“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, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7, ESV).

After reading this passage recently, I read the attached quote from one of my favorite devotional authors, Andrew Murray:

“Watchmen were ordinarily placed on the walls of a city to give notice to the rulers of coming danger. Similarly, God appoints watchmen not only to warn men—often they will not hear—but also to summon Him to come to their aid whenever need or enemies may be threatening. The great mark of intercessors is that they are not to hold their peace day or night; they are to take no rest, and to give God no rest, until their deliverance comes. In faith they may be assured that God will answer their prayers” [Andrew Murray, Andrew Murray Devotional (Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 2006), reading for February 7].

Sometimes, we can get so caught up on the fact that Isaiah is talking about Jerusalem that we miss the fact that he, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, is talking to the people of God in all ages. Isaiah was speaking to the people of his day, but through him, the Holy Spirit wishes to speak to us.

Isaiah lived during turbulent times. He prophesied about 700-750 years before Christ, around the time that the northern kingdom of Israel collapsed and fell into exile by the Assyrians. The southern kingdom, Judah, continued to stumble into spiritual compromise, which would impact the political climate as well.

So, although Isaiah spoke to Israelites who lives about 2700 years ago, the Holy Spirit speaks through him to us. We live in a time when Christians compromise with the world. We often go along with the world’s values. Because of this, our nation suffers.

Yes, I blamed the church. I do not blame the Democrats (although it is rare that I agree with them). I cannot blame the Republicans. These groups are in power today because WE THE PEOPLE continue to elect them. When we read or hear about politicians pushing for gay marriage or increased abortion, we have to remember: this is a reflection of our apostate culture. We have the leaders that we, as a culture, want and deserve.

It is time for Christians to claim their role as watchmen. We do not do that by watching Fox News and cursing the liberals. Yes, we should stay informed, but we need to maintain a spiritual perspective. While ancient Israel faced human enemies like the Assyrians and Babylonians, their greatest threats were spiritual. Likewise, as a nation, our greatest threats and problems are spiritual.

Whether we like it or not, Barack Obama will be our President for the next four years. He is in the White House again because he is the President that our nation wants and deserves. However, the Body of Christ can turn the tide.

We must reject the spirit of moral compromise that eats the church alive. Much of the church, as an institution, must repent of its worldliness. We need to stop being little more than a Sunday-morning social club or entertainment venue to make people feel good, and return to being a living organism (the body of Christ) whose greatest urges are spiritual reproduction and feasting on the holiness of God.

We need to live as children of God. We say that we are in this world, but not of this world. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed, “And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you” (John 17:11). Since Jesus is no longer physically present in the world, we (His disciples) are in the world in His place. Are we living as His representatives? Can people see Christ in us? Do they at least see that we share His values? Or, are we just ordinary nice people who do not shake things up too much?

Are we aware of the spiritual threats facing our nation? Do we maintain an attitude of prayer, which allows us to see behind the scenes of current events? Are we looking PAST the political figures, to recognize the spiritual forces that are influencing them, for good or bad?

This is the challenge for Christians in America today. We need to keep our eyes on the Lord, and pay attention to the spiritual forces at work in our world today. We need to remain faithful to our God. Most importantly, we need to be watchmen: To be the first line of defense in the spiritual army protecting our nation and culture, and to shout the alarm when danger threatens.

Related articles

• Isaiah 62. Assurance of Jerusalem’s deliverance (KJV) (bummyla.wordpress.com)
• A Sentence, A Saviour. A Highway. (faithfuldailyread.wordpress.com)