April 14 - Orders Remain Unchanged

Orders Remain Unchanged

“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.”  Ezekiel 3:17 

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in     Washington, DC, has a guard 24 hours a day. Every hour on the hour, 365 days a year, a new soldier reports for duty. When the new guard arrives, he receives his orders from the one who is leaving. The words are always the same: "Orders Remain Unchanged.”

Repeatedly, the Bible speaks of the importance of keeping watch.  The word “watch” means to be vigilant, attentive, or aware of current areas.  Whether facing temptation, knowing God’s ways, or preparing for His return, the Lord continues to desire to hone our hearts toward His heart.   We are called to be on watch. 

Psalm 127:1 says, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”

Ezekiel 33:7 tells us, “So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me.”

And in Matthew 24:42, Jesus spoke in a parable of the importance of keeping watch so that we would be aware of His return.

Even today, His orders remain unchanged. Our oversight and observance in spiritual matters determines a great deal about our lives and those around us. If heeded, the blessings will be great.  If ignored, the challenges can become catastrophic.  

Today, April 14^th is a day that annually marks two of the most significant events in American history…both in some ways, that might have gone differently had those on “watch” been alert to their roles.

On the morning of April 14, 1865 (149 years ago today), President Abraham Lincoln met with his cabinet at the White House in Washington, and the Civil War was raging toward an end. Abraham Lincoln said to his cabinet members, “I’ve been having a strange dream the last few nights.” He said, “In this dream, I picture a ship, and it is sailing towards some indefinite shore.” He said, “I keep having that dream. I don’t know what it means.” That very night he and Mrs. Lincoln were attending a show at Ford’s theater and John Wilkes Booth shot him in the back of the head, inflicting a mortal wound. President Lincoln’s guard had been commissioned to cover his post at the booth but instead went to the bar downstairs and neglected his duties.  That very night, as the President had dreamed, the ship that was his life reached the shore of eternity.

This day also marks another significant anniversary which was the sinking of the famous ship the RSM Titanic, the largest passenger steamship in the world, which occurred April 14, 1912 (102 years ago today). The ship was stated to be so strong that they said, “Even God couldn’t sink it.”  However, its sinking did make its final destination the bottom of Atlantic in the early morning of April 15, 1912.   The Titanic was on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City and was designed by some of the most experienced engineers of its time. These engineers used the most advanced technologies available to make it allegedly the safest ship ever built up to that time. Thus the world was shocked with news of its sinking. Aboard the ship for her maiden voyage were many celebrities as well as commoners making it one of the best-known events of the twentieth century. Of the 2,000 passengers on the Titanic, 1517 were lost. Sadly, at the time the Titanic went down, another ship, the California was only 30 miles away. The Titanic’s operator frantically sent out an SOS repeatedly; but the wireless set on the California was closed because there was only one operator aboard and he had gone to bed. Again, with the watchman asleep, countless perished.  Help was available but the California sailed on its way totally unaware of the tragedy.

Some of America’s greatest tragedies occurred due to people’s negligence
when they should have been on duty.  We are reminded of Pearl Harbor and others where awareness could have preempted the loss of many lives.

Ezekiel received these words, “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.”  (Ezekiel 3:17)  That could just as easily be shared with us.  As followers of Christ, He has placed us over our homes, our communities, our workplaces, and our churches as watchmen as we pray, stand, and seek His heart in all that we do.   

As we enter this Passion Week of Christ’s death and resurrection, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane challenging his disciples with the word, “Watch.”  The same could be said to us.  Be attuned to your spiritual life, those in need, righteousness, and prayer.  It’s a 24/7 duty and just like the guards at Arlington Cemetery, our “Orders Remain Unchanged.”

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)   In which area of your life are you most prone to drop your guard?

2)   As you begin this week, pray that the Lord refines your awareness of His work around you.

Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser