ARE YOU A WATCHMAN OR A LOOKOUT?

Sixty-five years ago today, Japan attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Most Americans view their action as unprovoked and unexpected. For those who have studied American History, their view is justifiable, but history is always written by the victor. What if we were to read what the Japanese historians have written; would their version of the event be different? Of course, the answer is yes. A few Japanese leaders mistook the intentions of the U.S. and decided to execute a preemptive strike. Why they thought our country would attack them, when we failed to come to the aid of our European allies who had been under attack by Hitler's Nazi Germany from March of 1939, still puzzles me.

A "watchman" is a guard, someone who is assigned to watch for a threat from others to the safety of one's people or property. In the Navy, we were scheduled to stand watch. That usually involved a four hour period of time in which we were to be vigilant in our duty. Sleeping or drinking while on watch was a court martial offense. During wartime, it is punishable by death. The grave of Jesus was guarded by a watch of Roman soldiers (Matt. 27:62-66; 28:4, 11-15). The chief priests gave the guards a bribe to say Christ's disciples stole the body, and said that they would defend them before the governor if he were to hear about it. Two observations here: how on earth could the governor not hear about the missing "corpse," and why on earth would the guards trust men who were obviously unethical? The answer must be that they had no other options. To know how that all played out will have to wait, because the Word does not tell us.

A "lookout" on the other hand, is someone who watches for the authorities while their partners in crime commit the evil act. For instance, a group of bank robbers usually has at least one lookout to warn them of anything that could foil their crime. While there are many references to "watchmen" in the Bible, there is not a single reference to a "lookout." Perhaps that is because God's Word tells us how to obey the law, instead of how to break it.

In the case of Pearl Harbor, both the United States and Japan had planes in the air prior to the attack, to watch for the enemy. The difference is, we had ours serving as "watchmen," while Japan had theirs as "lookouts." Regardless of whose history one reads, the fact that Japan was intent on committing an act of war identifies their pilots as "lookouts."

There are many admonitions for Christians to be "watchmen" in the New Testament (Matt. 26:41; 1 Cor. 16:13; 1 Thes. 5:6; 1 Pet. 4:7; etc.). Christians are to know their enemy and his subtle ways. We are to stand guard in the "whole armor of God" (Eph. 6:11-18). In verse eleven, we are warned to be on the alert for the "wiles of the devil." "Wiles" are defined as "sly tricks, deceit, craftiness." Also notice in verse eighteen that we are to serve as "watchmen" for the protection of others! We are in this together! For all those who believe they do not need the Church, you are making yourselves vulnerable to all those who need a "lookout!" Watch therefore, and pray!