The Pastoral Charge. At the end of the week he receives another Divine message, this time of a more explicit kind and unaccompanied by vision. His task is now defined as that of a watchman. As it is the watchman's business to detect and give warning of danger, so it is the prophet's business to warn individual men of the coming catastrophe which he himself so clearly sees. It is not enough to warn the crowd: he must deal personally with the individuals good and bad, who compose the crowd, and warn them solemnly, each and all, the good no less than the bad the bad to turn from his evil way, and the good to persist to the end without swerving in the good way; for the destiny of men will be determined by the character and conduct they exhibit when the hour of judgment strikes.
This is a passage of great importance, emphasizing the idea of individual responsibility but applying it more particularly to the calling of the prophet or preacher. There is a sense in which he is responsible for the souls of his hearers; and if one of them dies unwarned, then the prophet is his murderer. For the first time in Hebrew history the prophet becomes a pastor; he has the care of souls.