to warn the people.
(Ezekiel 3:17-21) “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. (18) If I say to the
wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn
the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person
shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your
hand. (19) But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his
wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will
have delivered your soul. (20) Again, if a righteous person turns from his
righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he
shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his
righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will
require at your hand. (21) But if you warn the righteous person not to
sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and
you will have delivered your soul.”
REMINDERS
Isaiah the prophet says that on the last days the Lord will
raise up an army of intercessors that will pray for Jerusalem. They will not
stop until it has been restored.
(Isaiah 62:6-7) On your walls,
O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall
never be silent. You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest,
(7) and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise
in the earth.
The phrase: “You who put the LORD in remembrance”, in Hebrew
is: Mezakarim,
which literally means: “reminders”. It comes from the verb Zakar, which means: to
remind, mention, commemorate, bring to memory.
The “reminders of Jehovah” are those people who remind the
Lord of what he has promised, through prayers. The Lord tells them not to stop
until Jerusalem is “reestablished” (Heb. Kun: raised up, established, fig.
prosperous), that is, until the nations give praise to God for what He will do
in it.
Does the Lord really need us to “remind Him” about
Jerusalem? We know that God will never forget about His Chosen City because he
loves it and fervently desires its restoration. The “reminder” is intended more
for us, so that we won’t forget what God has promised about Jerusalem, and so
that we won’t be led by the circumstances but that we would believe in what the
Lord has promised He will do in Jerusalem.
If throughout history God has allowed Jerusalem to fall and
be destroyed, it is not because God forgot about it or because their enemies
have been stronger. On the contrary, God has allowed it because of the sin of
the people. God is more interested in the hearts than on the stones and the
buildings. The restoration of Jerusalem won’t happen only on the material
realm, but also on a spiritual realm.
(Micah 7:8-11) Rejoice not
over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be a light to me. (9) I will bear the indignation of
the LORD because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and
executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon
his vindication. (10) Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said
to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will look upon her; now
she will be trampled down like the mire of the streets. (11) A day for the
building of your walls! In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
More articles on the
Promised Land, in the page: Israel
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