Young People's ILLUSTRATED BIBLE HISTORY: Intro. by Rev. Alvan Bond (1875)


Sto	ries > Young People's ILLUSTRATED BIBLE HISTORY: Intro. by Rev. Alvan Bond (1875)

HE Jews were still living in their own land. They had a king to rule over them, named Herod; but they and their king were under the power of the emperor of Rome. The Romans were a very ambitious and powerful people; and they were now masters of almost all the world.

The Jews kept their feasts, and their sacrifices; but most of them served God only outwardly; they had no love, no faith, in their hearts. Some of these Jews were called Pharisees.

The Pharisees kept the law of Moses, and attended to all the Ceremonies which he had commanded; and because they did this, they thought themselves very good, and boasted of their goodness, and stood in the street making long prayers, "to be seen of men." But they had no real love to God. They trusted in their own righteousness for salvation, not in the blood and righteousness of Christ; and therefore they could not be accepted by God. Jesus told his disciples, that if their righteousness was not greater than the righteousness of the Pharisees, they could not enter Heaven; our own goodness will never take us there.

Others of Jews were called Sadducees. They were wicked men. They disbelieved many things which are written in the Bible, saying that there is no resurrection; neither angel nor spirit; but that, when we die, we shall pass quite away, and never live again.

But there were a few of the Jews who truly loved God, and read his word, and believed in it. They read there that Christ the Messiah should come; they knew that the time was now very near, and they were waiting and wishing for his appearance.

We, who are living now in a Christian country, have much more knowledge than the Jews had before Christ came. We have more of the Scriptures to read; we have the New Testament, which tells us so much of Jesus, and of the way to Heaven. But if we only read of Christ, and do not love Him; if we only say we are the people of God, and do not serve Him with our hearts, then we are not better than the Pharisees. God looks at the heart; and if that is not renewed by the Holy Spirit, we cannot be ready for Heaven.

HE prophets had foretold, that before the coming of Christ, a messenger should be sent to make ready the way before Him. Who was this messenger? We are now going to read about Him.

There were living at this time in Judea, two old people, a man and his wife, named Zacharias and Elizabeth. They were among the few Jews who truly served God, and were waiting and hoping for the coming of the Saviour. Zacharias was a priest, a Levite; one of those whose duty it was to offer sacrifices, and to burn incense in the temple of the Lord. Zacharias and Elizabeth had no son nor daughter to comfort them in their old age; yet they did not feel sorrowful nor desolate, for they had one friend who would never leave them, nor forsake them-- that kind God who has said to his people, "Even to your old age I am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you." Isaiah xlvi. 4.

How pleasant it is to have God to comfort us when no earthly friends are near! Do you wish to have God for the friend of your old age? Then seek Him now. "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth;" and He will not forget you in your old age.

One day, when Zacharias was burning incense in the holy place in the temple, an angel of the Lord appeared to him. He saw the angel standing on the right side of the altar of incense, close to him; and Zacharias was troubled, and very much afraid. But the angel spoke to him, and said, "Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall have a son, and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God."

This was joyful news for Zacharias; but it was so wonderful, that he could not at first believe it; and he asked, "How shall I know this?" Was it right of Zacharias to doubt the truth of what the angel said? No; it was weakness of faith which made him doubt. He ought to have remembered, that "with God all things are possible," and that nothing is too hard for Him.

The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand before God, and He has sent me to tell thee this good news. And now thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, till the day when these things shall be done, because thou believest not my words." So the angel departed, and Zacharias, was struck dumb to punish him for his unbelief.

Was Zacharias alone when he saw the angel? Yes, all the people were outside praying, while the incense was offered within; and now they began to wonder why the priest stayed so long. At last he came out; but he could not speak to them; he was dumb; and he made signs to them, that he had seen a vision in the temple. When he went home he could not speak to Elizabeth; but he told her, by signs and writing, all he had seen and heard; and the great honor God had promised them.

Many days passed, before Zacharias was able to speak again. This was a great trouble to him; but Zacharias was a good man; and, therefore, we may believe that he bore his punishment patiently and meekly, and asked pardon for his want of faith, and prayed that he might never again disbelieve what God said.

God sends many messages to us, not by angels and visions, but by His word. All His promises and threatenings are messages to us. Some of them are very wonderful, too wonderful for us to understand, and we cannot tell how these things can be. But if we do not understand, we must believe and trust, or we shall displease God as Zacharias did. When we read the Bible,we should read it in humility and faith. All God has said, must come to pass; for "He is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?" Num. xxiii. 19.

OON after the angel Gabriel had appeared to Zacharias in the temple, he was sent with a message of mercy to another of God's faithful servants. The holy angels in Heaven delight to carry messages of love to those on earth. Their greatest happiness is to obey the commands of God, and to do His will. We should pray to be enabled to do God's will here on earth, as it is done in Heaven; that, when we die, we may be taken to dwell with God, and His holy, happy angels, for ever.

Where was Gabriel sent now? To Nazareth, to a virgin named Mary. It was joyful and wonderful news which the angel brought to Mary. As soon as he came to her, he said, "Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." But why was Mary so blessed, and so highly favored? She did not know at first; and she felt troubled at what the angel said. But he, soon comforted her, and told her in what a wonderful way she was going to be honored by God. Gabriel said, "Thou shalt have a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

Mary wondered very much when she heard this; she did not disbelieve what God had promised; but she asked the angel to tell her more; so he explained to her, that this child would be the son of God, God as well as man; and then Gabriel told her, that Elizabeth, who was Mary's cousin, would also soon have a son; -that messenger of the Lord who should prepare the way before Him. Mary was thankful to hear these promises; and she humbly said, "Be it unto me according to thy word;" so the angel departed from her.

Soon after this, Mary took a journey into Judea, to see her cousin Elizabeth. These two holy women were very glad to meet. They had much to say to one another; and all their time was spent in praising and thanking God for His great mercy and love to them. This is the right way of passing our time with our friends. We have all many things to be thankful for; and how much better it is to talk of God's mercies, than of foolish, and idle, and worldly things! St. Paul. says, that Christians ought to speak to one another "in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs; singing with grace in the heart to the Lord." Col. iii. 16.

Mary stayed three months with her cousin Elizabeth, and then went back to her own home at Nazareth.

But who was this Mary, that she should be so highly honored of God? We are ignorant of the name and occupation of her parents. The evangelist does not tell us; and we cannot know. She was of the tribe of Judah, and a descendant of the royal family of David. She was a maiden of Nazareth, the beauty of whose character is very manifest from the brief notices of her life found in the Gospels. Her purity, piety, faith, and humility were known to God. He was pleased to select her from all the women of her nation, to be the highly-favored mother of the Messiah, the Son of God. Honored as she was, it did not make her proud, but humble.

ND now God remembered His promise and gave Elizabeth a little son. It was a joyful day in the house of Zacharias, when this child was born. The mother rejoiced, and all her cousins and neighbors with her; and the father rejoiced too; but he could not speak to tell them all how happy he was. When the babe was eight days old, he was circumcised. Then he was to be named. The angel himself had told Zacharias, that the child's name should be John. Elizabeth knew this, and wished to have it so; but all her friends and neighbors wanted the little boy to be called Zacharias, like his father, instead of John. They said to her, "None of thy kindred is called by that name:" Then they made signs to Zacharias, and asked him what the child's name should be. Zacharias wrote down directly, "His name is John."

This showed his obedience, and his faith in God; and now the punishment of his unbelief was taken away, and his mouth was opened, and he praised God. He was filled with the Holy Ghost, and was enabled to prophesy; and he spoke of the great mercy which God was now going to show to His people, in giving them a Saviour.

Why was the son of Zacharias to be called John? Because that name means, the grace and mercy of God. This child was to be the messenger of mercy; he was to tell the people the way of salvation; to point out Christ to them as their Saviour.

How thankful Zacharias must have been for his speech again; and what a good use he made of it when he praised and glorified God! The power of speaking is a great blessing, for which we ought to be very thankful; and we should try to use it, and all our other blessings too, to the glory of God.

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239. THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.

This art print, "Be It Unto Me" by Liz Lemon Swindle is provided courtesy of Christ-Centered Art.

ARY was married to a man named Joseph. He was a good man, and rejoiced in the blessing God had promised to Mary. An angel had told him in a dream, that his wife should have a son, and that God himself was the Father of that son; and that his name should be called Jesus, or the Saviour, because he should "save his people from their sins."

The time for the birth of Jesus was then very near. Where was he to be born? The prophets had been taught to foretell His birthplace. Micah had said, that it should be in Bethlehem, in the tribe of Judah. But Joseph and Mary lived at Nazareth, many miles from Bethlehem; how then could this prophecy be fulfilled? What God says, He always does; and what is hard to us is very easy to Him.

The Jews were under the government of Augustus, emperor of Rome; and just at this time, he made a law that all his subjects should be taxed; that every person should pay a sum of money to the Roman government. All the people went to their own tribes, and their own cities, according to their families, to have their names taken down before the taxing began; so Joseph left Nazareth, and went to Bethlehem; for that was his city, because he was of the family of David, who was a native of Bethlehem. And Mary went with Joseph. But Joseph and Mary had no possession, no house in Bethlehem; they were poor people; and when they went to the inn, they were told there was no room for them; so they went into a stable to rest there. That very night, God's promise to Mary was fulfilled; the child Jesus was born. His mother wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in the manger. He had no kind nurse to take care of Him; only his mother, and she was very poor, and could not do much for Him. How humble and lowly Jesus was!

His body was like that of any other little child; and He suffered pain and hunger like other children and He needed food, and rest, and care, as they do. But there were some things in which Jesus was different from every other child that was ever born into this world. He had no sin.

When Jesus came the first time, He came in great humility, because He was going to suffer and die for sinners. But when He comes again, He will come in power and glory, to punish His enemies, and to take His people to reign with Him for ever. Let us pray that we may be among His people, and that, when He comes, we "may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless." 2 Peter iii. 14.

HERE were some fields not very far from Bethlehem, and in these fields were shepherds keeping watch over their flocks on that wonderful night when Jesus Christ was born. We may believe that these shepherds were good men; and that as they sat together in the long night, they often spoke to one another of holy and heavenly things. They knew that Jesus was coming into the world, and they were waiting and wishing to see Him. Perhaps they had heard of the angel's message to Mary, and knew that the time of His coming was now very near.

While the shepherds were thinking about these things, they saw a bright light shining around them. Was it the light of the moon? No; it was much brighter than the moon, or even than the sun, "an angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid." But the angel spoke gently to them, and said," Fear not; for I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And while the shepherds were attending to this wonderful message, they saw, with the angel, a great multitude of the heavenly host; and these angels all began to sing a song of praise to God; and the shepherds heard them. What was this song? "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will to men." Then the angels went away into Heaven, and the shepherds saw them no more.

Why did the angels sing this song ? Why did they sing of peace on earth and good will to men ? Because Jesus was come. He is our peace. He is called the "Prince of peace," because He came to bring peace upon the earth. If Jesus had not come, we could never have had peace with God; His anger would always have been on us. But when Jesus promised to suffer for our sins, and to take them all away, then God could smile upon this earth again; then He could accept all who believed in Jesus, and be at peace with them for His dear Son's sake. "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. v. 1. And God can now show His "goodwill to man." He wishes all to be saved. It is not the will of our heavenly Father that one poor sinner should perish. He invites all to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. This was why the angels praised God, and sang of "peace on earth, good will to men."

Did the shepherds stay in the fields with their sheep, after the angels were gone away? No, they were so anxious to see Jesus, that they said directly, "Let us go now to Bethlehem; and see this thing which the Lord hath made known to us." So they made haste, and went to Bethlehem; and there they soon found Joseph and Mary, and the babe lying in the manger, as the angel had said. Then the shepherds went, and made known to their friends and neighbors what the angel had told them about Jesus; and afterwards returned to their flocks full of holy joy.

We should be, like these shepherds, anxious to see and know Jesus. We cannot see Him with our bodily eyes, as they could; for He is not now a poor babe lying in a manger; He is in glory, in Heaven, at the right hand of God, far, far beyond our sight. But we can see and know Him by faith; we can come to Him in prayer; and He is still a Saviour, waiting to receive and bless all who truly believe, in Him and love Him.

HEN Jesus was eight days old, He was circumcised and named; He was called Jesus, or the Saviour, because He was to save His people from their sins. Afterwards He was brought to Jerusalem and presented in the temple to the Lord; and His mother offered a sacrifice in obedience to the law of Moses. Jesus was man as well as God.

There was a very old man living at Jerusalem at this time, named Simeon. He was a very holy man. He had loved and served God many years; and he was now waiting to be called away to Heaven. Was Simeon willing to die? Yes; but there was one thing he wished before he died, and that was to see Jesus. He had long known Him in his heart by faith, but he wanted very much to see Him with his bodily eyes, and then to die. God knew Simeon's holy wish, and promised to grant it; He told him that he should not die till he had seen "the Lord's Christ." So Simeon came, led by the Spirit, into the temple, just when Jesus was there; and how pleased he was to see with his eyes that Saviour whom he had so long known in his heart; he took the babe up in his arms, and praised and blessed God, and said, "Now, Lord, lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." He had his wish; and now he wanted only to die, and go to Heaven.

There was another old person who came into the temple while Simeon was there. This was Anna, a prophetess. She was a widow, eighty-four years old, and most of those years she had spent in the service of God. She lived near the temple; and was very often there, night and day, praying and praising God. God honored Anna, as He did Simeon, in letting her see the Saviour before she died; and when none can die happily who do not she saw Him, she gave thanks, and spoke of Him to all in Jerusalem, who were looking for salvation through Him.

The Bible tells us no more about these two old people. Perhaps they soon after went to their rest in Heaven; and they were ready and glad when God called them there. When we come to die, there is only one thing that can give us true peace. It is that which made old Simeon and Anna so happy-- the knowledge of Christ, and of His salvation, in our hearts. Few people live to be so old as Simeon and Anna; and many die when they are very young. But, young or old, none can die happily who do not know Christ as their Saviour. We must seek to know Him now by faith; and then, whenever we are called away, we shall "depart in peace," and go to see that Saviour in Heaven, whom Simeon and Anna rejoiced to see on earth.

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242. THE WISE MEN.

This art print, "And Wise Men Came Bearing Gifts" by Tom duBois is provided courtesy of Christ-Centered Art.

ID any other persons see Jesus while He was a baby? Yes; we are now going to read of some good men who came a very long way, and took a great deal of trouble, that they might see Jesus. Simeon, and Anna, and the shepherds all lived near the place where Jesus was; but these men lived a very long way off, in the east, in Arabia, perhaps, or some other distant country. They are called "wise men." They were very learned, and understood many things; and they had, too, what was better than all this. They had the best of all knowledge, which the Bible calls wisdom. "The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom." Job xxviii. 28.

These wise men knew something of Christ, and they wanted to know more. They had heard about Jesus; they were expecting His coming, and they wished to see Him. But how could they tell where to find Him? God knew all their thoughts and wishes; and He led them, in a wonderful way, to Jesus. They saw a star in the sky; not a common star, such as they saw every night; but one quite new to them, unlike any they had ever looked at before. Perhaps these wise men understood a great deal about the stars, and knew many of their names, and could find out the constellations in the sky.

Astronomy teaches these things, and the wise men, no doubt, understood astronomy. But they had no name for this new star; it belonged to no constellation; and as they looked at it, they wondered why it was there, and how it came. Astronomy could not tell them, but God could; and He made them understand, that He Himself had put it there, to tell them that Christ was come, and to lead them to the place where He was. When the wise men knew this, they were very glad, and determined to go directly to Jerusalem and worship Jesus. So they took some of the precious things of their country (gold, and frankincense, and myrrh), to present to Jesus, and set off on their long journey. The star went before them, moving through the sky; and the wise men kept their eyes upon it, and it led them the right way to Jerusalem. The men knew then, that Jesus was not far off; so they went to some of the people living in Jerusalem, and asked, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him."

Was Jesus a king? Yes; He was then, and He is now, "King of kings, and Lord of lords;" but His kingdom was "not of this world." He came to reign in the hearts of His people, and to make them obedient to His will.

Herod, king of Judea, soon heard of the wise men, and what they had said; and he was troubled, and many of his people were troubled also. Why were they not glad to hear of Jesus? Did they not wish to see Him? No; Herod was afraid that this "King of the Jews" was come to take away his kingdom, and to reign in his place; for he did not understand that the kingdom of Jesus was "not of this world." So Herod called the priests, and the scribes, or writers of the law, and asked them where Christ must be born. How could they know? They had read the prophets; and there they had learnt that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. So they told this to Herod. Then Herod secretly called the wise men and asked them a great many questions about the star, and the time when they first saw it. They answered his questions; and then he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go, and seek there for the young child; and when you have found him, come back, and tell me; for I wish to go and worship Him also." This was only a false pretence of Herod. He did not wish to worship Jesus. He wanted to know where He was, that he might send and kill Him.

The wise men went away from Herod; and the star still moved before them, and led them to Bethlehem, and, at last, "stood over where the young child was." Then the wise men rejoiced with very great joy; and went into the house, and "saw the young child, and Mary his mother; and fell down and worshipped him, and presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."

We need not take a long journey to come to Him; for He is near us wherever we are. He is God; and God, we know, is everywhere. And we do not want a star to lead us to Jesus. His word and His Spirit will lead us to Him, if we ask to be led. And how are we to come to Jesus? In faith and prayer. We cannot see Him with our eyes, but we can believe in Him and love Him with our hearts; and He will hear our prayers, as He heard the prayers of the wise men; and bless us, as He blessed them. Must we bring gifts to present to Jesus? Not such gifts as the wise men brought; He does not ask for them. But He does ask us for something. He says, "Give me thy heart." He wants all our love-- all our affections; all we are, and all we have.

ID the wise men return to Herod, and tell him that they had found Jesus? No; God knew the wicked deceit of Herod's heart; and He warned the wise men, in a dream, not to return to the cruel king; so "they departed into their own country, another way." But when Herod heard that the men had gone away, without telling him what he desired, he became very angry. He was determined to kill Jesus; and as he did not know the house in which the Saviour lay, he said he would destroy all the little children in Bethlehem, hoping that Jesus would be killed among them. But God would not let Herod do what he so wickedly wished. Jesus indeed came into the world to die; but the time was not yet come. He must grow up to be a man, and obey all the law of God, and say, and do, and suffer many things; and then He would die.

When the wise men were gone away, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, and take the young child, and his mother, and go into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." So Joseph arose directly, and took Mary, and the infant Jesus, and departed into Egypt. It was night when they escaped, and none saw them go.

And now Herod's cruel command was given. All the children in Bethlehem, from two years old and under, must be slain.

Herod's hard-hearted messengers went from house to house, through the streets of Bethlehem, and tore one little child after another from the mother's arms, and murdered it. That was a sad, sad day in Bethlehem. The poor mothers wept bitterly, and begged the cruel soldiers to spare their children; and the little children themselves cried, and clung to their mothers for safety; but nothing could save them: Herod and his men had no pity; all the babes in Bethlehem were slain.

Did Jesus feel for those little ones who died in Bethlehem for His sake? Yes; those children were very dear to Him. He knew all their sufferings. But they were safe, as all little children are who die before they are able to understand these things. The children slain in Bethlehem are now in Heaven: rejoicing there with many more little ones, who, like them, died in infancy. They are not sorry that they died so soon. No; they rejoice that He was pleased to take them, before they knew much of the sorrow and sin of this sad and wicked world. They know now all that Jesus had done for them; and why they are so happy, and so safe with their Saviour in Heaven.

ESUS and his parents stayed in Egypt until the death of the cruel king Herod; and then an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel; for they are dead which sought the young child's life." So Joseph arose, and took Mary and the infant Jesus, and went back to the land of Israel. But they did not go to Bethlehem; for Herod's son Archelaus was now reigning in Judea, and Joseph was afraid of him; so, at the command of God, he went to Galilee, and settled in Nazareth, where he and Mary had lived before. Here Jesus was brought up. "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him."

You remember there was a feast which God commanded the Jews to keep, called the Passover. Every year, Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem to this feast; and when Jesus was twelve years old, they took Him with them. They went with a large company; and, after the feast was over, they returned together. Jesus stayed behind; but His parents thought He was in the company; so they began their journey towards home. A whole day passed, and they saw nothing of Jesus; and then they began to wonder where He was, and they sought Him among their friends and relations who were travelling with them. But no one had seen Jesus. Then His parents felt very unhappy, and returned to Jerusalem, anxiously seeking Him all the way. When they came to the city, they went through the streets, and into many of the houses, but they could not find Him.

At last, after three days, they went into. the temple, and there, to their great joy, they saw Jesus sitting among the learned doctors; talking to them, and hearing, and asking them questions. And all who heard what Jesus said, wondered at his understanding and answers.

When Mary saw Jesus, she said to Him, "Son, why hast thou done this? Thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." But Jesus answered, "Why did you seek me? Know you not that I must be about my Father's business?" Mary did not understand what Jesus said; but she remembered all His words, and heard them with reverence and kept them in her heart. Jesus had work to do, which Mary did not yet understand. He had His heavenly Father to honor-- that Father was God. And what was the business which His heavenly Father had given Him to do? It was to make himself known as the Saviour of sinners. This was why Jesus came down from Heaven. "The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." 1 John iv. 14.

But when Joseph and Mary called Jesus, He left the doctors directly, and went home with them to Nazareth, "and was subject unto them." And why did He submit to them? Because He came to obey all the commands of God; and one of those commands says, "Honor thy father and thy mother;" and because He wished to give an example to other children, and to teach them to be humble, and gentle, and meek, and obedient, as He Himself was. They must pray and try to be like Him; and, if they ask for the Holy Spirit to enable them to become so, their prayers will be heard and answered; and then, as they grow in years, they will grow in grace too, and in the love and favor of God.

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