Isaiah 56:10
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
His watchmen are leaders entrusted with sacred responsibility in God's cause, including ministers, teachers, medical workers and men in official positions and places of trust. To be blind and ignorant is to be spiritually without understanding, unable to see threatening danger, discern Satan's plans, perceive the true condition of the church, or gain a clear grasp of Bible principles, and though having received light to remain without knowledge of the time and work required. To be silent and unable to warn is to fail to sound the alarm, reprove wrongdoing and sin, and give the people definite warning of judgment, while sleeping and loving slumber is to lie insensible at the post, neglect God-given work, betray sacred trust and leave the church in spiritual slumber. The warning belongs to the present time when labor is fast passing, laying upon leaders the necessity to awake from stupidity, heed reproof, turn from worldly policy and transgression of God's law, and carry forward the last warning and third angel's message in the Spirit's power so a perishing world may prepare. Unfaithful guardians who remain unconcerned, deny that God will act in judgment and cry peace and safety betray their trust, and judgment begins at God's sanctuary where those who refuse to mourn over decline and the sins of others are left without His seal, so chief watchmen must take heed, reform and stay alert under the Spirit lest they remain idle, misleading and under God's rebuke.
Meaning of Blind Watchmen
The watchmen are those entrusted with sacred responsibility in God's cause, that is religious leaders and people in positions of responsibility and places of trust. This includes ministers, teachers in schools, medical missionary workers, and men in official positions. Their office lays upon them the duty to help others understand the truth, to see threatening danger, and to speak out and carry forward the third angel's message in the power of the Spirit. When they neglect reproof and the work God has given them they leave the church in spiritual slumber, and their failure calls for reformation. Faithful watchmen by contrast must stay alert and serve as stewards on the walls.
To be blind is to be spiritually blind and without understanding. Such blindness cannot see threatening danger, discern present dangers, or recognize that one person's judgment is becoming an unchecked power that God will not endorse. It cannot perceive the church's true spiritual condition, discern Satan's plans and devices, or gain a clear scriptural understanding of Bible principles, the eyes of the understanding being blinded. Chief watchmen must therefore take heed to themselves and act urgently so the people can prepare and not lose the chance to be warned.
To be ignorant and unable to warn is to have received light yet remain without knowledge of the time and the work required in right lines, at a time when time is passing rapidly. It is to be content to remain idle rather than helping others understand the truth, and to not walk in the light of God's commandments. Some give the trumpet a certain sound through voices and pens while others are asleep and ignorant and know not the time of visitation, when life and power and renewal of grace are urgently needed. The negligent are described as blind, ignorant, and silent dogs that cannot bark, lying down and loving sleep.
To be dumb dogs that cannot bark is to be silent guardians who fail in the duty to sound the alarm and give definite warning. That silence includes failing to warn God's people of their sins, reprove wrongdoing and sin, and warn of judgment, with some instead denying that God will act in judgment and crying peace and safety. It includes not recognizing harmful teachings entering the church or warning the people about them, and obstructing the message that should awaken a lukewarm church and exalt Christ's righteousness, leaving the watch neglected.
To sleep, lie down, and love slumber is to be asleep at the post, spiritually asleep and insensible to spiritual realities. It is to neglect the work and duties given by God, betray sacred trusts, and fail to awaken under the influence of God's Spirit to become faithful workers. Ministers who should have been first to accept the truth and warn the people were among the last, so that the people received the warning before their teachers.
Warning to Leaders Today
The warning belongs to present experience, when the time to labor is fast passing away and many have little understanding of what must be done in right lines. Blind, sleeping watchmen stand rebuked by it, and the necessity is laid upon them to arouse and give the last note of warning to save a perishing world. Instead of uplifting the only true God and proclaiming His worldwide message, they fail to give the trumpet a certain sound.
It is among the chapters that leaders, pastors, people, and those connected with institutions are urged to study diligently. The study is a call to wake from spiritual stupidity and to share the light and gospel message given by the Lord. It confronts the disregarding of reproofs and the neglect by those in responsible positions of their duty to warn others of the truth.
The verse foretells the work of warning the world to recognize how worldly policies and principles have led away from the Lord's ordinances into transgression of God's law. Blind, ignorant watchmen unable to give warning lose the chance to warn the people because they fail to recognize present dangers. Those entrusted with responsibility in God's cause must see threatening danger and speak out, carrying forward the third angel's message in the power of the Spirit so the people can prepare.
It reproves those in positions of responsibility who have received light yet neglected reproof and their duty to help others understand the truth, remaining idle and content to stay so. It applies to religious leaders who are spiritually asleep and do not walk in the light of God's commandments. It applies to leaders unconcerned and satisfied with appearances, who claim to know God while denying Him by life and character and who fail to perceive the church's true spiritual condition. It applies to leaders who deny that God will act in judgment and cry peace and safety instead of reproving wrongdoing and warning God's people of their sins.
Such unfaithful guardians betray their trust, and judgment begins with the church as God's sanctuary. Those who refuse to mourn over spiritual decline and the sins of others are left without God's seal.
The verse reproves becoming insensible to spiritual realities and unable to discern Satan's plans and devices. It reproves willingly shutting the eyes to harmful teachings entering the church and failing to warn the people, under God's rebuke. It shows watchmen are blind when they fail to recognize that one person's judgment is becoming an unchecked power that God will not endorse, against which they should be alert. It shows unfaithful, sleeping watchmen can be ministers who should have been first to accept the truth and warn the people but were among the last, so that the people received the warning before their teachers.
The image of silent dogs that cannot bark, lying down and loving sleep, was brought against the shepherds at Christiania, whose silence about the new doctrine prompted the appeal asking whether they were blind watchmen or dumb dogs.
It exposes leaders dulled by unbelief and doubt who fail to protect or advance the work while danger advances. Their obstruction delayed the work in the South by about a year while the enemy sowed tares. When watchmen recover sight and reason from cause to effect they can devise ways to relieve the medical institutions, which blind watchmen lack discernment to do. It applies to leaders with no burden and no clear warning to give, who by obstructing the message that should awaken a lukewarm church and exalt Christ's righteousness leave their watch neglected. It shows appointed watchmen under God's disapproval and Satan's leading when they sound their own exploits, accuse burden-bearing brethren, seek advantage in commercial lines for financial profit, become tainted with commercialism, have the understanding blinded to clear scriptural Bible principles, and, when not guided by the Spirit, dictate to brethren, demand unquestioning acceptance, and deceive and delude many.
At a time when the powers of darkness are moved to take the field and outgeneral the church with wily, crafty movements, some among the watchmen entrusted with sacred, holy trusts give the trumpet a certain sound by voice and pen while others are asleep, ignorant, and know not the time of visitation. The verse was directed to those crossing the Rocky Mountains to attend the General Conference at Minneapolis, who must humble themselves before God, receive the assurance of His grace, and be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Only so could they impart light and strength and courage to those assembled and preserve union between east and west when life and power and renewal of the grace of Christ were urgently needed.
Chief watchmen are called to take heed to themselves, reform, and act urgently. Faithful watchmen must stay alert and serve as stewards on the walls rather than neglect the work given by God and leave the church in spiritual slumber. They must awaken under the influence of God's Spirit and become faithful workers for Christ instead of neglecting duty and betraying sacred trusts. Those who willingly shut their eyes to danger and remain blind, idle, and misleading stand under God's rebuke and disapproval.