AN IMPRESSIVE and vital message of the "long ago" has a very pertinent and solemn appeal for us today. Many centuries have passed since David, in his earlier years, uttered a profound truth when he declared, "the king's business required haste" (1 Sam. 21:8). The Leeser rendering of this verse is "the king's business was urgent." And another Jewish translation gives it as "the king's business was pressing." It is interesting also to observe the rabbinical rendering of this passage. We read:
The day is short, and the work is much; . . . but the reward is much; and the master of the house is insistent.—Mishnah Aboth 2:15, Soncino ed. of the Talmud, p. 24.
How true this is—"the day is short." How often have we been reminded that "it is later than you think"! In these days we need to work with increased fervor and greater devotion, for the work of the Lord requireth haste.
This applies to every phase of our work today. There is so much to do and so little time in which to accomplish the task. It is interesting in this connection to notice the wording in the book of Esther, which indicates what those who were engaged in the king's business really did. "And they that did the king's business, helped the Jews" (Esther 9:3, R.V.).
We are grateful to God for the revival we see in the special efforts being made on behalf of the children of Abraham. The General Conference as well as our union and local conferences are giving their hearty support to the various activities now being carried forward for these people. No doubt all are familiar with the various projects we are seeking to implement at this time. There is a Bible correspondence course for the Jewish people, operated by Faith for Today. This has an enrollment of more than 2,000 students. Then there is the radio work being conducted in the city of Miami, and which will soon be operated over one or two stations in the New York area. Our Hebrew Jewish journal Israelite is enjoying an increased circulation—now something more than 6,000 copies each issue.
A recent encouraging development is seen in the formation of Jewish committees in the local conferences. Such committees are now functioning in the Greater New York Conference, also in the Florida and Southern New England conferences. We are hoping that several others will join in this further area of contact, so as to make plans to reach the large aggregations of Jewish people living in such cities as Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, and other important centers. These conference committees are taking hold of this work in earnest, and for this year have laid strong plans for evangelism, particularly with our literature and in some cases for public meetings, together with the necessary budgets for operating the work.
Soon we hope for a red-letter day in the history of our Jewish work in the city of New York. We are looking forward to the official opening of the new Jewish center in this great metropolis. The building is located at 410 West 45th Street, which lies between 9th and 10th Avenues. It is a real credit to our work, and it has brought great joy and blessing to the nearly 150 Jewish believers in North America.
Quite a number of Jewish people have enrolled in the baptismal classes and several we hope will soon identify themselves with the Advent Movement.
It is a wonderful awakening for these people when the scales fall from their eyes and they see and believe that Jesus Christ the Lord is the Messiah, the Anointed One, and that He alone can save His people from their sins.
We wish all our ministers and workers could find it possible to subscribe to our Hebrew journal Israelite. It is printed almost wholly in the English language and its quarterly visits would give an idea of the approach we are seeking to make to those who are of the "seed of Abraham." The subscription price is but $1 a year for four issues.
Years ago the servant of the Lord wrote the following:
When this gospel shall be presented in its fulness to the Jews, many will accept Christ as the Messiah. Among Christian ministers there are only a few who feel called upon to labor for the Jewish people; but to those who have been often passed by, as well as to all others, the message of mercy and hope in Christ is to come.—The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 380, 381.
It has been a strange thing to me that there were so few who felt a burden to labor for the Jewish people, who are scattered throughout so many lands. Christ will be with you as you strive to strengthen your perceptive faculties, that you may more clearly behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. The slumbering faculties of the Jewish people are to be aroused. The Old Testament Scriptures, blending with the New, will be to them as the dawning of a new creation, or as the resurrection of the soul. Memory will be awakened as Christ is seen portrayed in the pages of the Old Testament. Souls will be saved, from the Jewish nation, as the doors of the New Testament are unlocked with the key of the Old Testament. Christ will be recognized as the Saviour of the world, as it is seen how clearly the New Testament explains the Old. Many of the Jewish people will by faith receive Christ as their Redeemer.— Evangelism, pp. 578, 579.
May we recognize that in this phase of the work the King's business requires haste, and further, may we, like those in the days of Mordecai, recognize also that we who do the King's business might indeed "help the Jews."
