(p100) 3. On my return
to the shop the Monday morning after I kept the first Sabbath in Christ, there
was a strange spectacle at my bench. It seems that on Saturday, while the foreman was absent, they gathered up a mass
of rubbish, such as old bags, bottles, rags, suspenders, shoes, and a lot
of other similar junk, put them in a bag, and attached it to the work bench.
Expecting to reach the shop before I did Monday morning, they thought they should have
some fun at my expense, and in this way they thought they would laugh me
out of Christianity. It is true that I formerly did not enjoy work very much;
but as soon as I found the Lord Jesus and read what a great worker He was, I
felt I must do everything differently, as to the Lord. Instead of getting to the
shop a few minutes late, I now reached there a few minutes before time to work.
By so doing, I was there earlier than the other men, and had all the rubbish
cleared away ere they came. They not only felt angry at me, but were chagrined
to think they were the ones who were fooled.
4. I realized that it made very little
difference how they acted, as soon I
should leave the shop. But I felt as though I was there now to witness
for Jesus, and if I acted as I did before I was converted, the Lord would be
denied. Now I was to bear testimony for Him, and so must accept all experiences
as they came and be happy in them. The Lord gave me grace and strength to bear
all things for His sake.
5. A few days after I was converted, I was
lying in bed one morning, just about waking time, when I suddenly
heard a voice. (p101) It was such a sweet, soft, melodious voice that I shall never forget it.
It clearly said these words: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not
dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness.”
The voice added, “Forty-one, ten.” I was not
certain whether it said, Isaiah forty-one, ten, or Numbers forty-one, ten. I
awoke, and asked, “Who is there? “
The voice was so audible and distinct that I
felt sure the person was right in the room. I quickly arose from the bed and
looked all about the room. I looked in the closet and in the open attic, but
could find no one. It then dawned on me that the Lord had given me these words
for my comfort and encouragement. I went on my knees, and how thankful I was to
the dear Lord for the sweet and comforting message He had sent to my
soul.
6. I did not remember ever hearing these words.
In my younger days when I had studied the Old Testament, it was almost
exclusively in Hebrew and in Yiddish. All the prayers in the synagogue were in
Hebrew, likewise all the teaching at the rabbi’s was in Hebrew and in Yiddish. I
knew very little of the English Bible, only as I read it occasionally in the day
school. I could nearly always tell in Hebrew what people were reading in the
English, but had never heard much of the Bible so as to memorize it in the
English. But these words made a deep impression on my mind.
7. As soon as I went down-stairs I told the
family what had happened, and asked them to please look in the book of Numbers to see if there was such a verse
there. (p102) They informed me that there were not so many chapters as that in the
book. On turning to Isaiah they
found the chapter and the verse. How precious that
verse has been to me these many years!
8. Many, many times during the past twenty-two
years, when the enemy has come in like a flood, when it has seemed as though the
heavens were dark and the clouds hung heavily, these beautiful words of God have
been a blessing to my soul. The dear Lord has verified these words to me again
and again, and a multitude of fears have been removed when the Holy Spirit has
brought this precious
and blessed promise to my soul.
9. This experience was an added evidence that
God had called me to work for Him. I now felt that I not only must leave the
shop, but must dispose of everything that I had, and “burn the bridges behind.”
I would not even keep my tools, lest they might be a temptation to return to
this kind of employment. My friends advised me not to be rash, as some time I
might wish to use them again. But I felt that God had spoken to me. The dear
Jesus was so good in revealing Himself to me that I knew there need be no
apprehension for the future.
10. After I decided to leave secular work, I
concluded that I would engage in colporteur work. I very much needed to learn
the Bible, and to know more of the New Testament; at the same time, I felt that
I must spend a large part of my time in telling the people about this Jesus, to
prepare them for the coming of this Saviour the second time. As previously
stated, my knowledge of the New Testament was very meager; now I felt I must
know more about it. (p103) I desired to learn all that I could, in order to tell others the truth
more effectively. I was then more than ever convinced that God had called me,
and I did not wish to
be disobedient to the heavenly vision.
11. One day, while I was walking the streets
and thinking about going to work for God, this thought came to
me:
“How are you going to get a living? You have
given up your position, you have no money,
you have never done anything in this line of work, and people will not
buy these books from you. How will you get something to eat?”
Immediately there came to my mind these
words:
“Jesus died for me. I am sure I have nothing,
but He has agreed to take care of me through all eternity. He took care of my
fathers in the wilderness for forty years after He called them out of Egypt, and
He fed them all the time so they lacked nothing. He has done so much for me in
the past, and has agreed to do so much for me in the future, can I not trust Him
to take care of me now? Of course I can.”
At once, I felt an added happiness, and I
decided by the grace of God to let him take care of me.
12. It is true that I was in a peculiar
position at this time, as the reader may judge. On account of sickness, I had
contracted a heavy doctor’s bill. I had been a debtor for my illness of scarlet
fever, and had not paid that debt. Having just been converted, I had no chance
of saving money. Here I was just beginning to work for the Lord without
experience, having no money, and not knowing when or where I should obtain any;
in debt, no work, and not knowing what the future would be.
(p104) Of course from the
world’s standpoint it seemed dark; but my faith was strong in God, and I knew He
would surely help me, for He told me He would.
13. When I was converted, the feelings of my
friends and relatives never troubled me. They did not seem to enter into the
situation. But after a few days the thought came to me, Now what have you done?
When mother hears what has happened, it will kill her. Think how you hated the
Christians and the religion they profess; how you blasphemed it when a boy. It
will surely kill mother when she hears of it. It will disgrace all the family,
and they will bury you from their memory. All your relatives
will kill you if you ever come near where they are, as you know it is a law that
a Jew must not be permitted to live after accepting this awful religion, (a) This
thought, and many others, kept crowding into my mind, and the devil tried hard
to upset me. Yes, I knew what it meant. I knew it would break my mother’s heart,
and I knew too, if I did not believe in Jesus it would break His heart. In fact
He broke His heart on my account, in order that my heart might be broken. How
can I now, after He has shown me so much
light, and given me such great blessings, because of my parents and
relatives, reject Him and lose my own soul? I
was aware that my relatives would disown me. I knew they would kill me if they
had the chance. I knew they would consider me dead. But what of that? Did not God say, “When my father and
my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up”?
(p105) Did not Jesus say we should not be afraid of them that can kill the body,
but can do no more? Did not the people kill Him? If He was willing to die, why
should I be afraid? And the Lord blessed me with His own
peace.
14. It is a fact that the Jews will do all that
has been written, and more also, to their relatives and friends, if they accept
Christ. Many illustrations might be given at this point; but I will mention just
one; others will be given along the way.
15. A few years after I accepted Christ, I went
to New York to attend the wedding of my cousin. I had not seen these relatives
for a number of years, although they knew I had accepted the Saviour. It did not
seem real to them, because the last time they had seen me I was a Jew. I felt
that the Lord wanted me to attend this wedding, as it would give me an
opportunity to bear witness for Jesus. This was the first time I had been among
the Jews since I became a Christian. My brother went with me, and they seemed
pleased at first to see me. While the people were gathering to go to the
synagogue to attend the marriage ceremony, a conversation arose concerning the
condition of the Jews at the present time, and why they have had all their
troubles these many centuries. One said one thing, another gave a different
reason. A number were in the store waiting to depart, and it looked to me like a
cross to speak before them. Finally I spoke up and said:
“The reason why we have been so persecuted, and
have had all these troubles these many years is because we rejected our only
hope and Messiah, Jesus Christ, and we crucified Him. (p106) As long as we reject Him, and do not believe in Him as our Saviour and
Messiah, we shall continually be in trouble.”
16. As soon as I said this, a brother-in-law of
the bride threw up his hands and leaped towards me, shouting,
“Kill him, kill him, how dare he talk that
way.” He was wild and furious, and would doubtless have accomplished his purpose
had not the people interfered. Yes, and there were other of my relatives who
then would have killed me. They said I did such an awful thing, and was not fit
to live. But
God saved my life, and I got away without any serious bodily
injury.
17. In some orthodox communities, when the
parents receive word that a child or brother or sister has accepted Christ, they
will have a coffin made, and a funeral procession will follow the casket to the
grave. This box will be lowered into the grave, and the people will go through
all the forms and ceremonies as though the person were really dead and buried.
Should some of the relatives after this experience meet this person on the
street, they would know him no more than as though they had never seen or heard
of him. It is a real death and burial, and is a separation forever, unless the
Holy Ghost impresses the family to be reconciled. This is the requirement of
rabbinical Judaism.
18. If a husband or wife accepts Christ, the
other party may go to the rabbi to secure a divorce. They are not allowed to
live together, as the believer is considered dead. The persecution is terrible
and this condition stares every Jew in the face when he accepts Christ.
(p107) But, bless God, Jesus makes up to one’s soul more than all the friends
can do against
him.
19. I felt that I must write to my people and
let them know what had happened. I was
aware what it would cost me to do this; but not to do it would be to deny
my faith in Jesus. I prayed much over the matter, and the Lord helped me to say the things which needed to be
told. Suffice it to say that for almost five years after this I did not
hear a word directly from home; I was dead and buried to them. A few days
after I accepted Christ, a brother of mine arrived in this country. When I told
him what had happened to me, he was much surprised, and knew not what to say. He
could scarcely realize it; for I had written to him to come to this country,
thinking it would be a nice thing to have a brother here, as we could work
together agreeably at our business. When I wrote to him to come, I had neither
thought nor knowledge that Christ would own me before he would reach here. But
thus it was. On his arrival, he had no money or friends. I immediately secured
him a position, asked the people with whom I had lived to care for him, and
divided with him all that I possessed in
this world. Leaving him in good hands, I started to work for God with two
dollars as all my financial capital, but with a good degree of faith in
Christ.
BOOKSTORE