Ezek 33:6 KJV – “But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.”

Last week I was asked to address a group of people charged with facilitating the translation of the Word into their respective languages.  These were on the margins of their Islamic communities charged with enormous responsibility for communicating God’s Word on the one hand and living as community members on the other.  I likened their situation to the Watchman on the wall who has perspective and responsibilities going both directions – outward and inward.

Before the day of electronic and remote communication the watchman on the wall and the runners were vital to the security of a city.  The watchman was responsible for both bad news and good news.  How far down the road the watchman could see from his high vantage point would determine how much advance warning the news would allow.

The sobering part of this instruction from the prophet is that, from God’s perspective, the watchman on the wall was held responsible for the accuracy and timeliness of communication and any consequent damages from withholding it.  That should be alarming to those who think they can guiltlessly and passively slide through this life with no liability whatsoever for what happens to their family or their neighbor. (And who our neighbor is in our current global village is very different from what it used to be — but that is a topic for a different day.)

This is a caution to the recordists who think they can guiltlessly hold recordings for months (and in some cases years) without processing and ingesting and publishing for the people to hear.  That would certainly represent a watchman who has the news (good or bad) but does not blow the trumpet.

The more I thought about it I realized that this message is not just for those involved in cross cultural Bible translation.  All of us who belong to Christ and are students of the Word already have a lot of insight into the future.  We have both Good News and bad news.  If we consciously withhold that news from those who are affected we certainly run the risk of having blood on our hands.  This is especially true for those over whom we have direct responsibility.

God Bless,

Larry DeVilbiss | Executive Director

Global Recordings Network USA

If you are interested in learning how to share links on social media that will promote use of our recordings and the Gospel in general, please contact RolandHeck@GlobalRecordings.Net

Previous “The Next Language” posts

First the Blade – Post 100

Marghi – Post 99

Talents – Post 98

Berom – Post 97

God is my Wit(h)ness – Post 96

Scarlet Chested Sun Bird – Post 95

Fountains of Water – Post 94

A Glorious Landing – Post 93

Tale of Three Sisters – Post 92

Collaboration – Post 91

Pick Your Fears Carefully – Post 90

Mixteco del Progreso – Post 89

Go – Post 88

Those Word Lists – Post 87

Altars – Post 86

Oh, for a Thousand Tongues – Post 85

Voices in the Wilderness – Post 84

Nigeria – First Impressions – Post 83

From the Land of Nod – Post 82

Tribute to Mexico – 1967 – 2022 – Post 81

Miniaturization – Post 80

Knowing The Times – Post 79

God Comes to a Dirty World – Post 78

Corn in Mexico – Post 77

When the Church Says No – Post 76

War – Post 75

Theirs Is the Kingdom – Post 74

The Hippie Era Lives On – Post 73

Genesis of a Recording Set – Post 72

Back Tracking – Post 71

Witnesses- Post 70

Who Is Your Owner? – Post 69

An Unsolicited Endorsement – Post 68

Oral Tradition – Post 67

Works of  Man – Post 66

Deliverance – Post 65

New Discoveries – Post 64

The Wall of Pain – Post 63

Is There a Place for the Gospel in Your Story – Post 62

The Love Pyramid – Post 61

Obsession – Post 60

Verb Tenses in Hebrews – Post 59

The Unseen Weapon – Post 58

The Gospel Arrives in Zapoteco:Elotepec – Post 57

Fishing – GRN Style – Post 56

A New Day in Mexico – Post 55

Seeking – Post 54

Pick Your Battles – Post 53

How Big Is Your God? – Post 52

A Muted Gospel? – Post 51

Dedication Service for Marcos – Post 50

Two Weeks, Two Months, Two Years – Post 49

What Will You Give to Jesus – Post 48

Special Assignment – Post 47

The Good and the Best – Post 46

How Many Languages Are There? – Post 45

Verifying Speech Varieties – Post 44

Those God Things – Post 43

Meet Notch, the Desert Cottontail – Post 42

The Lost Languages – Post 41

The Rest of the Yoke – Post 40

What About Those Last Languages – Post 39

A Yoke That Fits – Post 38

The Other Side – Post 37

It Is Finished – Post 36

On the Ground in Culiacan – Post 35

I Will Go With Thee – Post 34

Unseen Warfare – Post 33

God of the Gaps – Post 32

The Father of Faith Missions – Post 31

WAIT – Post 30

Our Ultimate Weapon – Post 29

What Are You Doing Here – Post 28

Recordist Training Course Update – Post 27

Still Shameful – Post 26

Numbers Update – Post 25

The Gospel and Idolatry – Post 24

Could Ye Not Pray – Post 23

John the Baptist and the New Normal – Post 22

Genesis of a Script – Post 21

Embena Experiences – Post 20

An Easter Like No Other – Post 19

Go Or Stay Home – Post 18

The Next Language – Post 17

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