Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-02-08
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THE BROOKLYN
TABERNACLE
BIBLE STUDIES
"ABOUT NY FATHERS BUSINESS"
Luke II. 4052-Feb. II.

Luke u. fU-o<-feC. ~.
"How is it that We sought me? Wist
ye net that I must be about my faith
er's business?"-V. 40:
The wonderful babe of Bethlehem
grew and waxed strong, filed with
wisdom; and the grace of God was
upon him." The perfect child the per-
feet boy, was of course far in advance
of imperfect children. The schooling
privileges of today were unknown.
The education cleaned by the masses
came to them chiefly through contact
with their elders: history itself being
handed down from generation to gen.
GRAFTON, except for the scholarly.
Jewish boys, however, had an adj
vantage over those of other nations
because of the divine regulation of the
temple services and the services in
the synagogues every Sabbath day.
Those services consisted particularly
of readings from the law and the
prophets by course. Thus all Jewish
children had excellent facilities for
hearing the word Of the Lord. "They
have Moses and the prophets, let them
hear them" Few had more oppor-
tunities than this-few were able to
few-not because of schooling priv
ileges in his youth, but because of his
brilliant mind, which retained every
thing that came to IT and to which,
therefore, the bible was continually
an open book.
The SURPRISING abilities Of Jesus are
attested by the fact that when he en-
tered the synagogue Of his home city,
Nazareth, his superiority as reader
and an exponent was so generally rec
ognized that the service was usually
turned over to him. duke w. 49,
And yet the people marvelled, saying,
how comes it that Jesus is man OF
letters, having never gone to school?
And they all bare him witness and
wondered at the grace Of his speech.
duke w. 22.) The explanation OF
the matter is that Jesus was perfect,
while all about him were imperfect.
Our lession relates particularly to
an incident which occurred when
Jesus was twelve years old. His par
ents' were strict religionists and
obeyed the Mosaic law by attending
regularly the feast of passover at Jer-
usalem every year, and on this oc-
casion Jesus was with them. The
expression, parents" does not imply
that Saint Luke supposed Joseph to
be the father Of Jesus, any more than
that Mary so considered the matter
when (verse 49, she spoke of Joseph
as being his father" He was the
foster father of Jesus, his foster par
ent The language is in exact har.
mony with what we would use under
such circumstances today and Is not
a basis for any just criticism.
AS might be surmised, the gather
ing of Jews from all parts meant
great crowds. Different families from
different localities usually travelled to-
gether as one caravan. 1t was Jew
ish custom that a Jewish boy should
be considered "a son of the law"
when he had attained his twelfth year.
He then became responsible under
the law and thenceforth was required
to keep its festivals, etc.
At the time in question Jesus had
attained his twelfth birthday. He
we'll knew of his peculiar birth and Of
the great prophecies which centered
in him, related by uabriel to his moth
er, and he was on the alert to fulfill
his mission-to do the will of the
heavenly father. He surmised that
since at twelve years Of age Jewish
boys came under the requirements of
the law covenant, this arrangement
might possibly have been made as an