Shamars Rise Up

Think about it, what do the following have in common?

Superman (1978) – The classic protector of Earth against villains like Lex Luthor.

Man of Steel (2013) – Modern retelling of Superman’s role as Earth’s guardian.

The Avengers (2012) – Earth’s mightiest heroes unite to stop Loki and alien invasion.

Interstellar (2014) – Humanity seeks to protect its future when Earth becomes uninhabitable.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

So where did this idea come from, that the galaxy needs guardians? Actually, to guard, is a Biblical calling! In the beginning, humans were commissioned by God to guard the planet. So basically a watchman! What does the watchman do? Why is this so important?

What are the characteristics of a Watchman?

Firstly, Watchman are assigned to watch something of utmost value. If there is no value, then there is no need or point in watching. No fear of being robbed or attacked.

They are Good Watchers, Waiters, Fighters, Defenders, Communicators.

They should have sharp eyes (strong night vision), ears and a sharp mind to comprehend, discern and understand what they see or hear. They should have strong hands and feet, A clear mind and tongue to communicate what they see and hear and understand. They should be bold and fearless even to the point of death. They sign up for danger. They are the first line of defense, in fact they are like soldiers in the army! In the spiritual, watchman carry the Issachar anointing to do this effectively.

What are the core instructions Jesus gave His followers to live by until His return. The New Testament is full of guidance, but several themes stand out as “topmost” priorities.

1. Love God and Love Others“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… And… You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37–39

2. Make Disciples (The Great Commission) - “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19–20

3. Be Watchful and Ready - “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:44

4. Serve Faithfully Until He Comes - “Who then is the faithful and wise servant… Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.” Matthew 24:45–46. In Luke 18, the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus even mentions when I return will I find faith?

So BEING WATCHFUL, what does this really mean? This is what we will focus on today. The message is a Word for the Huios, for such a time as this, as we prepare for His return. Linking to one of these basics that the Lord expects of us.

There are 3 words in Hebrew for watching/guarding/keeping:

1. shāmar- To keep, guard, watch, preserve, observe. 450 times in scripture. Used for keeping commandments (Deut. 5:1), guarding something entrusted (Gen. 2:15). A broad word: both physical guarding and spiritual/ethical keeping. Active defense – keeping. To hedge around with thorns.

2. nātsar- To watch over, guard, protect, preserve. Often used poetically, especially in Psalms and Isaiah (Isaiah 26:3 – “You will keep him in perfect peace”). Stronger emphasis on preserving or maintaining something carefully. To conceal, as when besieging a city.

3.  tsāphāh - To look out, keep watch, act as a watchman. Used for watchmen on city walls (Isaiah 62:6 – “I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem”). More visual, literally watching attentively or standing guard. Active offense – To lean forward, to wait for, to peer forward into the distance.

Let's read a few scriptures to have an overview of this in the Bible: Ezekiel 33:3-7; Psalm 127:1; Isaiah 62:6-7; Habakkuk 2:1; Ephesians 6:18; Isaiah 56:11-12; Nehemiah 4:7-15

The SHAMAR watchman prophets are “the ones who take the Word and watch after it, and pull it into reality.” The word shamar is used in Scripture over 450 times, and the greatest example of shamar is the LORD! Psalm 121 describes the watching, guarding, keeping nature of shamar as a characteristic of the LORD who protects us day and night.

GOD AS SHAMAR

Read Psalm 121, Numbers 6:24

As a parent watches over their children!

This word shamar means to guard, to keep, to be a watchman. It emphasizes the protective element. The local church is kept safe through prophetic intercession, prophetic discernment, prophetic praise, prophetic preaching, prophetic teaching, and prophetic worship. This is how the church is best defended. Without a revelation of the shamar aspect of the prophetic ministry, a local church will suffer from many attacks that can be averted. So there is a shamar -ing all are expected to do and also an office of the shamar prophet.

The shamar components of the prophetic mantle pertain to the prophet’s role as a guardian tending to the flock over which he or she has care. It applies to the guardian function of the office, the aspect of prophetic ministry that makes a person like a sentinel or a protector. To shamar a people is to work prophetically, to encircle the people or the church with a divine wall or hedge of protection or to reseal the gap in the hedge through which the devil has broken in with satanic assaults, attacks, and warfare.

Shamar can refer to guarding a flock, the heart, the mind, a nation, or a city from outside attack or ungodly influences. It is used in reference to keeping (guarding) the gates or entries to cities. Each local church needs a prophetic guard. This is not one prophet but a company of prophets who help guard the church from the invasion of the enemy.

To guard means a number of things. It can mean to protect, to watch over, to stand guard over, to police, to secure, to defend, to shield, to shelter, to screen, to cover, to cloak, to preserve, to save, to conserve, to supervise, to keep under surveillance or control, to keep under guard, to govern, to restrain, to suppress, to keep watch, to be alert, or to take care. Synonyms for guard include protector, defender, guardian, custodian, watchman, sentinel, sentry, patrol, and garrison. These words help us visualize and define the shamar aspect of the prophetic ministry.

We are on the wall. We are appointed by God. We will not keep silent - day and night take no rest. We will not keep silent but remind Him of His word and give Him no rest until we see the fulfillment of what He has said!

Now let's go to the VERY BEGINNING!

Genesis 2:15 Then YHWH God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep [guard: u-l-sham’rah  וּלְשָׁמְרָֽהּ] it.

The majority of translations use the phrase “to keep”, but that doesn’t really reflect the best connotation. In our modern understanding, to keep is to hold onto something, perhaps shove it in a drawer, but to guard means that you stand by it and protect it.

WHAT ALL ARE WE CALLED TO GUARD?

1)      GUARDING THE EARTH AND EVERYTHING IN IT

In the Bible humans were commissioned to be the guardians (not just keepers) of this beautiful planet. We were to protect it, nurture it, cultivate it and encourage it to grow; we were to shelter and defend it from harm and attacks. God wanted to partner with us to guard His creation. It was meant to be a beautiful relationship of love and trust and communal partnership, with both parties encouraging this planet to flourish and grow. But something went terribly wrong.

When Eve and Adam disobeyed God in the Garden, they opened their hearts to the desires of power, autonomy and wealth… and their commission to guard the planet morphed into a desire to put themselves first at whatever cost to the earth. Instead of guarding the earth and helping it flourish and grow, they would take advantage of the planet and abuse it. It was a shift in responsibility that is very much alive today. Human’s desire for wealth and power has put the planet in grave danger. God, seeing that Adam and Eve put Eden at risk, had to usher the humans out of the Garden and into the wilderness. Their own actions forced them to leave:

Genesis 3:24

So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard [li-sh’mohr לִשְׁמֹ֕ר] the way to the tree of life.

The Cherubim were now the Guardians of the Gateway, separating humans from God. 

The wilderness was a hard place to be without YHWH’s protection. But He did not wholly abandon them. They could not come to Him in the Garden, but He could come to them in the wilderness, and He did! He built a relationship with them where they were. Their commission did not change; they were still meant to be Guardians of the planet, but as a result of their self-righteousness and greed they tended to look only after themselves and they lost their way. When the sons of Adam and Eve gave an offering to God, they gave what they thought was right, but God questioned the sincerity and validity of Cain’s offering. Seeing that his brother’s offering was not questioned, Cain let down his guard and opened up his heart to pride, jealousy in rage. With little thought, he murdered his brother Abel. When YHWH interrogated him, Cain made it very clear that he was only guarding his own well-being and was not responsible for his brother:

Genesis 4:9-12

Then YHWH said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I the keeper [the guradian: ha-shohmer הֲשֹׁמֵ֥ר] of my brother?” Then He [YHWH] said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth.” 

Cain assumed the answer to his question, “Am I the keeper of my brother?” was “no”, but he was wrong. The original commission was for all humans to guard all of God’s creation, including every single human. The answer to Cain’s question was “Yes! You are the guardian of your brother” and you just failed in your calling… and, as we will see, there were grave consequences to that failure!

2)      GUARD THE COVENANT

Humanity’s original commission was to cultivate the earth and everything in it and to guard it, but after their expulsion from Eden, humans would wander through the earth like strangers in a hostile land. And so God gave His people a new calling… they would be Guardians of the Covenant made between YHWH and humanity:

Genesis 17:9-10 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall guard [ti-sh’mohr תִשְׁמֹ֑ר] My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which you shall guard [ti-sh’m’ru תִּשְׁמְר֗וּ], between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.

God set up relationship covenants which included promises and boundaries for both parties. Humans broke their promises over and over. But God, on the other hand, never ever went back on His promises.

Genesis 28:15  [YHWH to Jacob:] “Behold, I am with you and will guard you [u-sh’mar’tika וּשְׁמַרְתִּ֙יךָ֙] wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 

3)      PRIESTS: GUARDIANS OF KNOWLEDGE/WORD/DOCTRINE

The Hebrew priesthood was put in place to help the community safe-guard the Covenant between YHWH and His people:

Malachi 2:5-7 “My covenant with him [Levi] was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me and was in awe of My name. True instruction was in his mouth and injustice was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and justice, and he turned many back from wrongdoing. For the lips of a priest should preserve/guard knowledge [yi-sh’m’ru da’at יִשְׁמְרוּ־דַ֔עַת], and people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of YHWH of armies.

1 Timothy 4:16 Watch your life and doctrine closely.

In the day, a good priest was a champion of peace and justice; they were to guard the knowledge of God, give true instruction, and walk alongside those heading in the wrong direction in order to gently turn them back towards the path that led to YHWH. Today all followers of YHWH are meant to be, essentially, priests. We are all children of true instruction, called to guard each other on the path that leads to YHWH. We are all guardians of this knowledge and guardians of the earth.

4)      WATCH OVER SOULS

Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders (this could be parents, pastors, mentors) and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Guarding the Church

Acts 20:28-31 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

5)      WATCH AGAINST THE ENEMY

1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 

Mark 14:38 “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

6)      WATCHING/WAITING FOR CHRIST’S RETURN

Matthew 24:42-44  Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Watching and Waiting is NOT only for leaders. It is for the Huios sons and daughters of God. Being watchful, alert and ready. Obedient to His voice. And do this out of love for God and love for people. Let’s look at Jesus’ prayer and His attitude while He prayed. How did He shamar?

John 17:11-19

I am no longer going to be in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name, which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

But now I am coming to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

Later, Paul the Missionary also prayed for the community of believers to be guarded from the evil one:

2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Psalm 146:8-10

This is a compelling Word from the Lord for all of us this season in our territory! We must all take our posts, guard our gate, and watch when and where the Lord calls us to watch so that no gaps may be left open, but His glory will continually surround without a breach!

Here is a quick personal inventory you can take as one who is part of this NEW Watchmen:

1. Shamar Watchmen are alert at their posts! Do you know what your post is?

2. Shamar Watchmen guard their gate! What “gate” has the Lord assigned you to guard?

3. Shamar Watchmen watch day and night! Has the Lord given you a specific watch that He has asked you take? (A great resource on the different Watches: God’s Unfolding Battle Plan by Chuck Pierce can be ordered at www.gloryofzion.org)

This New Watchman movement is for all of us! Find your place in this movement and allow Holy Spirit to link you with the ones He chooses for you to align with on the wall. For when all is said and done, there are two things the Lord is looking for: "faith" and "are we watching?".

What should we do now that we are coming into this new movement? The Lord said if I come back - He said 2 things in his new covenant. When I come back will I find faith? And then He said when I come back will I find you watching? We don't have to worry about when He comes back - we just have to worry about what we are doing if He comes back. A lot of people just sit around fearful that He is coming back or not coming back. All you’ve got to be sure you’re doing is moving by faith today and watching today, based upon what the Lord has assigned you to watch over.

Do not abandon your post.

Do not neglect your assignment.

Be a watchman over your home, school, office, church, city and nation.

Shamars, Rise up!