A Message from God

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Feb 17, 1909

A Message from God.

A missionary who was working on an "industrial" field in Central Africa, met with a curious experience. Leaving his station for a while that he might push his Gospel work into the interior, he arrived at a native village where he hoped to get a good hearing, but found the tribe exceedingly obstinate. The chief, who was a tall, well-built, powerful man, met the missionary and told him plainly that they did not want any white man's interference there, but he would give him an escort to take him on his way.

The missionary tried to argue that as they believed in a God, they should hear the message he had from the God who made the heavens and the earth. He tried to address the group that had gathered around, but the chief immediately ordered his people to bring out their drums, and they made such a noise that further conversation was impossible.

Still having a strong desire to deliver his message, and being therefore unwilling to proceed on his journey, he quietly walked to a shady tree, trying to think what course he should follow. Partly to relieve his feelings and partly not knowing what else to do, he began to sing one of three hymns he had learned in their language. His eyes were closed, but he noticed that the drums were getting fainter, as, apparently, the tribe was dispersing, leaving him to sing to himself. Without opening his eyes he started his second hymn. All was silent now, but he still sang on till he finished the third hymn, when, on opening his eyes, he was astonished to find that a vast crowd had crept around him and had been intently listening to the hymns.

The chief, whose head was above the rest, then called out, "Tell us your message, we want to hear you." "But I thought you had all gone away, as you said you would not hear me." "Well, we do want to hear you now. Tell us your message."

Thereupon he gave them a Gospel address, pointing out how Jesus came to save sinners, and that all may be saved—the blacks as well as the whites. They listened with evident attention, but when he had finished, the chief surprised him by saying, "You told us you had a 'message from God,' and we have carefully listened for it. You have only told us what men say. Now, if you really have a message from God, tell us what He said; that's what we want to hear."

He tried to think of some passage that gives the words spoken by God. He took his Bible out of his pocket. The only words God had spoken, that he could then call to mind, were the Ten Commandments, and he was sick of learning them as a child. "How stupid," thought he, "there are plenty of other passages."

The chief began to press him, "You said you had a message from God, where is it?" So he reluctantly commenced the Commandments. "God 'spake all these words, saying _______".

"Ah!" said the chief, "that's what we want. Go on."

All went smoothly till he came to the fourth, "The seventh day is the Sabbath _______".

"Stop," said the chief, "which day is that? You white folk would teach us not to work to-day. Is to-day the seventh day?"

Here the missionary found himself in an awkward fix. He dared not tell a lie, and yet it would be very difficult to make them understand that the first day was the Christian Sabbath, when he had just told them that God said the seventh day was the Sabbath. However, he tried to explain that the apostles had changed the day. "Yesterday was the seventh day, but the first day is the Christian Sabbath."

"But those apostles were men," said the chief; "we have had enough of men's words, if we become Christians we must do what God says."

This incident worried the missionary considerably, and he could not help thinking how inconsistent his position appeared. He turned it over and over in his mind, but still thought Sunday-keeping must be right. When he returned to his station, those troublesome commandments came up again, and some eleven or so of his native converts persisted that as God had said the seventh day was His Sabbath they would keep it. The missionary left them free to follow their consciences, and he decided that he would look into the Sabbath question the first opportunity he had of meeting any Seventh-day Baptists.

When, however, the other natives working on the farm, or plantation, found that the eleven did not work on Saturdays, because they "sang hymns," that is, had divine service on that day, they complained about it, and said they would rather "sing hymns" than work. So it came about that a first-day missionary formed a Sabbath-keeping mission.

Later on, he was visiting the United States and sought out the Seventh-day Baptists. Thus he was soon convinced that Saturday was the true Christian Sabbath, and that Sunday-keeping was dishonoring to God. He therefore followed the example of his native converts and himself became a Seventh-day Baptist, and accepted the "message from God."