Most service-related occupations were carried out in the marketplace. An important place in the life of Oriental communities for conducting business, and more. As we learned in other posts of this series, the marketplace also served as a gathering place, a type of employment office, and even as a preliminary courthouse.
As we have already learned in this series, the occupations and tasks carried out by men and women were many and varied. And we also learned that because many trades were a mix of cottage industry and manufacturing on a larger scale, the home and field section tends to cross over with jobs in the marketplace.
Work and vocation, as instituted by God, are good. Scripture opens with God at work, creating the entire world and giving man and woman their first occupations: farming and homemaking. He set them to care for the earth, work for their own living, and make or grow what they needed.
Galilee, a name well-known and much loved by many around the world. But in Christ’s time, the rabbis and religious leaders looked on Galilee with disdain. They viewed Judea proper, with its traditional lore and academic excellence, as far superior. The Galileans, they felt, were nothing but hot-headed country bumpkins.
Masterfully written, David Kitz’s retelling of Christ’s Passion through the eyes of centurion Marcus Longinus, drew me in from the start. His book, The Soldier Who Killed a King, is definitely one to put on your to-read list!
Although his birthdate is unknown, Pontius Pilate was born to the Pontii clan, possibly in what was known as the Samnium region of central Italy, as Marcus Pontius Pilates. He was the prefect, or governor, of Judaea under the reign of the emporer Tiberius.
It is the last day of our Lord’s earthly life. He has just spent a night of anguish. In distress over leaving his disciples, anguish of soul over what he must face. Betrayed, denied, and abandoned by his disciples. Arrest, maltreatment, and mockery from the Jewish authorities.
Shepherding is one of man’s oldest occupations, second only to gardening and farming. Abel was the first in the Bible to keep sheep. But the first mention of a nomadic herdsman came later in Genesis chapter 4 with Jabal: the father of those who live in tents and have lifestock. Afterward, nomadic stock keeping quickly became a common and lucrative occupation.
The lame beggar lay near what was known as the Beautiful Gate. A name which indicated the beauty of its workmanship and material. The temple had gates on all sides, nine in total, each beautifully covered with silver and gold.
