364
■ '
June 1928
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
International Lesson Commentary
Heart of the Lesson—K.L.B. Outline—David L. Cooper Little Folk—Mabel M. Hope
■
I I S
J uly 1,1928 Greatness Through Service Texts: Deut. 6:4-9; Phil. 3:4-6; Acts 22:3, 27, 28
In the home o f such a family, in this Gentile city, somewhere about the begin ning o f the Christian era, Saul, later called Paul, was born. His parents were of the tribe o f Benjamin and were “ Hebrews of the Hebrewsf; .(Phil. 3:5)., This means that they had not been contaminated by any intermarriages with Gentiles in the line o f their ancestry. 1 They were also strict Pharisees and no;doubt held aloof from the general movements o f the city. , After the first king of;Israel they named t h e i r son. The name iiS au fjj means “asked.” It may be that the name was given because he was born in answer to prayer. We do not know how many chil dren grew up in this hoW , but we know of at least one daughtef, whose son be came the instrument of saving Paul’s life (Acts 23:16). . ; Perhaps we are at liberty to picture to ourselves a boy and girl growing up to gether, sharing each other’s sports apd helping each other by 1 the unconscious training of natural influence. ■ W e catch no glimpse o f Saul’s rriother, so we cannot trace any of his traits Jo her home-life and example. Pharisees hs they were, however, we know that Saul’s 'par ents early made him familiar with the Bible stories still so attractive to ' the young. Who can deny that in .these Old Testament stories, there; is not only great fascination, but remarkable educational power ? . Saul’s father was apparently a Romhn citizen (Acts 22:25-29); although. we do not know how he obtained this distinction. It appears to have been a great source of satisfaction t o 1 the household. The associates o f young Saul would have been principally Jqws, yet he could not grow up in such a city without know ing Greek and receiving very definite im pressions from the men and things around him. From the very fipst he . was being unconsciously preparede for the mission which God had for him. At about the age o f thirteen, he would have been sent to Jerusalem to prosecute his studies. Gamaliel was his chief teach er (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel, it will be re called, was the one who gave such cau tious advice to the Sanhedrin when the apostles were under accusation (Acts 5 :- 34-40). He is supposedly some to have been the son of the Venerable Simeon who held the infant Christ in his arms (Lk. 2:25). From reliable sources, we learn that Gamaliel, though a Pharisee, was noted for his broadness of mind. We get some light upon the style of training received by youths under this master teacher from contemporary writ ings. We are told that his classes were not unlike a debating society, the pro fessor acting as referep. A passage of Scripture would often be taken for dis cussion. Contradictory opinions could be freely expressed and argued; thus the in tellectual powers were sharpened and' all sides of a subject brought out. This gives us a hint •of how Paul be came so familiar with the Old Testament,
COURSE IN ACTS By Correspondence Now offered by our Corres pondence School dt only $2. This course is prepared by Keith L. Brooks and follows the question method w i t h blanks fo r answers. Very thorough, v e r s e by verse study, o f greatest value to Sunday school teachers.
-— o — L esson in O utline
I. Saul’s Home Training.' Deut. 6 :4-9. 1. Israel’s Great Confession. V. 4 (lit. trans.: “Hear, O Israel! the Lord ; our Gods, is the Lord,” a Unity). 2 ., Supreme Love for God. V. 5. 3. Daily Religious Instruction. Vs. 6 , 7. 4. Scripture Mottoes. Vs. 8,9. II. Paul’s Religious Life.: Phil. 3 :4-6. 1. His pure Hebraic blood. Vs. 4, 5a. 2. His Strict Spiritual Life. Vs. 5b, 6 . III. Paul, a student o f Gamaliel. Acts 22:3,27,28. 1. An Honor Student. V. 3. ,'"2. A Roman Citizen. Vs. 27,28. PRE PA R A TO R Y to a study o f the life . and work o f St. Paul covering the present quarter, we are given in this les son some material to bring before us the religious training o f a ■Jewish boy. Deut. 6 : 1-9 is apparently intro duced simply to give us a summary o f the teaching which Saul received as a lad in his father’s house at Tarsus. Phil. 3:4-6 gives us a brief account o f Paul’s early A ? m his own PeV Further facts which Paul gave about himself are noticed in Acts 22:3,27. Paul, by general consent, will .be con ceded to be one o f the greatest men who ever appeared upon this planet. Our. debt to him is incalculable. The fullest doctrinal statement o f Christianity which we have came from him. He was the great emancipator of Christianity from its legal fetters. But for him Christianity might have become simply a sect of Juda ism and sunk into oblivion.: It will be interesting to know something o f the background, the upbringing o f this man, M m g.reat. amount o f material along this line is given us. MBH PT T s Physical appearance we know little. No authentic picture or bust of him remains. O f his soul we know much through his letters and bits o f biography. It is o f his soul that we are to think in our lesson today. . P center o f Baal worship, he knew the heathen and how to approach them. (2) He was destined to be a great traveler. Remember that he was born in a cosmopolitan, center. That would be a great preparation. (3) He was destined to appear before kings, judges arid chief* magistrates, the only one o f the apostles to have such privileges. His early training exactly fitted him for this. (4) H e was compelled as an apostle to fall back upon his own material resources to gain a livelihood. Suppose, like some of our modern youth of well-to-do parentage and excellent educational ad vantages, he had been taught no trade. Saul 'had been apprenticed, to a trade which put within his hands the power of earning his living. It is interesting to note that the .chief o f the apostles was a business man. These considerations help us to trace the relation between vocation and early training. Let modern parents consider this well. God is not simply in the lives, of naturally great men. He has a great vocation for the most ordinary people, arid those who are brought up in accord ance with the teachings of Scripture as was Saul of Tarsus, and' who conscien tiously walk in the light, will find there is the closest connection between God’s plan and their personal pathway. Tarsus was the capital o f the Roman province o f Cilicia. It was made a free city by Mark Antony and this privilege was confirmed by Augustus, probably as a reward for some service rendered him by the inhabitants. This means that the city was governed by its own laws, protected by its own soldiers. It did not carry the dignity o f human citizenship, however, until long after the days o f Paul, when Tarsus was made a Roman colony. The prevailing, influences in the days of Saul’s youth were Greek. The schools of literature and philosophy, we are told, rivaled those o f Athens and Alexandria. A large number o f Jews settled there for the purpose of trade, maintaining, how ever, their religious exclusiveness by con forming closely to the law o f Moses.
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker