Who are the Watchmen on Jerusalem’s Walls? YOU!

Isaiah 62:6–7 is a stirring prophetic charge:

“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth” (ESV).

This passage depicts a relentless cry for Jerusalem’s restoration. While historically these “watchmen” have been interpreted as prophets or faithful Israelites, there is strong biblical and theological support for understanding this call to the future international body of believers, who are now invited to partner with God’s redemptive plan by praying for Israel’s spiritual awakening and Jerusalem’s ultimate glorification. Isaiah could not be talking to Israel, as it was for Israel that the watchman would pray.

The Immediate Context: Prophets and Intercessors

Isaiah 62 is part of a broader vision of Zion’s redemption and future glory—which is yet to be seen. Isaiah is declaring God’s intention to restore Jerusalem and exalt her among the nations. The "watchmen" (שֹׁמְרִים, shomerim) are not military guards but spiritual sentinels—those who cry out to God unceasingly on behalf of the city.

John Oswalt notes that these watchmen “are not guards to keep enemies out, but spiritual watchmen whose task is to cry out to God, day and night.” 1 Alec Motyer similarly writes, “These are praying watchmen, tirelessly reminding the Lord of his promises.” This is not simply a prayer for peace or safety; it is a covenantal plea for the fulfillment of God’s promises to Jerusalem—that she may be a “praise in the earth” (v. 7). 2

Mutual Need and Prototypes

In the same way, that God used Israel to birth the Church, he will now use the Church to pray for God’s promises to be fulfilled within the Jewish people. God is far more concerned with living stones than the actual stones in the walls of Jerusalem. It’s important to remember that Luke depicts prophetic people praying for the Messiah to come (Luke 2:25-38) in figures like Anna and Simeon. However, they are merely prototypes (that Luke could not fit into his book) of tens of thousands of other faithful Jews crying out to God. Paul is clear that God has an expectation that the Gentile believers will contend for Israel salvation (Rom. 11:11, 15:27).

Traditional Jewish Interpretation

Jewish commentators have long seen this passage as a call to persistent prayer and prophetic intercession for Zion. Rashi, one of the most famous medieval rabbis, interprets the watchmen as “prophets and ministers who remind God of His promises.” 3 The emphasis is on the endurance and faithfulness of those who continue to seek the redemption of Jerusalem, even in exile or delay.

A Broader Application: The Church as Watchmen

While the original audience may have been Israel, the principle of intercession for fallen Israel finds fresh significance in the Church, particularly in light of Paul’s vision in Romans 11. Paul affirms that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:29), referring specifically to Israel’s covenantal role. He expresses a passionate longing for Israel’s salvation (Rom. 9:1-5, 10:1). He teaches that Gentile believers are grafted into Israel’s olive tree, not to replace her, but to provoke her to jealousy and ultimately to restoration (Rom. 11:11–15).

In this framework, Isaiah 62:6–7 can be rightly understood as an invitation to the Church to participate in God’s redemptive plan—not just generically, but specifically by praying for the Jewish people and the destiny of Jerusalem. What are the chances that 2,700 years after the prophet declared that God’s ultimate destiny for Israel was to be the praise of all the Earth (Is. 62:7), the city is the most controversial piece of real estate in the world? Clearly, a great spiritual battle is being waged over Zion.

Matthew Henry, writing from a post-Reformation Christian perspective, says: “Ministers must be God’s remembrancers... and must give Him no rest till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” 4 This reflects a theological conviction that the Church has a prophetic and priestly role in calling forth God's purposes for Israel. Surely God doesn’t forget—he is not getting old. It is more the idea that he is looking for a people who will fight in prayer for his ancient nation, reminding him of his promises.

Biblical Theology of Intercession

Throughout Scripture, God calls His people to stand in the gap (Ezek. 22:30), to seek the peace of Jerusalem (Ps. 122:6), and to persist in prayer (Luke 18:1–8). Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41–44), longing for its peace and redemption. The End Time Church is called to labor in prayer for God’s purposes to be fulfilled—especially for the people from whom Messiah came (Rom. 9:4–5).

Paul’s theology makes clear that Israel’s national awakening is not peripheral but essential to God’s eschatological plan: “If their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” (Rom. 11:15). He also suggests that Israel’s awakening is connected to a “greater riches” international revival. He says that if Israel’s rejection caused the gospel to bear fruit in the nations, “how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring?” (v. 12).

Thus, to “give Him no rest” until He restores Jerusalem is not simply a poetic phrase—it is a prophetic charge. It suggests that prayer is a divine means through which God brings about His purposes in history. The Church’s intercession becomes a form of prophetic participation.

For Israel and to the Ends of the Earth

This call to pray for Israel does not negate the Church’s global mission. Rather, it completes it. God's redemptive plan includes the salvation of the nations and the restoration of Israel, culminating in the return of Jesus to Jerusalem (Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:11). The watchmen are to labor in prayer until Jerusalem is no longer forsaken (Isa. 62:4) and until Messiah is enthroned there as King.

This intercession is not rooted in political nationalism, but in God’s covenant faithfulness. The Church does not pray for Israel merely out of sympathy, but because God’s name and glory are tied to her destiny (Ezek. 36:22–23). As Derek Prince once put it, “History is headed toward the restoration of Israel, and those who understand the times will be praying in alignment with this.” 5

Responding to Alternative Views

Some theologians—particularly within supersessionist or Fulfillment Theology—see this passage as already fulfilled in the Church. For example, N. T. Wright interprets Israel’s restoration through the lens of Jesus as the singular “Seed” of Abraham (Gal. 3:16), and sees Jerusalem’s promises as being spiritually fulfilled in the global people of God. 6 This would have more credibility if there were not a literal Israel with Jerusalem as its capital, inhabited by the ancestors of those who were exiled from the land.

Peter Leithart adds, “The identity of Israel is reshaped around Jesus,” 7 arguing that there is no eschatological (future or End Time) role for ethnic Israel beyond the Church. From this view, Isaiah 62 is spiritualized to refer to the Church’s own glory as the New Jerusalem, bypassing ethnic Israel. That would be like me bringing home another woman and announcing to my wife that she has been replaced; the vows I made to her were actually to this new woman.

While Leithart and Wright’s view emphasizes the unity of God’s people in Christ, it overlooks the continuity of God’s promises to Israel as a nation and flattens the rich prophetic imagery of Isaiah and Paul. As Pauline scholar David Rudolph notes, “Paul teaches both continuity and discontinuity between Israel and the Church... but never does he suggest Israel’s irrevocable calling has been nullified.” 8

Conclusion

Isaiah 62:6–7 is a clarion call to all who align their hearts with God's purposes. In light of Paul’s teaching in Romans 11, it is fitting to see the “watchmen” as the Church, Jews and Gentiles, who are the ones who possess spiritual power—those who are grafted into the covenantal promises, and the Jewish remnant who have been re-grafted back into their own olive tree, and now share in the priestly work of intercession.

The Church is not a bystander in Israel’s story but a partner in her restoration. As we await the return of Jesus to Jerusalem, the Church is invited to “take no rest” and “give Him no rest” until Jerusalem becomes a praise in the earth.

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[1] John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 40–66, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 590.

[2] J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 510.

[3] Rashi on Isaiah 62:6, Mikraot Gedolot.

[4] Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Isaiah 62:6–7.

[5] Derek Prince, The Destiny of Israel and the Church (Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 1992), 88.

[6] N. T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013), 831.

[7] Peter Leithart, “The Future of Israel,” First Things, no. 231 (March 2013): 33–38, https://www.firstthings.com/article/2013/03/the-future-of-israel.

[8] David J. Rudolph, A Jew to the Jews: Jewish Contours of Pauline Flexibility in 1 Corinthians 9:19–23 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), 290–91.