Chapter 5. The Minister.
WHEN we think of a minister, the picture of a man in a black coat and a white tie, rises up before our minds, and we imagine that his business must be to preach in some church or chapel. But the minister spoken of in the Bible, was not this kind of a man; his work was to attend to the care of the synagogue, and especially to look after those precious rolls of parchment on which the law and the prophets had been so carefully written out by some learned scribe. In Luke 4, we notice that when the Lord Jesus had read in the synagogue the portion in Isa. which especially applied to Himself, He closed the book, and gave it again to the minister, who, no doubt, put it back in the chest where it belonged. But what precious words fell then from the lips of the Lord Jesus. He had been reading of One, who, anointed by the Holy Spirit, should preach the gospel to the poor, heal the broken hearted, give sight to the blind, and now sitting down, according to the custom of the synagogue, He tell His hearers, that He is that very One, that He has come amongst them to do all these things. And did they receive Him with joy? O no, we read in the end of the story that they were filled with wrath, thrust Him out of the city, and tried to cast Him over the steep hill upon which the city of Nazareth was built.
Do you wonder at them, and say: “I would not have done so”? Well, there are many even to-day who will not receive the gracious, loving invitation of the Saviour, to come to Him for salvation, and it is just possible that you are one of these.
The minister, in the days when the gospels were written, had another office besides taking care of the rolls of the law, and generally attending to the needs of the synagogue. It was he who was the schoolmaster, and taught the little Jewish boys to read. The expenses of those schools were met by contributions from the congregation of the synagogue, and the school was held in this building. A little boy was sent to school at six years old, but before this, he had to learn a good deal from his father. At three years old, the teaching began, and the little fellow had to learn his letters. These were drawn on a board until the child knew them, and then, he began to read in a book. At five, the Hebrew Bible was begun, so that when the child went to school, he had already made some progress in his education. The teacher was very careful how the children behaved, and they were taught to be just, kind, and truthful. The teacher must not lose patience if his pupil did not understand, but make the lesson plainer. The hours for play are from ten in the morning until three in the afternoon, and in the hot months they only had four hours’ schooling, and at this time the children were not allowed to be punished. No teacher was employed who was not a married man, and the highest honor was attached to his office, if worthily discharged.
Great care was bestowed upon orphans, and the children of the poor. In the Temple there was a special box, called “the secret,” in which money was collected for their keep and education. To adopt and bring up an orphan, was regarded as a very “good work.” So, do you not agree with me, that the little Jewish boys were well cared for, and if they paid attention to their teachers, should have been well educated? Little girls however were not sent to school, although they learned much at home, and went regularly to the synagogue.
That some Jewish women were well taught in the Scriptures we learn from 2 Tim. 1, where special mention is made of the mother and grandmother of Timothy. Priscilla too, in Acts 18, was evidently a woman learned in the Scriptures.
ML 08/11/1912