Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1882-04-10
stlonih's Column.
JESUS AT NAZARETH,

If / were to ask my hitter readers
what great danger the child Jesus
was delivered from, most of you could
tell me that Herod wished to kill
him, but that he escaped out of Her
DDS hands. You could tell me, too,
how he escaped-that God warned
Joseph in a dream to take the Vir-
gin Mary and her infant Son into
Egypt, and that Joseph did as God
directed him. Joseph and Mary and
the Holy Child stayed in Egypt till
Herod died, and then they returned
to their own country.
Joseph perhaps intended to live at
Bethlehem, where Jesus Christ was
born. But he found that cruel son
of Herod was king over Judea, and
God warned him by dream not to
stay there. So he took Mary and
Jesus to Nazareth, where, he had liv-
ed before. 1t was very natural
that he should wish to live where he
was known and would find people
ready to help him in his trade. But
while Joseph was doing what he
thought best, God was doing what,
many years before Joseph was born,
he had said he would do. The Jews
despised the people that lived at Naz-
areth; possibly most of them were
low, bad people. If Jesus went
there, he was sure to be despised.
And when he grew up and began to
teach and preach, men did look down
on him and call him contemptuOnsly
a "Nazarene.
Ages before that happened, the
prophets had foretold that Jesus
would be despised. And we see that
their words came true. But only
God could have foreseen so long be-
fore what would happen, so we know
that God spake by the prophets.
And this is one reason why we be-
lieve that the Bible, which contains
the words of the prophets, is the
word of God.
1t is well for us to remember that
Jesus Christ lived many years at
Nazareth among poor and bad peo-
pie. Jesus was poor as they were,
but he was not bad like them. He
was poor when boy, and poor all
his life. l think this teaches us that
we should not despise the poor, but
be kind and courteous to them.
have known children who would be
quite respectful to rich people, and
very rude to poor people. l have
known persons almost too proud to
even speak to working man. OF
course this is silly, and it is very
wrong as well.
Jesus lived for many years among
bad people, but he was always pure
and holy himself. If you are unfort.
unately in bad company, you need
follow the bad example. | know il
is hard not to be led away by those
who who are always near us, and are
going wrong themselves. But we
may be sure Jesus will help US, fo1
he has been in bad company himself
/ have read of a boy who was com
PEELED to live among thieves: the,
tried to coax him to steal, they prom
Used him all sorts of good things i
he would steal; they threatened hin
with all manner of evil if he woult
not do as they did; they beat ant
starved him and ill-used him in ever,
possible manner. But he stood firm
and would not do what he knew t
be wrong; and God cared for him
and by and by took him out of tn
thieves hands.
l knew boy at school who was i
a class where nearly all the boys COZ
led their exercises and cheated i
their sums, and those who did nc
except himself-pretended thu
they did, to save themselves from bt
ing prosecuted. But this lad sal
boldly that it was wrong to copy an
. cheat, and he would not do it. TIL
other boys would rub out his sum
when he had done them, and tease
him in all kinds of ways: but l al
, sure he was happier than the otht
, lads, because he had an approvin
conscience, and because he was tr,
ing his best to be like the Boy Jesus
EARLY days