Adoniram
Judson
A Promising Start
The 21-year-old missionary to be had come a long way
from his ‘Plymouth Independent Academy’ days.
Such was his academic ability that by the age of 19 he has established
his own school and written 2 books; Elements
of English Grammar and The Young Lady’s Arithmetic. Teaching, however, did not bring Adoniram
any fulfilment in life and he announced that he was giving it up. His father, the Rev Adoniram Judson, hoped
and prayed that his son might follow him into the Christian ministry. Not only did the 19-year-old Adoniram have
no desire for the ministry, but he had not come to a belief in Christ for
himself. He believed that the Bible was
no more than a collection of stories and Jesus was no more than a good
man.
Desperate to get away from the challenge of the gospel, Adoniram left to be a writer for theatre companies in New York. The thrill of the stage and the excitement of the city lifestyle were all embraced with great enthusiasm. Just like the Prodigal Son, however, the excitement soon wore off and he began to pine for home. On his journey home he stopped in at his uncles where a young preacher spoke to him of his need for Christ.
The next night Adoniram stayed at an Inn. The only room available was next to a dying
man who groaned in agony and torment all night. Trying to block out the sound, Adoniram thought back to heady
days at Rhode Island College in Providence. He remembered his friend Jacob Eames and how he had persuaded
Adoniram to reject the gospel he had been taught as a boy. They had lost touch over the years. Suddenly the groans in the next room
stopped. With a mix of relief and dread
as to the fate of the occupant, Adoniram got some sleep.
As he left in the morning he couldn’t help asking
the innkeeper what had happened to the young man in the next room. ‘He died’ replied the man. Out of simple curiosity, Adoniram asked what
the mans name was. The innkeeper told
him it was a young man called Jacob Eames.
Stunned and silenced, Adoniram continued his journey home. Whatever else could be said of his friend
Jacob, by the screams of torment and anguish coming from that room, he was
certainly not ready to face death. The
question that now faced Adoniram was ‘am I ready for eternity?’ What comfort could he have offered his
friend even if he had been at his bedside?
A slightly more humble Adoniram arrived home to a
warm welcome. After a short, and
unhappy period working in Boston, he announced that he was going to Bible
College. Slowly and steadily the young
sceptic came to a realisation that the Bible was God’s word and that Jesus was
indeed the Son of God. He came to
personal faith in Christ when he was 20.
While at Bible College Adoniram read about the spiritually dark land of Burma. At the time, it had only one Roman Catholic priest as a missionary and none of the Bible had been translated into Burmese. The idea of going out to bring the gospel to Burma gripped Judson. Some of his friends tried to reason with him about the dangers of such a venture. During a walk the missionary call came to Adoniram in the words ‘go into all the world and preach the gospel’. This confirmed his earlier call. Unfortunately his enthusiasm for overseas work was not shared by his parents. They were hoping he would accept the offer of a church in Boston. The choice was difficult but clear. God wanted him to go to Burma and Adoniram had to obey even if it meant temporarily upsetting his parents.
Love at First Sight
Towards the end of his time at Bible College, Judson was invited to the Dean’s house for a meal. No doubt the meal was enjoyable but the sight of John Haseltine’s daughter Ann, caused Adoniram to fall in love. Their relationship grew over the following months and they were soon engaged. As she waved her fiancee off on his voyage to London on 11th January 1811 to meet with the London Missionary Society, Ann Haseltine could have had little idea of the challenges that lay ahead of her in the land of Burma.
Freedom in France
Once the Pirates had overwhelmed The Packet the crew were put in the hold to be sold as slaves in France. Continuing with his Latin translation work, Adoniram discovered that the ships Doctor could speak Latin and they were able to communicate. After speaking to the Captain, Judson was released from the hold and given a cabin. When they finally docked in France they were marched to the local jail. As they walked through the streets Adoniram called out for help and a sympathetic American heard him. Visiting the prison later the man threw his cloak over Judson and smuggled him out undetected. He finally made the trip to London and met with the London Missionary Society. There was some surprise at his choice of destinations (Burma) and even more shock that he planned to take his soon-to-be wife with him.
A Change in Direction
Eight months after leaving New York, Adoniram arrived back. He and Ann were married in February 1812 and the following day he was ordained for the ministry. Along with another couple, Samuel and Harriet Newall, the Judsons made the long voyage to India, with the hope of continuing to Burma. While they were there they spent time with the well known missionary William Carey. Like everyone else he tried to persuade them not to go to Burma particularly because of the danger to their wives. He suggested missionary service in Maritius or Madagascar. Having decided on the latter destination, the Newall’s travelled ahead with the Judsons to follow after. After an eventful trip the Judsons arrived to hear that Harriet Newall and her baby had died during the birth.
A collection of missionaries worked together for a few months in Madagascar with little fruit for their labours. They decided that the Lord was calling them to different ministries and went their separate ways. The Judsons managed to find a boat in Madras that would take them to Rangoon in Burma. Despite sailing into Rangoon on 13th July 1813, the Judsons happiness was overshadowed by loosing their first baby during the trip. Just at a time when they needed family and friends the most, the young couple were plunged into a strange new country.
The land of Burma was a place filled with noise and colour. People were mainly Bhuddists so believed in a multitude of gods and spirits. They believed that evil spirits could be scared away by making lots of noise. Women and children had lots of jewellery and the men wore strings from their clothes all in an effort to keep the evil spirits at bay. One of the things that shocked the Judsons was that little children were given cigars. Overall the country was very corrupt with great violence and constant stealing. The authorities were often inconsistent and could be very unstable. The Judsons first task was to learn the language. Supporting them in this difficult task was William Carey’s son Felix who was married to a Burmese woman.
The Lord sent others to help in the work in Burma. In September 1815 George and Phoebe Hough arrived with a printing press to print Burmese bibles. A week later Rodger Judon was born. The work seemed to be progressing so well but difficulties were just round the corner. Deciding to take a trip to Bengal, Adoniram ended up being away for a year without any of his letters reaching Ann. The city of Rangoon was hit by cholera. Little Rodger began loosing weight and died in the Spring of 1816. War between England and Burma was edging ever closer. Finally the Hough’s could take no more and decided to move the printing press to India. Pressing Ann Judson to come with them she began the voyage but turned back because she could get no peace about the move. Shortly after Adoniram arrived back and told of his yearlong ordeal that involved going overland to Madras.
First Signs of Fruit
The year 1819 saw the breakthrough of the first Burmese convert. After 6 years with little visable fruit Maung Nau professed faith. Later on in the year, however, there was a resurgance of militant Bhuddism under the new King Bagyidaw. Despite 30 people attending the services up until that point, numbers fell away through fear of persecution. It was decided to ‘bow at the golden feet and lift their eyes to the golden face’ which meant in Burma an audience with the king.
Bowing at the Golden Feet
As Adoiram sailed up the Irrawaddy river to Ava to meet the King, his vessel was again overwhelmed by Pirates. Through much prayer the six-volume set of the Bible covered in pure gold leaf that he had taken for the King was not stolen with all the other things. When they eventually arrived they were summoned to see King Bagyidaw. As they walked through his palace everything was covered in gold. The missionary longed that the treasure contained in the word of God would be known and loved by the King. Unfortunately the King was not impressed with the gift. When Adoniram asked for greater religious freedom he was even less impressed. Instead of relaxing the pressure on Christians he ordered the appointment of 100 new Buddhist Monks.
When a new missionary Doctor arrived called Dr Jonathan Price it was a time to review the work in Burma. After 10 years there had been 18 converts to Christ. A Christian School had been established, four of the New Testament Gospels as well as a number of Pauls letters had been translated into Burmese, many booklets had been printed as well as hundreds of tracts being distributed. By now the King had heard of the new Doctor and his thriving medical practice and wanted to meet with him. As Adoniram and Dr Price knelt before the King, they were questioned about their respective employment. The Doctor had to explain how he performed a cataract operation which he was by know famous for in Burma. The King then turned to Judson asking how he told people about his god. To his amazement, Adoniram was asked to preach before the King. The following day the King decreed that Price was to stay in Ava and he gave Judson a piece of land for a Kyoung (a holy place).
The move to Ava should have been a great breakthrough but war was declared between Britain and Burma in May 1824. Due to a friendship the Judsons had with a British man, Adoniram was immidiately under suspicion of spying. On the 16th June 1824 he was imprisoned with Dr Price joining him shortly after. The prisons in Burma at that time are very difficult to imagine. Amazing as it seems Judson managed to keep a diary. The following are some of his memories of his time in prison;
18th June 1824 – The nights are appalling. Before nightfall those who have their feet
in stocks (and that’s nearly everyone, men and a few women too) have the chains
that are on their ankles all the time hooked into a pulley contraption which is
then hoisted in the air until we are left almost dangling from it, our feet
strung high up with only our shoulders on the ground. We thought we’d be left like that for a short time and then
released, but we were hung all of that night and the last night too.
Mid-October 1824 – Each day at exactly 3pm a gong is
banged. Two spotted faces [prison
guards] walk among the prisoners, then
stand in front of two of them. These
poor souls are then made to shuffle out of the prison, their legs held in three
sets of chains, to their death. As 3pm
draws near each day there is a terror such as I could never have imagined. Some days I just wish they would stand in
front of me. Then it would be all
over. Thoughts of heaven sometimes make
me long for death.
26th January 1825
Maung Ing came today to tell me that I have a daughter. And what has she for a father? I am no use
to her or to Ann or to anyone else. And
even as I write this I see I’m so self-pitying that I’m making myself of no use
to God either. I’m going to thank God
over and over again until I can stir up some feeling of thankfullness in my
heart. Thank you for Ann’s safe
delivery. Thank you for a live child. Thank you Jesus. Thank you for all you suffered there for me. Thank you that you know and remember what it
is to suffer terribly. Thank you, thank
you, thank you, thank you. Please help
me to feel thankful.
Free but Broken
The prison ordeal was compounded by a move to another jail in Oung-pen-la. It was until the end of 1825 that the frail Adoniram Judson was finally released into the protection of the now victorious British forces. He decided to move his work to the new city of Amherst. Leaving Ann there for a time he returned to Ava where, after 4 months he received a letter. His wife Ann had died. As he wrote in his diary, his heart was broken. Arriving back in Amherst in 1827, Adoniram also lost his adopted daughter Abbey and daughter Maria who had been born while he was in prison. He was indeed a broken man. For a time he went and sat in the jungle alone full of grief for all his losses. Gradually he came through this bleak period and threw himself into the work.
Deciding to establish a new work in Moulmein, Adoniram finished translating the Burmese New Testament towards the end of 1832. Two years later his loneliness was dispelled when he married Sarah Boardman who’s missionary husband had died a few years before. They went on to have seven children; Abigail Ann, Adoniram Brown, Elnathan, Henry, Henry Hall, Charles and Edward. Despite her large family, Sarah managed to translate the Pilgrims Progress into Burmese. Sadly on a return to America, Sarah died and was buried at sea while anchored of St Helena. With his oldest children crying around him, Adoniram ‘abandoned himself to heartbreaking sorrow’.
As the ship sailed into Boston harbour 33 years after Adoniram had left to go to Burma, he thought about all the losses he had suffered. As well as his two wives and numerous children, his father, mother and brother had all died while he had been away. To his amazement there was a crowd of reporters, church leaders and well wishers waiting to meet them as they came off the boat.
With the children staying with friends and relatives Adoniram toured America speaking at meetings about the work in Burma. On the 11th December 1845 he was introduced to the famous childrens author Emily Chubbock. After forming a friendship, Adoniram asked if she would consider writing a biography of his first wife Ann. Gladly accepting the invitation, they worked on the book over the next few months. As the friendship grew, Adoniram asked Emily for her hand in marriage and they were married in June 1846. Five weeks later they both sailed for Burma.
When the couple arrived in Moulmein, they discovered that there were 30 missionaries working there! They decided to move back to Rangoon to build up the Church in that area. The persecution grew while they were there and after seven months they had to leave. The years of missionary service had taken their toll on Adoniram. He was given grace to complete his six-hundred page dictionary of Burmese while Emily completed her biography of Sarah. Finally, Judson died on Friday 12th April 1850 after falling ill with dysentery. He used to love preaching to the Burmese about the Golden Shores of heaven and finally he reached them himself.
The life of Adoniram Judson is a life that should fill us with amazement and what the Lord can do with one sinner who is saved by His grace. The love that Adoniram had for his saviour and his willingness to suffer for the gospel is a wonderful testimony for us today. Do you know this Saviour in a personal way? If you do, would you be willing to suffer for him? Give thanks for the faithfulness of Adoniram Judson and remember the land of Burma where there is still great trouble even today.
[Much of the information in this article is based on ‘Adoniram Judson, Danger on the Steets of Gold, Irene Howet, Christian Focus Publications 2001. We would highly recommend this book for a fuller explanation of Adoniram Judson]