News from Reformed Church Botswana July 2020
| Background |
| It all started with old Stan. He was someone with mixed blood. If I am not mistaken, his father was a white man and his mother a Herero. In the walkways of D’kar and Gantsi we often met and then talked about this and that. I met him at a funeral at that time. The Hereros have a farm nearby and from time to time some of them are buried on the farm. Then almost all that is a Herero in Botswana gathers to pay their last respects to the deceased. Tents are pitched everywhere and this is one big festival with this sad undertone. I then take the opportunity not only to attend the funeral but also to hand out Herero Bibles. In many cases they ask me to open the funeral with Scripture reading and prayer for them. It was during one of these funerals that I met old Stan. We were at the grave site and the people were already closing the grave, when I heard someone talking behind me, very loudly. No one took notice of him. When I looked around, old Stan was standing at one of the graves, talking loudly to his ancestors. Some of the others who were there confirmed this: Uncle Stan is talking to the ancestors. I decided to have an in-depth conversation with him when the time came. At that point, he was already around eighty when he was not older. |
| Our meeting A while later I ran into him at our chief, April’s house. It was around 2017. April passed away in 2018. “Old Stan,” were my words to him, “I want to talk to you. When we were at the funeral the other day, I heard you talking very loudly at one of the graves. ” “Yes,” he said, “I spoke to one of the deceased. It is our black tradition to go to the deceased for help and advice.” There, by the grace of the Lord, I had the opportunity to talk calmly with old Stan about what the Bible says about ancestors or the dead. The Hereros generally have great respect for the Bible. Many believe that it is the Word of God, although they also have their ancestral rituals. They believe in Jesus but also in the ancestors. An old Zulu once explained it to me in South Africa: “When I pray,” he said, “I pray to my ancestors who then convey the message to Jesus so that Jesus will pass it on it to his Father.” This is syncretism at its best. I then immediately started the conversation and said to him: “Old Stan, did you know that the Lord absolutely forbids this in His Word. “What is forbidden,” old Stan wanted to know. “You may not speak to the dead at all.” Dumbstruck, he shook his head and said to me, he did not know. I then took out my cell phone and read Deuteronomy 18 to him. From verse 10 it says: “10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. 13Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. 14For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.” Old Stan couldn’t utter a word. He did not know what to say. “You see old Stan, it’s not culture. It was so from the beginning. The Gentiles called it culture, but to the Lord it was an abomination, so much so that He drove out the people who did it before the Israelites. I read to you verse 12 again: “For whosoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD; and because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you.” I further explained to him that there were people in the New Testament (1 Cor. 10) who thought they brought sacrifices to God. Paul admonishes them and says in verses 19 and 20: “19What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.” “You see old Stan, every time you bring sacrifices to the ancestors or even talk to them you do it for devils or demons. You are actually talking to demons, and to the Lord it is an abomination. He hates it. You imagine you are doing this for the Lord or for your ancestors, but in fact you are doing it for demons. If we read Luke 16 you will see that when someone dies he can no longer return to this earth. The rich man in hell begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers to warn them of the horrors of hell. He says in verse 28: ‘28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham’s words to him were, verse 29: ‘Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ I further explained to him: “You know, I grew up among black people. I know your language as my language. You raised me so to speak. I know your culture as if it was my culture and I believe it was like that for a reason so that I can warn you.” I then told him about someone in South Africa with whom an elder and I were visiting at the time. The woman told us about dreams that tormented her at night. It is her mother, she says, who appears to her in her dreams and she wants them as a family to bring a sacrifice for her and it must be a cow. After we explained to her that it was a demon that appeared to her in her dreams and not her mother, she wholeheartedly agreed with us and said to us: “You know, it bothered me a lot, because my mother was always a very gentle and loving person, she was well aware of how poor we are. As I know her, I believe what you say. She would never have forced or harassed us to do something we could not afford and then this person who appears to me in my dreams does not act nearly as we knew her.” Old Stan and I talked for a long time and he looked shocked when he left. A while later we met again, his words to me were: “Moruti Hendrik, you must not think I forgot what you said to me. I think about it a lot, thank you.” Not long after that, old Stan passed away. On the one hand it was sad because he was loved in our area, but on the other hand I was very grateful that the Lord made it possible for us to talk. Not long after this insident, our chief said to me: “Hendrik, I just talked to old David and he mentioned to me pertinently that he was calling his ancestors for help and he was not ready to give up this old tradition.” Old David has attended our services here at D’kar from time to time over the years. He is a true Herero and a resident of D’kar. Meanwhile, our chief suddenly passes away in 2018. We buried him and everything went back to normal, but I never forgot what he told me about old David. |
| My conversation with old David The other day I was visiting one of our church members, when old David came walking up to the house. Initially we just talked about this and that and waited for the right time and angle. Just as old David started making preparations to go I realized it is now or never. “Old David!”, I said. “I do not believe that anything happens by chance. It has been a long time that the Lord laid it on my heart to talk to you and you will not realize how happy I am to see you. I have seen you pass by several times and then the Lord laid it on my heart to talk to you, Therefore, I do not believe in coincidences. It is the Lord who arranged it for us to meet here at old Daniel’s house this morning. ” Old David did not know what to say and must have wondered what I wanted to talk to him about so urgently. I started by telling him about old Stan, and how the Lord put it on my heart to talk to him. In time I could convey His message to old Stan and warn him in time, because the Lord did not want him to enter eternity like this. You can fool yourself by believing in the Lord Jesus, but if you still worship your ancestors or consult the dead, you should know that you are not a Christian. In John 14 verse 6 the Lord Jesus says, He alone is the way and the truth and the life and no one can go to the Father except through Him. We talked for a long time. I basically repeated my conversation with old Stan, with Deuteronomy 18 as the starting point, and like old Stan, old David left without saying a word. I greeted him with the words, “Old David, I believe the Lord sent you to me this morning. He does not want you to be lost. It rested heavily on my mind, and it was the Lord who did it, and it was none other than He who arranged the meeting.” I saw him again this afternoon on the way to Gantsi. I wanted to stop to take a picture of him, but I do not think it would have been wise. Our conversation is still at a sensitive stage. Old David is about 83 years old. He may be older, but he still walks everywhere with his walking stick. Please keep him in your prayers. Many missionaries will agree, success stories in the missionfield are very often the man-to-man conversations where you focus on someone’s life. May the Lord, if necessary, arrange a follow-up discussion in this regard. (To call someone “old Stan” or “old David” is a sign of respect for being your senior.) Greetings and blessings, Hendrik du Plessis |