Years ago in Cairo, Egypt, an agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society was busy about his duties in his shop. Not only was he a diligent dispense of God's precious Word, but he had the love of souls in his heart and true missionary zeal.
Near mid-morning a group of men entered the "Bible House," as the shop was called. A glance at their sun-browned faces was enough to reveal their Jewish ancestry, and their dusty, travel-stained garments indicated that they were on a long journey. To corroborate his impression, the agent asked: "Have you come from far away?”
The answer in the affirmative was accompanied by the name of a distant oasis in Central Arabia.
“So far away!" Thus the shopkeeper exclaimed. "And may I ask why you have come to Cairo?”
The spokesman for the group answered: "We heard of a place here that sells the Old Testament, as you would call it, in Hebrew. We wanted to make sure of getting the right volumes; so we came ourselves, and have been directed to you.”
The missionary heart of the agent was thrilled at this opportunity of serving a few of "God's chosen people" in this way. He gladly counted out the number of Old Testaments they requested and packed them in a box. But before he fastened the package he took from a shelf another book—a Hebrew New Testament. Without a word concerning it, he hid this extra volume among the others, silently claiming the promise of God as recorded in Isa. 55:1111So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11): "My word... shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
As his customers left with their treasure, the agent watched them go even as Joseph, perhaps, had gazed after his brethren as they departed from Egypt in similar fashion long ago. Were his thoughts prophetic?
Many months passed, and again the little party of Jews came to Cairo. Smilingly they greeted the proprietor of the Bible House as they handed him a letter from their Arabian rabbi. His heart overflowing with thanksgiving to God, the agent read: “Very highly do we value the excellent copies which you sent to us of the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms in Hebrew. And not only those; but another Book you enclosed with them a Book that we had never seen before till then. Nor had we ever heard of the Person of whom it speaks.
“Day by day we continued reading of Him, till with one accord we concluded that He is Israel's Messiah! In future our prayers shall go up to heaven in no other name but in the name of Messiah— Jesus.”