With a weary sigh, Jacob Chamberlain stretched out on the floor of his bamboo hut. A long walk through the Indian jungle to reach the little village had left him tired and footsore. He opened his New Testament and commenced reading. As he let the Book slide through his fingers, Dr. Chamberlain suddenly became aware of a pair of beady eyes and a forked tongue a few feet above his face. A ten-foot snake was coiled in the rafters, descending towards the resting missionary. Bounding to the doorway, Dr. Chamberlain seized an iron spit, speared the snake to the rafter, and beat its head furiously with a bamboo cane!
As Dr. Chamberlain dropped the dead snake to the ground, the chief men
of the village hailed him with gifts of food and much thanksgiving. He
had destroyed the terror of the village. Now, all the villagers gladly
listened as he told of the old serpent, the devil, and the One Who has
power to defeat the devil. God had made a way for these people to be receptive to the Gospel.
Born in 1835 in Sharon, Connecticut, Jacob Chamberlain surrendered his life to be a missionary at a young age. However, he was kept back by the need to care for his parents. He could not escape his call, though, and God made a way for him to go with his father’s blessing.
He attended seminary and medical school, married a godly young lady, and in 1860, arrived in India. The Telegu people proved to be a ripe harvest
field. People would come from miles around to receive medical treatment
from the young doctor. As patients were usually preached to before being treated, healing their bodies made a way for the Savior to heal their souls.
In addition to being an eminent physician, Dr. Chamberlain was a great scholar and worked on translating the Bible into Telegu. He also founded numerous Christian schools. When he died in 1908 from jungle fever, his two sons, Louis and William, continued his work.
Jacob Chamberlain labored in India for forty-eight years, and through him God made a way for numberless souls to be saved. Our God hasn’t changed, and for today’s Christian who will follow, God will make a way.