Silence is Deadly
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.”
God has appointed Ezekiel to be the watchman for Israel, giving him the responsibility to specifically warn the people of the impending judgment if they were to continuously rebel against God. Ezekiel was commanded to faithfully deliver God’s warning to the people whether they listen or reject it.
If Ezekiel warned the wicked people and they did not repent, Ezekiel is cleared and innocent when they suffer the consequences for their rebellion. However if Ezekiel fails to warn the people, he will be accountable and their blood will be on Ezekiel’s hands.
Then God commands Ezekiel to go into his house where he will be bound and he will be mute, unable to speak. However when I give you the ability tp speak, you will share with the rebellious people my warning. Whoever listens will listen and whoever refuses will refuse to listen.
Ignaz Semmelweis was a 19th-century doctor who noticed a pattern that was occurring in the hospital that led to the death of many women and newborn infants through infectious diseases. He noticed a pattern where the doctors that delivered the babies from the pregnant moms were not washing their hands prior, thus spreading germs. Semmelweis warned his colleagues to simply wash their hands before treating patients with warm water and soap. He had his theory tested as his local clinic and saw the maternal mortality rate drop from 18% to less than 2%.
Unfortunately Semmelweis’ warnings were rejected and ridiculed yet he persisted because he knew lives were at stake. The others thought that his hypothesis, that there is only one cause, was extreme. Semmelweis was dismissed from the hospital and harassed by the medical community. Semmelweis chose to continue to advocate for the change in medical practice for if he stayed silent, he would have felt immense guilt and shame. He eventually was forced out of Budapest and was institutionalized as a local asylum because people thought he was insane.
Until his death, Semmelweis persisted because he knew that lives were at sake and his commitment of speaking truth would eventually come to fruition when the medical community finally accepted his theory as valid. Even at a personal cost, he saved countless lives and changed medical history.
God was calling Ezekiel to be the watchmen for his people. Semmelweis felt he was the watchmen for the countless lives of mothers and infants. We are called to be the watchmen for those that we encounter in our everyday lives.
Are there people that we encounter that God is leading and calling us to lovingly warn and share the gospel with? Let us pray and find an opportunity by sharing the truth of Jesus Christ, inviting them to either our House Church or Canvas Ministry, continuously loving them just as Christ would love them. We cannot afford to sit idly by doing nothing.
Edmund Burke said this, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
