WATCH! A call to spiritual vigilance

Like the angels who are described as “watchers” in Daniel 4:17, we are called to vigilant observation of the signs of Christ’s approaching kingdom.

The Sacred Duty of the Night Watch

Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

(Mark 13:35-37 KJV)

These words echo across nearly two millennia as among the last instructions our Lord Jesus gave to all his disciples before his arrest. They form part of a wonderful trilogy of divine commands: “Take heed, watch, and pray.” These concepts define the Christian’s posture in this present evil world. Of these three, perhaps none carries more weight or demands deeper understanding than the command to “watch.”

The Roots of Watchfulness

To understand the profound implications of Christ’s command, we must first explore the rich heritage of this word “watch.” The English term derives from the Old English wæccan, meaning “keep watch, be awake.” The progression of meaning is fascinating: by AD 1200 it carried the sense “be vigilant,” and by the late 14th century it meant “to guard someone or some place, stand guard.” The meaning “to observe, keep under observance” didn’t emerge until the mid-15th century.

Interestingly, our modern concept of a timepiece also springs from this root. Originally meaning “a clock to wake up sleepers” in the mid-15th century, it became the “small timepiece” we know today. Even in its mechanical form, the watch marks time and awakens us to our responsibilities.

The Hebrew Foundation: Three Dimensions of Watching

The Hebrew language reveals the multifaceted nature of Biblical watching through several key words, each adding depth to our understanding.

1. Passover Watching: The Sleepless Vigil

The first and perhaps most significant Hebrew concept emerges from the Passover narrative. Exodus 12:26-29 records the climactic night when God’s judgment fell upon Egypt:

And it shall come to pass, when your children ask you, “What do you mean by this service?” that you shall say, “It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.” So the people bowed their heads and worshipped. And the children of Israel went away and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.¹

But it’s Exodus 12:42 that reveals the profound nature of this watching:

• It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations. (KJV).
• A night of watchings it [is] to Jehovah, to bring them out from the land of Egypt; it [is] this night to Jehovah of watchings to all the sons of Israel to their generations. (YLT)
• This was a night when Adonai kept vigil to bring them out of the land of Egypt, and this same night continues to be a night when Adonai keeps vigil for all the people of Israel through all their generations. (CJB).
• It was a night of watching unto the Lord and to be much observed for bringing them out of Egypt; this [same] night of watching unto the Lord is to be observed by all the Israelites throughout their generations. (AMP).

This remarkable passage reveals that the Passover was a night of mutual watching—God watching over His people, and His people watching in expectation of deliverance. The Hebrew root shamar means “to hedge about (as with thorns), guard; generally, to protect, attend to.” It encompasses being “circumspect, taking heed, keeping, marking, looking narrowly, observing, preserving, regarding, reserving, saving, watching.”

2. The Open Eye: Alertness in Vigilance

Psalm 127:1 introduces another dimension: “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

The Hebrew word shaqad means “to be alert, sleepless; hence to be on the lookout (whether for good or ill).” Fascinatingly, the related word shaqed means “to be almond-shaped, “referring to the shape of an open eye. The almond blossom symbolized watchfulness in Hebrew thought with its wide-open form.

3. The Sentinel’s Gaze: Peering into the Distance

Habakkuk provides our third perspective on watching:

I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” (Habakkuk 2:1-2).

Here, we encounter tsaphah, meaning “to lean forward, to peer into the distance; by implication, to observe, await.” This describes the watchman on the tower, scanning the horizon for approaching messengers or dangers, taking responsibility not just for himself but for the entire community below.

The Divine Division of Night and Day

To understand the spiritual significance of watching, we must grasp the Biblical concept of night and day. Genesis 1:3-5 establishes the divine order:

Then God said, “Let there be light;” and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Night represents more than the absence of light. It embodies the natural state of a world separated from God. It brings the greatest spiritual threats: terrors from without (dangers from others) and from within (our own minds), the tendency toward sleep and lack of watchfulness, and the propensity for unbecoming behavior and loss of control.

The Ancient Watch Systems: A Framework for History

Understanding how ancient peoples organized their night watches illuminates Scripture and our present moment in prophetic history.

The Jewish Three-Watch System

The Jews divided the night into three watches, designed to accommodate our natural drowsiness in the darkness:

• First Watch—“Beginning of the night watches.” (Lamentations 2:19 KJV). Sunset to 10:00 PM: “Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.”
• Middle Watch (Judges 7:19): 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM. “So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch.”
• Morning Watch (Exodus 14:24): 2:00 AM to sunrise. “Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians.”

Psalm 90:1, 4 captures the spiritual significance: “LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations… For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.”

The Roman Four-Watch System

With Roman occupation came a military approach to timekeeping, dividing the night into four watches named after their ending times:

• “Evening”: Sundown to 9:00 PM
• “Midnight”: 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM
• “Cockcrowing”: 12:00 AM to 3:00 AM
• “Morning”: 3:00 AM to dawn

Jesus referenced this system in Mark 13:32-37:

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all. Watch!

The Levitical Watch: A Model of Spiritual Vigilance

The most detailed Biblical example of organized watching comes from the temple service. The Levites maintained constant vigil at the temple gates to prevent any unclean person from entering. In New Testament times, an official known as “the captain of the Temple” (Acts 4:1) supervised this system.

Each guard consisted of ten men. So, across all gates and through all watches, 240 Levites were on duty every night. During the night, the captain made his rounds. Guards had to rise and salute him in a particular manner. If they did arise, he would say “Peace be unto you!” If no answer came, the Levite was assumed to be sleeping and faced severe punishment, beating or having his garments set on fire.

This system explains Jesus’ warning in Revelation 16:15: “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

The temple routine also illuminates Jesus’ words to Peter about washing feet. Preparations for morning service required priests to rise early. An early morning bath was required, as it was a principle that no one should enter the court to serve unless clean. After this complete immersion, they needed only to wash their hands and feet before each subsequent service. As Jesus told Peter: “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean.” (John 13:10).

Alfred Edersheim (The Temple) notes that the Rabbis used almost the exact words Scripture employs to describe the unexpected coming of the Master:

Sometimes he came at the cockcrowing, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later. He came and knocked, and they opened to him. Then said he unto them, All ye who have washed, come and cast lots.

The Prophetic Significance: Where We Stand Today

These historical watch periods correspond remarkably to the great epochs of church history:

• First Watch (“Evening”): The Apostolic Times—the afterglow of Christ’s earthly ministry
• Second Watch (“Midnight”): The Dark Ages—the darkest spiritual period
• Third Watch (“Cock Crowing”): The Reformation period—dawn’s light beginning
• Fourth Watch (“Morning”): Our present era—the final hours before Christ’s return

We live in the morning watch! The sun is about to break through completely, and the daystar is arising in our hearts. This recognition should fill us with both urgency and hope.

Watching from the Walls: Our Present Responsibility

Isaiah 62:6-7 defines our current role:

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Like the angels who are described as “watchers” in Daniel 4:17, we are called to vigilant observation of the signs of Christ’s approaching Kingdom. As those shepherds in Migdal-Eder, the Tower of the Flock, were keeping watch over their flocks by night when the angels appeared to announce Christ’s birth (Luke 2:8-14), so we maintain our vigil for His return.

The Gospel account is pregnant with meaning:

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Those who faithfully watch are the ones to whom divine revelation comes.

The Heart of a Watchman

Psalm 130:5-6 captures the spirit of true watching:

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning—yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

This watching is not anxious worry or fearful scanning of world events. True watching combines patient waiting with active hope, grounded in God’s promises. It’s the eager anticipation of a bride awaiting her beloved’s return, the focused attention of a servant ready for his master’s commands, the alert vigilance of a soldier on duty.

Trust in God’s character and confidence in His word are the foundations of all Biblical watching. We watch not because we’re uncertain of the outcome but because we’re certain of it. Christ will return, the Kingdom will come, and justice will roll down like waters. Until then, we maintain our faithful vigil, encouraging one another as we see the Day approaching.

(To be continued.)

David Fraser,
Pinetown Ecclesia, South Africa

 

1. Unless specifically noted, all Scriptural citations are taken from the New King James Version.