Rockingham post-dispatch. [volume] (Rockingham, N.C.) 1917-1965, 1921-06-30
LESSON FOR JULY 3
THE EARLY LIFE OF SAUL.


CT ii Tim, 3:l4, l5
GOLDEN TEXT-Today If We VIII near
his voice. harden not your hearts.-Heo'
81. s. "a
REFERENCE MATERIAL-Deut t:s,I
10; Gals; Josh. 4:2O-24.
PRIMARY TOPIC-When Saul was
Boy.-Acts 1913; Deut. 6:i-a.
JUNIOR TOPIC-When Timothy was q
Boy.-II Tim. 314-l5. a,,,I
INTERMEDIATES AND SENIOR ToFlCI
Jewish Boy Life
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPlCI
-sauls Early Training and Education.
We are now entering six months
study of the life and teachings Of one
of the greatest men who ever lived.
l. saul's Birth (Acts Il :59).
His parents belonged to the tribe or
Benjamin and were Hebrews OF the
Hebrews" that is, Jews who have NOT
become contaminated in their ancestry
through intermarri0ge with the zen
tiles U'hil. = 81.
/, Time of. 1t is impossible to deter
mine the exact year of his birth. but.
the probability is that 1t was pracuI
cally the same as that of Jesus. ne
was n young man" when Stephen was
stoned (Acts :5S). Young man may
mean any age from twenty ~ thirty
About 90 A.. ID. In the Roman prison
he calls himself Paul the aged (fhi-
lemon %. This distinction would haroiy
be appropriate for man under Sixty
.. Piece OF ". 39). Tarsus, the cap
itaI of the Province of Cilicia. Repre-
sentative business men came mere from
nil parts of the world. 1t was Il SELF
governing city which made Citizenship
therein honorable, Besides, it was one
of the three great educational cehterS
OF the Roman empire. Gods proVi-
dence ordered that the apostle to tue
Gentiles should he born In city where
he would encounter men Of every class
and nation, making him broad In MS
sympathy and tolerant in his dealings
! with others.
n. saul's Home Training Deut. %
| ~; CT. IL Tim. 3:14, 49,.
He was brought up in pious nome
(phil. 3:5). In the passages clted
above is given the responsibility OF u
jew in the training of his children.
l. Central truths to be taught (vv.
| 4. 81. 1) Unity Of God THE LORD
| our God is one Lord" This was ;es-
timony against the polytheism existing
among the Gentiles of that day. lie Is
God alone, therefore to worship an
| other is sin. The word transiateu
/ Cod is plural in form, giving room
for the doctrine of the Trini- Father
Son and Holy Spirit. The great need
OF the world is a recognition OF the
fundamental doctrine OF tie 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. CD Mans su-
preme obligation ". 81. God Should
be loved with oil the heart, soul amt.
might, because He is God alone and.
supreme This being the first and great
commandment, We know what is mans
supreme duty.
2. How these truths are to be kept.
alive wv. $50. The place for Gods
Word is In the heart. In order that IL
may be in the heart a. teach 1t dit
gently to thy children" ". y. The
most important part of chlld's ednca-
ton is that given by parents in the
Word of God. t2) Talk of them in the
home ". y. How blessed Us that
home where Gods Word is the topic OF
conversation. t3) 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. (5) Talk of them when
rising in the morning ". y. How fit
ting that God should speak to us the
first thing when we awake! ~ Bind
them upon thine hand (v. ~. This was
literally done by the Jews, even to the
wearing of litGie boxes between their
eyes. t7) Write them upon the posts
of the houses and on the gates ". 81.
Doubtless Timothy's home training
was similar to SauI's I'll Tim. 3:l4, lgl.
From child Timothy was taught the
Holy Scriptures I'll Tim. :5). This
was done in the home by his mother
4 III. Saul's Education (Acts ~ :Sl.
1 l., In college at Jerusalem-> Jewish
child became 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 att
the feet OF Gamaliel, one of the most
eminent teachers that ever blessed Is
rael. The course of study here wasl
restricted to the Holy Scriptures.
4 2. A trade at Tarsus. Perhaps after|
finishing his college course at Jerusa-
lem he returned to Tarsus and learned
1 a trade. One rabbi said "He that teatch-
eth not his son a trade doeth the same
as II he had taught him to steal. The
trade he learned was tent making. This
came in very good in his later lie, en-
abling him TO support himself white
preaching the gospel.