Samuel Zwemer: The Burden of Arabia by Janet Benge & Geoff Benge

Samuel Zwemer: The Burden of Arabia by Janet Benge & Geoff Benge

Author:Janet Benge & Geoff Benge [Benge, Janet & Benge, Geoff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Education, Home Schooling, Religion, History
ISBN: 9781576587386
Google: kiunnAEACAAJ
Amazon: 157658738X
Barnesnoble: 157658738X
Goodreads: 17920883
Publisher: YWAM PUB
Published: 2013-04-10T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter 10

Hope and Disappointment

On May 28, 1892, Sam set out for the nearby village of Majil. He’d been there once before and had talked to several Muslim men who were open to discussing the Bible. He took Kamil along with him on this trip. When they arrived at Majil, the two men received a warm welcome. It seemed that every man in the village was present to welcome them back. The village men beckoned for Sam and Kamil to stand under the shade of a large date palm and talk to them about God’s love.

Sam was happy to do so. He stepped forward, opened the Gospel of John, and read chapter three, verse sixteen: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” As Sam began to talk about the meaning of the verse, one or another of the village men occasionally interrupted him with a question. Sam and Kamil took turns answering the questions.

When Sam finished speaking, the crowd would not leave—they wanted to hear more. Sam gave copies of the Gospel of John to those who could read and follow along as Kamil read several chapters from it. Sam marveled. It was like a giant open-air Sunday school class back home. Forty or fifty people listened carefully as the Gospel of John was read to them. When Kamil finished reading, Sam asked the group if they thought the words they had heard were true.

“Yes, this is true,” several of the men replied.

Sam then explained in clear, simple language that all men are sinners in the sight of God and that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22 RSV). He then told his audience that the blood of Christ, shed on the “wood of the cross” was the only means by which to atone for their sin. When he had finished explaining, he again asked, “Is what you have heard true?”

Several men spoke for the group. “Some things are true, and other things are true, but we do not believe them.”

Sam smiled and replied, “Think over all you have heard. We will come back again and answer your questions.”

The men escorted Sam and Kamil to the edge of their village, where Sam prayed for them all. “Come back next month,” they said. “You speak words that interest us.”

As they made their way back along the hot, dusty road to Basrah, Sam and Kamil prayed for the men of the village. They had been allowed to preach and answer questions about Christianity for three and a half hours. This was a hopeful sign.

Back in Basrah, it soon became clear to Sam and Jim that the local authorities were not happy with their activities. The lease on the house Dr. Eustice had originally rented was about to expire, and because they now ran their small medical clinic there, they needed to find new accommodations. Sam and Jim found a less expensive house and asked if they could rent the place.



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