Day 244

1 Chronicles 4:24-5:17; Psalm 137; Jeremiah 52:28-30; Ezekiel 32:17-33:20.  “Failed Watchmen”

         Before the invention of modern fire suppression systems, it was required for a hotel of significant size to employ a watchman during the night hours to alert guests in the case of fire.  One such hotel in Omaha, Nebraska had a fire on January 23, 1911, and the watchmen failed to notify the guests of the fire.  Therefore, a guest who was forced to use a rope fire escape sued the hotel because of injuries resulting from his escape.  The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court where the court upheld the decision to hold the hotel responsible for its negligence in alerting the guests to the fire.
         Ezekiel was given a similar charge by God, a responsibility to warn people of God’s judgment.  It is important to note that Ezekiel wasn’t responsible for the peoples’ response to his warning; he was merely responsible, as the watchmen, for sounding the warning itself.
         The same is true for our sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We are not responsible for the consequences one faces for rejecting the gospel, but we are responsible for delivering the message.

General Questions for each day:
Summarize the day’s Bible passage in your own words.
What thoughts, actions, attitudes or beliefs are addressed in the passage?
How is the Holy Spirit leading you to apply this passage to your life today?