Last weekend we were in Southern California for a World News and Prophecy seminar. On Sunday we had a chance to visit San Diego and take in a view of the city from atop Point Loma.

Here we visited the old lighthouse which for many years from 1855 to 1891 was the beacon light for ships coming up the coast and into the San Diego Harbor. The light house was decommissioned when the need for a new one, lower on the coast was seen. You see the old lighthouse sits over 400 feet above the harbor on the point. Frequently it would be shrouded by fog and clouds, thus rendering its light undetectable for passing ships. The light from a lighthouse is its most important feature.

Looking out on the Pacific Ocean from this vantage got me to thinking about the role of a watchman so often described in the Bible. Ezekiel is appointed by God as a watchman over the house  of Israel from his captivity in Babylon.
 

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me." (Ezekiel 3:17)

A watchman had multiple roles in the ancient world. Watchmen stayed in the fields for weeks at a time watching the crops as they matured so they would not be stolen. Watchers stood on the city walls observing the daily comings and goings within the city gates and about the walls. You could imagine them as the early warning radar systems of the time, watching the weather, the roads and the business of everyday folk. A watchman was an observer who had a unique view of his small corner of the world.

The prophets became those charged by God to warn Israel and Judah of their sins against Him and the need to repent and turn back to Him. Their message included a warning of captivity at the hands of Assyria or Babylon if they failed to listen and change. A watchman's job was to warn. The individual had the responsibility to respond. The message had to be delivered as a witness.

While at the Point Loma lighthouse I noticed a display with a quote about the role of a lighthouse. It said the sole purpose of a lighthouse was to serve. That sums up the role of a watchman-to serve humanity with the message of the coming kingdom of God, the only sure hope in a divided world.

It is a fascinating subject to review. I am giving a sermon on the subject today and will likely expand it into a seminar presentation for an audience in Cincinnati in two weeks.