I can only imagine the weight and responsibility that found itself weighing on the shoulders of the man as he climbed the ladder to the watchtower.

He had worked hard this particular day, yet his day was far from over.

It was his shift on the city wall and though he had served many an evening at this important post, this day was particularly long and he missed his wife and children.

His eyes once again set their gaze on the country side and the long horizon that led to the valley to the east.

Forty minutes or so into his watch he noticed something had moved.

The dark mass he noticed earlier at 11 o’clock on the horizon was now directly in from of him and getting larger.

Minutes later, he was sure something was there, and it was moving!
Pulse quickened; now he pulled the rams horn closer to his side as he carefully considered his next move.

Such was the case day after day, night after night in every walled city throughout the Middle East in the first century.

The scriptures give detailed description of the scenario and the importance of the charge bestowed on every man, father and grandfather who sat atop the walled city which surrounded the loved ones of the watchmen.

Isaiah painted the picture… “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence,”

Their job was crystal clear. If you see anything that could present a danger to the city, then sound the alarm!

I have considered this duty, the duty of the watchmen and it occurs to me that each one had three things to carefully consider.

First, each had a reality.

For those perched on the walls of the city it was the landscape. Hills, mountains or maybe both. Desert flatlands with few trees in sight or valleys and forests that made it very difficult to observe.

We have a reality before us as well. Not necessarily a picturesque landscape, but a cultural landscape that reveals danger after danger to those we love and cherish.
In a world where a secularism prevails in many arena’s and where the truth of scripture is escorted out of the public square, we are facing a dangerous future.

Second, the Watchmen had a responsibility, which was to sound the alarm whenever danger was spotted.

I am confident they took this very seriously.

You see, they had innocent women and children behind the very walls they stood on and they were not about to let them down.

It was G. K. Chesterton who said “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
The aforementioned dangers our country faces have robbed a generation of our rich Godly heritage.

Revisionist history and misguided efforts like the 1619 project have no place in text books or schools in America. Americans still have a responsibility to promote the truth of who we are and where we came from.

Finally, the Watchmen had a reaction. Something had to be done if danger was present.

A ram’s horn was sounded, the warriors responded and the city was saved.

For us today, looking upon a culture that has been led astray, robbed of biblical truth and starved of God’s Love… it needs Jesus.

I remember my dear friend Talmadge Johnson who said often, “The world at its worst needs the church at its best!” How very true and how very needed. The Watchmen had a reality, so do we. The Watchmen had a responsibility, we do as well. What must our reaction be?

For the culture to be transformed, the church must be fully engaged.

And for that to happen, the religious freedom must be championed and preserved.

How do you do that you ask? Well, first every Believer in Jesus Christ in America must register and vote.

Of the 60-70 million Americans who call themselves evangelicals, only about half are registered to vote and of that half, only half vote!

You see, the real problem is that everyone from dogcatcher to president only reflects the values of the people who voted in the last election!

In Philadelphia, recently as I finished speaking to a group of 50 or so pastors and leaders, a woman came up to me and introduced herself.

She was a former member of the Pakistan Parliament and she spoke to me with tears in her eyes.

She began… “Pastor, I want you to know, I want the Christians in America to know that I and many leaders throughout the Middle East and the world are praying and fasting for the upcoming election here in America. We know how important this election if for you in the United States, but we also know that our freedoms and our future will be decided but what happens in just a few weeks.”

I was speechless. She was correct, and she understood the magnitude of the election perhaps more than most Americans.

May we here and now rise to the occasion, sound the alarm and make the difference!

Tim Throckmorton is the Midwest Director of Ministry for the Family Research Council.