Matthew 2:23

And he came and dwelt in. city called Nazareth.

Matthew makes no mention of the previous residence at Nazareth, for that did not harmonize with his purpose, which was especially to point out to the Jew the fulfillment of prophecy, and he now names it first when it becomes the home of Christ. It was an obscure village, nestled on the hills about five hundred feet above the plain of Esdrælon.

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets.

Not by one prophet, but the summing up of. number of prophecies. No prophet had declared in express terms that he should be called. Nazarene. They, however, did apply to Christ the term Nezer, from which Nazareth is derived; the Nazarites, of whom Samson was one, were typical of Christ; the meanness and contempt in which Nazareth was held was itself. prophecy of one who "was despised and rejected." (See Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; Zechariah 6:12.)

PRACTICAL AND SUGGESTIVE.

When total depravity is placed on the pinnacle of power and in the sight of all men, no false glory can gild its unsightliness.

Wickedness is repulsive in even the humblest stations, but far more abominable in those who are entrusted with influence and power.

Herod's hatred of Christ typifies the Jewish enmity and persecution of our Lord.

How vain is royal dignity and pre-eminence in one who seeks to rule men and cannot rule his own spirit.

A king sought to destroy the child Moses, the leader of Israel;. king sought to destroy the child, "the Prophet like unto Moses," the leader of the true Israel.

The preservation of the child Jesus may be considered. figure of God's care over his church in times of greatest danger. God doth not often, as he easily could, strike their persecutors with immediate destruction, but he provides. hiding-place for his people and preserves his chosen ones from being swept away, even when the enemy comes like. flood.-- Doddridge.

God teaches us not to despise humble things. Christ was born in. stable, of poor earthly parents, and was carried by night into. strange land, and returned to dwell in despised Nazareth; yet God hailed him from heaven as his beloved Son, sent upon him the Holy Spirit, and finally placed all power in heaven and earth in his hands.

CAME TO NAZARETH.--Nazareth was. little town, situated in. fold of land broadly opened at the summit of the group of mountains which closes on the north the plain of Esdrælon. The population is now from three to four thousand, and it cannot have varied very much. The environments are charming, and no place in the world was so well adapted to dreams of absolute happiness. Even in our days, Nazareth is. delightful sojourn, the only place, perhaps, in Palestine where the soul feels. little relieved of the burden which weighs upon it in the midst of this unequaled desolation. The people are friendly and good-natured; the gardens are fresh and green. The beauty of the women who gather there at night, this beauty which was already remarked in the sixth century, and in which was seen the gift of the Virgin Mary (by Antonius Martyr, Itiner., 5), has been surprisingly well preserved. It is the Syrian type, in all its languishing grace.-- Renan.

POINTS FOR TEACHERS.

1. Note the shifting scenes of this lesson. It begins in Bethlehem, shifts to Egypt, ends in Nazareth of Galilee.. pupil should give. description of each of these, and the duty should be assigned the week before. 2. Follow the travels of the Holy Family upon the map. 3. Portray the striking changes of the lesson--(a) The Young Child receiving homage of foreign ambassadors and tribute in Jerusalem; (b) carried by night in hot haste and in concealment to Egypt; (c) the return from thence to dwell in. humble home in. despised hamlet. 4. Point out the care of God of his own--(a) The wise men not allowed to go back to Herod; (b) Joseph warned to flee to Egypt; (c) sent to Galilee on return; (d) Abundant means provided to pay the expenses of. home in exile. 5. Note the abominable character of the usurping king of the Jews, contrasted with him who was "born to be King of the Jews." Yet the Jews rejected the latter. 6. Bring out the sad tragedy at Bethlehem--its cause, its circumstances, and the weeping Rachel. 7. Trace the parallels between Joseph, Moses and Christ, and show how Egypt was connected with all. 8. Note that God called Israel out of Egypt, Christ out of Egypt, and still calls every "son" out of Egypt. 9. Bring out all the facts narrated by the gospels about the Young Child, up to the date of the return to Nazareth. 9. Illustrate in Herod the utter ungodliness of those who surrender themselves to evil; an example to be shunned and abhorred; but the Young Child an example to be loved and followed.