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JESUS THE MESSIAH |
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His Life and Times |
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No. 18 His Child-Life in Nazareth Part 3
In this text we will follow the various stages of the Child-Life of Jesus according to what Luke writes for us. Luke 2:40 - And the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him. This marks, so to speak, the lowest rung on the ladder as Jesus entered this life as a Divine Infant. He began just the same as any human does, being subject to all the conditions of this life, yet he was perfect. In the time of Jesus, the families of the Gentile world lived in huge contrast to the Jewish families. Every area of life was different - the relationship of parents and children, the character of the families, the moral upbringing of the children. In the Jewish world education began in the home. Much time was spent on teaching children by example and just teaching them simple prayers and influences as they took them with them to pray and to the Temple. Before the child ever started to school, he had already been influenced heavily by the many customs that were set up in the home. Then when they started the heavy learning, they would have been already exposed to the basic Jewish laws and customs. The Bible speaks about many of the Jewish laws concerning caring for members of the family. There was much reverence and affection and as the parents cared for and loved the children, then the children gave back in return when the parents got older and couldn't care for themselves. The relationship of the father and child represented the way that God looked over Israel, while the tenderness and care of the mother symbolized the watchfulness and pity of the Lord over His people. From the first days of birth, a religious atmosphere surrounded the child of Jewish parents. After the son was circumcised he was then separated unto God, though the child had to accept the privileges and obligations of this dedication for himself. The parent couldn't do that for him. As he was circumcised, though, the words were spoken over him that he might live 'godly, soberly, and righteously in this present world - a holy, happy, and God-devoted life'. To the Jew, the devotion to the law was indeed the sum of intellectual pursuits, and the total aim of life. This was every father's ultimate goal for his son. The very first education was the mother's, though. The Talmud had a passage written in it that said something to the effect that knowledge of the Law may be looked for in those, who have sucked it in at their mother's breast. Even though women were excluded from many duties, there were other duties that devolved exclusively around them - the Sabbath meal, the kindling of the Sabbath lamp, and the setting apart a portion of the dough from the bread for the household, for just a few things. Each of the houses had a Mezuzah attached to the door post with the name of the Most High on the outside. Each person who came in or went out reverently touched it and then the fingers who had touched it were kissed because they had come in contact with His Holy Name. This was required for women to do also, and it was thought that this was a symbol of the Divine guard over Israel's homes. This was thought as the visible symbol of Psalm 121:8 - The Lord shall preserve their going out and coming in, from this time forth, and even for evermore. The Jewish mother could hold her child entranced by telling them about their own history - tribe, clan, family. Long before the child could even go to school or the synagogue, the prayers that they had heard by others in the family would have been impressed upon their mind. In mid-winter there was the festive illumination in each home. In most houses, the first night only one candle was lit, the next two, and so on to the eighth day. Through this, the child would learn that this was commemorative of the Dedication of the Temple, its purging, and the restoration of its services by Judas the Maccabee. Next came in early spring the merry time of Purim, which was the Feast of Esther and of Israel's deliverance through her. This was a time of merriment and celebration. The Passover was next, with the people only being able to eat unleavened bread all week. Since this was so different from the way they lived, this was definitely a huge time of solemn thoughts of thinking about what their ancestors went through. After the Passover was the Feast of Weeks, and then came the bright summer. Both its golden harvest and rich fruits were to remind them of the dedication of the First Fruits to God and how much he had blessed them for following Him. As autumn approached, the Feast of the New Year spoke of the casting up of man's accounts in the great Book of Judgment, and the fixing of his destiny either for good or for evil. Then followed the Fast of the Day of Atonement, which was a very solemn occasion. It was meant that this memory was to never fade from their minds - how God provided atonement for their sins. Following this, and lastly, there was the Feast of Tabernacles, where they lived in leafy booths for a week. This was to remind them how the Israelites had lived 40 years in the wilderness, and that they should not commit the same sin of unbelief that their forefathers had done. This was to be a time of renewal and getting back to their roots, so to speak. This way they could really see how far God had brought them. The things mentioned above were all things that a Jewish child would have been involved in from the earliest time of his memory. A true Jewish woman would have purely by instinct taught her children all these things, because they had been taught to her. Scripture had set before many other noble mothers who had taught their children well. Timothy's life is a wonderful example of this. He had a Gentile father, and was reared far away from the synagogue in a Gentile land. But the Bible says that he had known the Scriptures from the time he was an infant and had been greatly influence by the Godly teachings of his mother and grandmother, who were devoutly Jewish. The Jews boasted that they 'were from their swaddling-clothes ... trained to recognize God as their Father, and as the Maker of the world;' that, 'having been taught the knowledge of the laws from earliest youth, they bore in their souls the image of the commandments;' that 'from their earliest consciousness they learned the laws, so as to have them, as it were, engraven upon the soul'; and that they were 'brought up learning, exercised in the laws, and made acquainted with the acts of the predecessors in order to their imitation of them'. These were things they boasted about, but also things that they did very well and were just extremely proud of their teachings. After the initial early teaching, though, it was the Father that was 'bound to teach his son'. It was a great distinction to the Father to be able to teach his son his own ways and have him learn them well. This was supposed to be the main duty of a father. It was thought that a man was vulgar who had sons, but failed to bring them up in knowledge of the Law. As soon as the child learned to speak, his religious instruction began. He was taught a verse of Scripture that began with or ended with the same letters as his Hebrew name. He would then insert this promise in his daily prayers. The earliest hymns taught would be the Psalms for the days of the week, or festive Psalms connected with the pilgrimages to Zion. Daughters were also taught all these things at this very early age, also. The only difference was that many of them did not get to continue their education at the synagogues, as the priests believed that this was to be saved for the males. Since this text is long, we will continue it with the instruction the child received in the fifth or sixth year when formal education started next time. For more information from this book, go to the archives page at my site www.cathydeaton.com There are also other topics of interest there. This text is taken from the book Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah written by Alfred Edersheim. This book has been used by permission.
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