Sign-witnesses are often asked to do some strange things
And in the morning came the word of the Lord to me, Son of man, has not the house of Israel,
the rebellious house, asked you what you're doing? Say to them, Thus
says the Lord God: This oracle or revelation concerns the prince ofJerusalem and all the house of Israel
who are in it. Say, I AM YOUR SIGN. As I have done, so shall it be done
to them: into banishment, into captivity they shall go and the prince
who is in their midst shall lift up his luggage to his shoulder in the
dark, then shall he go forth. They shall dig through the wall to carry
out through the hole in it. He shall cover his face because he will not
see with his eyes the land.
What a strange commission for a prophet! What grace he must have needed to execute and then explain the meaning of this prophetic ministry of symbolizing the fleeing prince and his people.
Even today, sign-witnesses must be willing to do the unusual thing if God so demands. Mrs. Catherine Booth-Clibborn once told me of a very strange experience she had when she first arrived in Holland, after having established the work of the Salvation Army in France and Switzerland.
At midnight in Amsterdam, the Marechale couldn't sleep for contemplating Europe's perishing millions. Suddenly, a Voice spoke to her. "Go to Brussels," it said. "Go in sackcloth and ashes and tell them of their sin and of the remedy through the precious Lamb of Calvary."
She knew this to be the command from the Lord and so, in the morning, she began to prepare to obey it. When she made it known that she intended to appear in a gown of sackcloth, one of her officers said she couldn't possibly do that!
"I must! It's commanded," she declared. And she had a gown of sackcloth made.
A large hall in Brussels was engaged. Then, before the first meeting, in a room behind the platform, she put on her strange dress and put real ashes on her head just as the Old Testament prophets had done when they mourned over the sins of the people. Suddenly, she was seized with fright, for she pictured in her mind how she would appear to the people and how they would laugh at her and call her insane.
When one of the officers came to tell her that the audience was waiting, he saw that her face was pale and that she was trembling in every limb. "Tell them to sing and pray and then I will come," she said. He obeyed and soon the strains of a hymn she had composed came floating into the room where she stood still transfixed by fear. Then came a silence which told her that the people were praying; and suddenly, the fear was gone. She walked slowly onto the platform while the audience gazed at her in petrified amazement.
After a moment of dead silence, she began, "If I wear mourning tonight, it's better to express the feelings which are in my heart. I mourn for your sins - your rejection of the Christ of God, the Savior of the world. This fills me with sorrow. Unless you repent of your sins, you will die without hope."
This was the beginning of a campaign which was intended to last three weeks, but which lasted in that place for three months! And when the Marechale wrote to her father, General William Booth, she told him, "Most marvelously is God working here in Brussels. Last night we had the concert hall crowded and a great number were turned back at the door. Praise God, it is all His work!"
This is copyrighted material from James Stewart's book Come O Breath!, available from Revival Literature, PO Box 6068, Asheville, NC 28816.
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