Hosea 8:1

"Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the LORD, Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My law" Hosea 8:1

High in the crow's nest of a sailing vessel the watchman scans the horizon on all sides. It is his job. For the entire watch, he is the eyes of the ship. He is searching the skies for the first sign of a change in weather. He searches the seas for signs of hidden dangers. He looks ahead for signs of land. He constantly seeks evidence of fish, which can be easily taken to supplement the crew's diet of salt pork, bisquites and beans. But there is one more thing for which he is always on the alert. He is searching the horizon for sails, sails of friendly ships headed in the opposite direction (letters need to be sent homeward) and sails of pirate ships (an unarmed vessel is easy pray for those too lazy to work for a living).

When he sights any of the above objectives, he cries out the alarm: "Land ho on the starboard bow!" Or, "Ship ten degrees off the port!" Or, from the famous movie "Titanic," "Iceberg! Iceberg ahead!" (I love that line.) It is his responsibility to sound the alarm. It is the officer of the watch who must make the decision what to do about it.

But what happens if the watchman falls asleep in the night watch? Many a ship has been lost on hidden shoals because a watchman fails to see the white line of waves breaking on rocks. Pirates have captured ships under cover of darkness because the eyes of the watchman become heavy and his awareness becomes lax. And then there is the sudden storm. Masts have been snapped in the first moments of the gale because there was not enough time to reef the sails before the furry of the tempest strikes. The fate of the whole ship rests upon the shoulders of one man, the watchman.

God tells Hosea to put the trumpet to his lips, to sound the alarm. An enemy is about to overtake Israel - like an eagle swooping down from the heights. Suddenly, without further warning, death will soon destroy Israel if the warning is not given. Hosea was a watchman on the walls. When God tells him to shout the alarm, it is his responsibility to blow the shofar, the ram's horn, in such a way that the people take heed.

You, my brother or sister-in-Christ, are a watchman on the wall for your family, your Church, our community. You are called by God to be alert, to be diligent, to be ready to sound the alarm when God shows you danger. You are God's chosen voice. You are His "early warning system." Yes, you! No, you didn't ask for the job, but it is yours. The fate of your loved ones depends upon your faithfulness! Be alert. Amen and Amen.