Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-06-30
LESSON FOR JULY 3
THE EARLY LIFE OF SAUL.

CT. II Tim. 3:14, Is.
GOLDEN TEXT-Today if ye will hear
his voice, harden not your hearts.-Heb.
3:I, S.
REFERENCE MATERIAL-Deut. as,
10; 6:20-25; Josh. 4:20-24.
PRIMARY ,TOPIC-When Saul Was
Boy.-Acts 22:3; Deut. 6:4-9
JUNIOR TOPIC-When Timothy Was
Boy.-II Tim. 3:14-15.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
Jewish Boy Life.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
-Sauls Early Training and Education,
We are now entering q six months
study of the life and teachings OF one
of the greatest men who ever lived.
|. SauPs Birth (Acts u :39).
His parents belonged to the tribe OF
Benjamin and We're Hebrews of the
Hebrews" that is, Jews who have not
become contaminated in their ancestry
through intermarriage with the Gen
tiles (Phil. 3:5).
l. Time of. 1t is impossible to deter
mine the exact year of his birth, but
the probability is that it was practi-
calIy the same as that of Jesus. He
was young man" when Stephen was
stoned (Acts :5S). Young man" may
mean any age from twenty to thirty.
About 6U A. D. in the Roman prison
he calls himself Paul the aged" (Phi-
lemon 81. This distinction would hardly
be appropriate for man under sixty.
2. Place of ". 39). Tarsus, the cap
itaI of the Province of Ciicia. Repre-
sentative business men came here from
all parts of the world. 1t was self
governing city which made citizenship
therein honorable Besides, it was one
Of the three great educational centers
of the Roman empire. Gods provi-
dence ordered that the apostle to the
Gentiles should be born in a city where
he would encounter men of every class
and nation, making him broad in his
sympathy and tolerant in his dealings
with others.
IL. Saul's Home Training Deut. 6:
40; CT. IL Tim. 3 IA, 15).
He was brought up in pious home
(Phil. 3:5). In the passages cited
above is given the responsibility Of
Jew in the training of his children.
1. Central truths to be taught wv.
4, 81. ~ Unity of God. The Lord
our God is one Lord" This was tes-
timony against the polytheism existing
among the Gentiles OF that day. He is
God alone, therefore to worship an
other is sin. The word translated
God" is plural in form, giving room
for the doctrine of the TTinity-Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. The great need
of the world is a recognition of the
! fundamental doctrine of the unity and
trinity of the Godhead. There can be
no established order until God is given
! His rightful place; neither can there
! be any moral health. (2) Mans SUI
preme obligation ". 81. God should
be loved with all the heart, soul and
might, because He is God alone and
supreme. This being the first and great
| commandment, we know what is mans
| supreme duty.
| z. How these truths are to be kept
alive (vv. 6-9). The place for Gods
Word is in the heart. In order that it
may be in the heart % teach it dill
gently to thy children" ". y. The
most important part of a child's educa-
ton is that given by parents in the
Word of God. (2) Talk of them in the
home ". y. How blessed is that
home where Gods Word is the topic of
conversation. (3) Talk of them when
retiring for the night ". y. The last
thing upon which the mind should rest
before going to sleep should be God
and His truth. 90 Talk of them when
rising in the morning ". y. How fit
ting that God should speak to us the
first thing when we awake! 60 Bind
them upon thine hand ". 81. This was
literally done by the Jews, even to the
wearing of little boxes between their
eyes. % Write them upon the posts
of the houses and on the gates ". -.
Doubtless Timothy's home training
was similar to SauPs I'll Tim. IA, 15).
From a child Timothy was taught the
Holy Scriptures I'll Tim. 1:5). This
was done in the home by his mother.
Ill. Saul's Education (Acts - :3).
l. In college at Jerusalem. A Jewish
child became a child Of the law at the
age of thirteen. Most likely at this
age he went to Jerusalem to enter upon
his course of study. Here he sat at
the feet of Gamaliel, one of the most
eminent teachers that ever blessed Is
rael. The course of study here was
restricted to the Holy Scriptures.
2. A trade at Tarsus. Perhaps after
finishing his college course at Jerusa-
lem he returned to Tarsus and learned
a trade. One rabbi said, He that teach
eth not his son a trade doeth the same
as if he had taught him to steal" The
trade he learned was tent making. This
came in very good in his later life, en-
abling him to support himself while
preaching the gospel.