Page 366 - Bible History

THE REDEEMER AMONG MEN 339
try around Nazareth was very fertile. Flowers grew everywhere and the mild climate helped in the raising of pomegranates, oranges, gs, and olives.
Here it was that Jesus lived for thirty years. He was kind and obedient to Mary and Joseph, and the Bible says He advanced in wisdom and age and grace with God and men. Some time during these years Jo­ seph died. The Bible does not speak of his death, but we can imagine how lovingly Jesus and Mary watched over him and took care of him in his last illness, and how happy he was to die in their arms.
2. JOHN THE BAPTIST PREPARES THE WAY FOR THE REDEEMER
Out in the desert, John, the son of Zachary, was get- hn ting ready for the great work to which God had called Pre _h
1or 1s him. He lived the life of a Nazarite, wearing a rough Mi ion
garment made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle around his waist. The only food which he ate was locusts and the wild honey which the bees deposited in the crevices of rocks or in hollow trees. When God revealed to him that the time had come for him to begin his work, he came out of the desert into the country along the River .Jordan and began to preach to the
people.
There was a ford in the River Jordan, and all day John's
. . preachino
long peop1e were crossmg 1·t on theu trave1s to or from Jerusalem. John stood near this ford, and as the people were passing by, he called out to them, say- ing, "Do penance; for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.'' Hearing these strange words, the people
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