The King Nobody Wanted | Page 6

the carpenter's family. There was the Messiah to talk about. "When will
he come?" the people asked each other.
Nobody in Nazareth had heard the angels sing.
[Illustration]

3. Growing
When boys in Nazareth were about six years old, it was time for them
to go to school. No girls were there, for the girls stayed home with their
mothers. But every day except the Sabbath, the boys went to the school
and sat on the floor with their legs crossed, and there the teacher taught
them many things that every Jewish boy would need to know.
He taught them their A B C's in the Hebrew language. Instead of A, he
showed them how to make a mark like this: [Hebrew: a]. Instead of B,
they learned to make this letter: [Hebrew: b]; and so on, through all the
alphabet. Then when they knew their letters, they could learn to read.
And every Jewish boy had first of all to read the Scriptures.
The teacher taught them what was in the Scriptures. Over and over they
said their lessons aloud, talking all at once, until they knew everything
they were supposed to know by heart.
The teacher taught them psalms which had been sung for many years in
the Temple of Jerusalem.
He taught them also about the prophets. The prophets were preachers
whose words had long ago been written down in the sacred Scriptures.
These books were long pieces of skin, which were kept rolled up when
no one was reading them. There were many prophets--Isaiah, Jeremiah,

Ezekiel, Amos, Malachi, and many others. Little by little the boys
began to discover what these preachers had said.
[Illustration]
The teacher also made sure that they knew about that part of the
Scriptures called the Law. The Ten Commandments were in the Law,
and many other sayings which told people what they must do and what
they must not do in order to please God. The boys learned how God
gave the Commandments to Moses, while lightning flashed and thunder
crashed, at the far-off mountain of Sinai.
The teacher told them stories of all that had happened to the Jewish
people in the years gone by. But the most important was the story of
the Passover. This story explained why their parents went to Jerusalem
each spring.
Now this was what every Jewish boy had to learn about the Passover,
and remember always:
Once there was a time, hundreds of years before, when the Jews did not
live in Palestine. They lived in Egypt, where they were slaves. They
wanted to escape, so that they might have a country of their own where
they could be free.
One spring night God sent a disease into Egypt, and thousands died of
it. There was not an Egyptian home where the oldest child in the family
did not die. But none of the Jews died. Therefore, they said that God
passed over their doors that night.
Then there was a great uproar and clamor in Egypt, with the Egyptians
weeping, and nursing their sick, and burying their dead. The time had
come for the Jews to get away. Under their leader, Moses, they began
their long journey toward Palestine.
The Jewish people never forgot what God did for them in Egypt. So in
the spring of each year was held the Feast of the Passover, to give
thanks to God for the help he had given them long ago. They gathered

together and sang:
[Illustration]
"O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: For his mercy endureth
for ever."
To the Passover feast every family brought a lamb to be killed as a
sacrifice to God. Only the best could be given to God. They chose a
lamb that was white, and pure, and fine, and precious. Then they
roasted the lamb, and ate it. What a feast they had, so solemn and so
joyful, as they remembered all that God had done!
Everyone knew the best place to hold the Passover feast was at
Jerusalem. Therefore, every year, when spring came round, the people
said to one another, "It is Passover time," and as many as could leave
their homes went up to the great city.
When the boys heard the story, they understood why their parents went
there in the spring.
When Jewish boys were twelve years old, and could read the Hebrew
language, and knew the psalms, and understood the prophets, and were
learning to obey the Law--then they were practically grown up. At this
age a boy could be called "a son of the Law." He could go along with
his parents to Jerusalem when it was Passover time.
Each year Joseph and Mary liked to be in Jerusalem for the Passover.
When Jesus was twelve years