Isaiah 21:1-9: a reflection

1The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it comes from the wilderness, from an awesome land. 2A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous man deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; attack! I have stopped all of Media’s sighing. 3Therefore my thighs are filled with anguish. Pains have seized me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am in so much pain that I can’t hear. I am so dismayed that I can’t see. 4My heart flutters. Horror has frightened me. The twilight that I desired has been turned into trembling for me. 5They prepare the table. They set the watch. They eat. They drink. Rise up, you princes, oil the shield! 6For the Lord said to me, “Go, set a watchman. Let him declare what he sees. 7When he sees a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of donkeys, a troop of camels, he shall listen diligently with great attentiveness.” 8He cried like a lion: “Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and every night I stay at my post. 9Behold, here comes a troop of men, horsemen in pairs.” He answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the engraved images of her gods are broken to the ground.

In this vision, God sets a watchman on the watchtower and tells him to declare what he sees. And the watchman takes his post faithfully: Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and every night I stay at my post. Day and night he keeps his watch, attentive, watching diligently for what will come, until at last he sees it and reports: Fallen, fallen is Babylon. His faithfulness was in this: to stand at his post, watching diligently, day and night, ready to report what he saw.

Notice the watchman's faithfulness: he stood at his post continually, watching diligently. He did not abandon his watch, or grow careless, or leave his post; he stood there day and night, attentive, watching for what would come. His task was to watch, and he watched faithfully, staying at his post through the long hours until what he watched for came. Faithful watchfulness meant staying at his post, alert and diligent, not growing careless or abandoning his watch. He kept his post continually.

That faithful watchfulness is worth taking to heart, for we too are called to a kind of watchfulness, staying alert at our post. We can grow careless, drowsy, inattentive, abandoning the watchfulness we are called to, whether watching over our own hearts, or alert for the Lord's coming, or attentive to the tasks entrusted to us; but the watchman stood at his post day and night. Do not grow careless or abandon the watchfulness you are called to; stay at your post, alert and diligent, as the watchman kept his watch day and night. Be watchful, keeping your post faithfully, whether watching over your own heart, or staying alert for the Lord, or attentive to what he has entrusted to you, rather than growing drowsy and careless; for faithfulness means staying at our post, watching diligently, as the watchman stood continually on the watchtower, day and night, until he saw and reported what came.

Lord, in this vision, you set a watchman on the watchtower and tell him to declare what he sees. And the watchman takes his post faithfully: Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and every night I stay at my post. Day and night he keeps his watch, attentive, watching diligently, until at last he sees it and reports. His faithfulness was in this: to stand at his post, watching diligently, ready to report what he saw. Show me the watchman's faithfulness: he stood at his post continually, watching diligently. He did not abandon his watch, or grow careless; he stood there day and night, attentive. His task was to watch, and he watched faithfully, staying at his post through the long hours. Faithful watchfulness meant staying alert and diligent. Take that faithful watchfulness to my heart, for I too am called to a kind of watchfulness. I can grow careless, drowsy, inattentive, abandoning the watchfulness I am called to, whether watching over my own heart, or alert for your coming, or attentive to the tasks you have entrusted to me; but the watchman stood at his post day and night. Keep me from growing careless or abandoning the watchfulness I am called to; help me stay at my post, alert and diligent, Lord, as the watchman kept his watch. Help me be watchful, keeping my post faithfully, rather than growing drowsy and careless.