Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ
Dutch contemporary poets, the celebrated Bilderdyk, who died at the age
of 75 years in 1831. He was a remarkable man in all respects, and one
whose political and religious convictions, and originality of mind and
character, had armed all this present age, at least in his own country,
against him. Misunderstood, persecuted, banished in 1795, and harassed
by all sorts of misfortunes, he had found from his youth, strength and
consolation in the Gospel of Christ. Attached in heart to the truths of
the confession of the Reformed Churches, he had besides early perceived
the glorious future, announced by the prophets to the ancient people of
God, and how their conversion to the Messiah, crucified by them, would
be one day to the nations at large like life from the dead. From thence
arose a particular attachment to Israel for their fathers' sake, and for
the love of Christ, who sprung from Israel according to the flesh. Very
naturally, I felt strongly drawn towards this extraordinary man, I
became his disciple, and also his intimate friend for eighteen years to
the day of his death. It is to him, under the hand of God, and through
His adorable grace, that I saw the light which led me to the Christian
religion, and to the faith in Jesus, my Saviour, and my God. Not that
Bilderdyk ever sought to make a proselyte of his young disciple. With a
wisdom which I can attribute to nothing but the direction of the
Almighty, he rather endeavoured not to sway my mind by the influence
which his superior intelligence gave him over me. He only endeavoured to
render me more of an Israelite than is consistent with the wisdom of the
present age. He spoke to me of the Old Testament; he directed my
attention to the prophecies, to the promises given to the fathers, to
the portions of revealed truth, preserved even in the traditions of the
Rabbis (Messiah ben David and Messiah ben Joseph, &c.) Especially he
tried to make me feel that the true Christian shares in the hopes of
Israel in regard to a glorious reign of Messiah upon the throne of
David; and that on the other hand (it is thus that he expressed himself
in a piece of poetry which he addressed to me in 1819), the sincere Jew
is a Christian in hope.
"Soon the hand of God led us further on. It was in 1820. Bilderdyk and I
were engaged in a deeply serious conversation on the things of God and
of truth. In the ardour of discourse he happened to say to me, that the
ancient Jews themselves had acknowledged a plurality of persons in the
ineffable unity of God. That God seeing Himself, contemplating Himself,
reflecting Himself, begot His Son from all eternity; and that the Son is
He whom Christians adore in the person of Jesus Christ crucified.
"Then did my eyes perceive the first rays of new light. I began to read
the New Testament; I read that unspeakably sublime and blessed word (St.
John i. 6-14), 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God, and the Word was made flesh.' I began to feel
an abhorrence of sin, for which the Saviour Himself manifested in the
flesh, had suffered the death of the cross. I perceived the fulfilment
of the prophecies of Isaiah, xi., liii., lxi., and in Psalms xxii., cx.,
&c. I adored--I believed, and by degrees this faith operated upon my
conscience and my practice. Religion was no longer merely a sublime
speculation, or a great national interest; I found that I must become
the property of Jesus Christ, that I must live to Him, and by Him.
Twenty years have elapsed since that period. Shame in the sight of God
and before men befits me in recording so holy an obligation. But He who
called me from the midst of darkness is faithful. He will not suffer me
to quit this life without having truly glorified Him with my lips, and
in my life, by the faith which alone saves. During the early days of my
convictions I had, though with some hesitation, opened my mind on the
subject, to my friend Capadose. We soon entered into a full discussion
of it--and our conversations were more and more directed to the great
questions of the truth and salvation; we read and examined together. A
third enquirer into the Scriptures and the truth in Christ, was soon
after joined with us. God gave me, in 1821, a wife whose choice from the
first communication we had together on this all-important subject, was
in accord with my own. By a remarkable providence of God, Hannah
Belmonte, my cousin, betrothed to me in 1820, had been, through a train
of family circumstances, brought up in a school of Christian young
ladies. Having been admitted to share their religious instructions, she
became acquainted with the catechism of Heidelberg, and had heard the
blessed name of Jesus before I did. From the time I imparted to her what
was passing in my own mind, she became to me a beloved sister in Christ,
as well as a faithful companion in the trials of life, and in the search
after eternal life through faith in our great God and Saviour. Together
with our friend Capadose, we were baptized the 20th October, 1822, at
Leyden; and the Lord afterwards added to us three other members of our
family. We kept up a good understanding, and uninterrupted communion of
feeling with my mother-in-law Belmonte, and her eldest daughter, Esther;
though we were far from anticipating the happy change and renewal of
heart and life, which quickly developed itself. By the Divine blessing,
a conversation that my mother-in-law and I had together, one evening,
was made the means of arousing her to a serious concern for the
salvation of her soul, and this example was soon followed by her
daughter. Both displayed great eagerness for Christian instruction, and
shortly after they openly confessed the name of the Lord Jesus, and
were baptized by the venerable and pious Pierre Chevalier (pastor of the
Walloon church in this town)--who is now with them before the throne of
the Lamb.
"Our mother, then aged sixty-eight years, survived her baptism two
years, a period which she devoted almost entirely to prayer and studying
the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, her previous reading
having been confined to the most frivolous publications. Perfect peace
was the portion of her latter days, and her last words were, 'Come, Lord
Jesus!' Her daughter Esther, who afterwards married the worthy son of
the Walloon pastor, our intimate friend and brother, Monsieur J.
Chevalier, after a most edifying course of devotedness to her Lord and
Saviour, died in her confinement in June, 1840. Her soul also reposes in
peace in the bosom of Abraham, and in the full fruition of His presence
who redeemed her with His blood.
"Another member of our family, who had become a disciple of Christ, and
had been baptized some time after us (but quite independently of us),
had preceded our dear sister in death; delivered from the depths of sin
by the healing grace of the Lord, he had found pardon and eternal life
through the new and living way of the blood of Christ. After having
studied theology, he was about to assume the pastoral charge of one of
our churches, when he was called to his rest.
"To God the most holy, be thanksgiving and praise for his unspeakable
mercies in life, in death, and throughout all eternity. Amen."
After Bilderdyk's death Da Costa was generally recognized as his
successor among the Dutch poets. He wrote fifty-three longer and shorter
poems. Amongst his other works are--"Israel en de Volken" (2nd ed.
Haarlem, 1848-49), a survey of the history of the Jews to the nineteenth
century, the third volume dealing with the history of the Spanish and
Portuguese Jews. The work was translated into English under the title,
"Israel and the Gentiles," by Mary Kennedy (London, 1850), and into
German by a friend of God's Word (Miss Thumb), published by K. Mann,
Frankfurt, A/M. 1855. He also wrote two papers, "The Jews in Spain and
Portugal, and the Jews from Spain and Portugal," in 1836; "The Von
Schönberg (Belmonte) family," in the "Jahrbuch für Holland," 1851; and
"The noble families among the Jews" (Navorscher, 1857).
DAHAN, Job, a Jew in Mogador, baptized by the L.J.S. missionary
Ginsburg, about 1872-3, had to experience, like St. Paul, stripes and
imprisonment, yet remained steadfast in the faith and laboured for the
Master.
DANIEL, David, laboured as a pioneer missionary at Safed, in 1849,
amidst great difficulties and personal dangers. As soon as one enquirer
came forth to make a public confession of his faith in Christ, Daniel
was exposed to ill-treatment from his unbelieving brethren, and at last
compelled to return to Jerusalem. Later he laboured among the Jews in
Frankfort, and the rest of his life he spent as a lay-worker at
Wadhurst, in Sussex. He was a true servant of Christ.
DARMON, Solomon, born in Algiers in 1850, baptized by Ginsburg in 1872,
laboured with tokens of Divine approval in Mogador. A Jewish widow, who
had declared that if angels from heaven were to tell her that Jesus is
the Messiah she would not believe, was convinced at length through the
testimony of Darmon. His own wife later followed his example.
DARMSTADT (Rabbi Schittenhoven), was baptized in Switzerland, in 1749,
by Pastor Augusti.
DARMSTADTER, son of a learned Jew, was baptized in Darmstadt, in 1680.
Concerning him, there appeared in Breslau, in 1713, a little book by
Deakonus Caspar, entitled "Geschtillte Sehnsucht eines wahren Israeliten
nach dem himmlischen Jerusalem" ("The longing of a true Israelite after
the heavenly Jerusalem satisfied"). To show the Jews that Christianity
was a matter of deep concern with him he abstained from food for several
days, and by his whole life and conversation he exercised a salutary
influence upon them.
DAVID, Andreas Friedrich, born at Altofen, in 1750, was baptized in
Vienna about 1785. Superintendent Folk reports of him in that year that
he was a sincere man and the first Jewish convert received into the
Evangelical Church in Austria ("Kalkar Israel," 203).
DAVID, Fanta, a Falasha convert in Abyssinia. Concerning him, Argawi
wrote on March 14, 1889, that he had accompanied him on a long journey
on foot to Monkullo, in order to be able to send a letter from there to
their friend, Mr. Flad, in Germany.
DAVID, Ferdinand, born in Hamburg, in 1810, was baptized in Berlin by
Pastor Schultze, in 1828. As a musician and composer he associated with
Mendelssohn. He died at Klosters, in Granbündten. His sister Louise,
born in 1811, also embraced Christianity and died in London as Madam
Dulken, in 1850.
DAVID, Georg Nathan, son of a Jewish merchant, was born at Copenhagen in
1793, and after receiving a good education, embraced Christianity. He
became Professor at the University of Copenhagen, founded the newspaper
"Fäderlandet," which advocated the political rights of the people. He
was also director of a bank. He died in 1874.
DAVID, Hakim, physician and learned Talmudist, was baptized by the
L.J.S. missionaries at Bagdad, in 1850.
DAVID, J., laboured as an evangelist among the Jews in Hamburg and
Holstein about 1875.
DAVIDSON, Benjamin, a native of Posen, embraced Christianity in London,
probably under the ministry of Ridley Herschell, who had known him at
home. In 1843 they both belonged to a Hebrew Christian Prayer Union,
which used to meet once a month for prayer. In 1847 Davidson was
appointed Principal of the Missionary Training College of the British
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews. He also used
to instruct enquirers. He was the author of an "Analytical Hebrew and
Chaldee Lexicon," "Syriac Reading Lessons with Analysis," and "Chaldee
Reading Lessons," an English edition of Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar. He
assisted in the editing of the "Englishman's Hebrew Concordance." His