2. It supplied a more thoughtful and spiritual worship than the elaborate ritual of the Temple.
3. It promoted the study of the Old Testament Scriptures and made them thoroughly familiar to every Jew.
4. It attracted the devout and intelligent among the Gentiles, many of whom became worshipers of God and were known as "proselytes of the gate" (Acts 10. 1, 2).
VIII. Its Preparation for the Gospel. It is evident that the apostles and early Christian teachers were greatly aided by the synagogue.
1. It furnished a place; for everywhere the church began in the synagogue, even though it soon left it (Acts 13. 5; 18. 4; 19. 8).
2. It prepared a people; for the synagogue was attended by the earnest and thoughtful, both of Jews and Gentiles, who were thus made ready for the higher truths of the gospel (Acts 13. 42, 43).
3. It supplied a plan of service; for it is evident that the early Christian worship was modeled, not on the ritual of the Temple, but on the simpler forms of the synagogue.
4. It gave a system of organization; for the Government of the early church was similar to, and doubtless suggested by, that of the synagogue.
Blackboard Outline
| I. | Ori. Cap. Ez. B. C. 440. |
| II. | Univ. 10 fam. 460 Jer. |
| III. | Pl. Meet. Buil. ro. op. air. sec. us. |
| IV. | Arr. 1. Ark. 2. Ch. sea. 3. Desk. 4. Pla. wor. 5. Gal. |
| V. | Off. 1. Rul. 2. Chaz. 3. Batl. |
| VI. | Serv. 1. Pr. 2. Read. Ser. 3. Exp. |
| VII. | Inf. 1. Per. wor. 2. Spir. wor. 3. St. O. T. 4. Attr. Gen. |
| VIII. | Prep. Gosp. 1. Pla. 2. Peo. 3. Ser. 4. Org. |