THE FUTURE
J. F. JOHNSON ?
MISS EMMA P. JOHNSON.
L. A. WISE
OUTLOOK
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Advantages of Continuous
Study
It has been said from time to time "One never gets
too old to learn." After an individual has earned his mas
ters or doctors degree in an academic subject, there is a
time when he needs to know some vocation for his own
benefit. This is necessary due to the fact that when he
reaches the age of retirement, or is stricken with some
chronic illness, he can still practice in his skilled field of
study. For example, several academic teachers are taking
some vocational training in their leisure time, such as auto
mechanics, carpentry, electricity, and brick masonry,
whereby, they are able to make use of these vocational
opportunities at home while still teaching, and after re
tirement may be more capable of advising others in some
of these vocational opportunities.
Of course, the teachers will not enjoy these vocations
equally as well as teaching because dealing with students
is the first love of earning a living through their educa
tion.
Being told by several elderly teachers that a principal,
in her lecture to the teachers, said it had been requested
by the superintendent that no teacher be recommended
who was over 35 years of age, if a young one was avail
able, because when they become older they will have to
nJss several days out of the classroom due to many chronic
illnesses.
On the other hand, these elderly teachers stated that
they had more experience in dealing with the pupils. They
further stated that they have connections with community
organizations and churches, where they will come in con
tact with the parents, while the younger teachers associate
with people in their own category who have less interest
in family life and their routine of work.
We would suggest that all teachers give some study to
certain phases of vocational opportunities in case they
lose their job before they reach retirement age, so they
can go into a business or practice a vocation and make
themselves feel comfortable as they were as teachers.
There are many interesting fields for retired teachers
and those who have been replaced, due to some irregular
ity. If they are musicall yinclined, they can set up a music
studio; if a typist, apply for a job with some busniess
firm; if in the field of home economics, they can get up
a restaurant, or sewing and tailoring shop, or they can
follow carpentry, brick masonry, salesman, mechanics, and
tutoring.
Many of these substitutes not only apply to teachers,
but to many individuals who are trained in their fields.
There is no need for teachers to hang up their kits and get
ready to die simply because they are not practicing in their
first field of education.
\ It is further suggested that while in their major field
of work they should invest wisely in real estate, stocks and
bonds or some well developed business. This is in order to
have an income which will keep them in continuous con
tact with working, enjoying people, and helping to keep
their minds busy so as not to grieve over their precious
work.
Students as well as teachers may also put their voca
tional studies to use. Many students who are forced to
withdraw from school because of financial difficulties or
some other reason may take a job which requires some
skilled training and earn while they learn.
As far as employment according to age, all business
and professional jobs are seeking well-rounded trained
young persons. It was once said by a church congregation
that theypref erred an elderly minister with spirit in his
sermon. That seems to be declining more and more. The
church congregations prefer a well-trained minister who
can bring something new, and who is able to do more than
give a harangue sermon on Sunday and then forget his
congregation the rest of the week.
Our professional leaders should not wait until they be
come old or lose their jobs and then blame someone else for
their misfortunes. They should study all the time in more
Htm one field, so they will be prepared to keep up with
the modern trend of time.
This Weed's Sunday School Lesson
CONFESSION AND
COVENANT
What Is Our Concern?
II writers in our time have
any one theme they are trying
to point out to us, it is the lack
of communication in our society.
What this means is that although
we talk and talk and we listen
and listen, no one really hears.
It is this situation that sometimes
draws from us the exasperated
complaint: "You're not hearing a
word I'm saying."
Biblical writers imply that
most of our problems are caused
by our failure to hear. Amos
warned his hearers that because
they had turned a deaf ear to
God, the day would come when
they would no longer be able
to hear God. Isaiah 6:9-10
suggests that the prophet Isaiah
may have believed that the pri
mary purpose of his call in the
early days was to make Judah
unable to hear God's voice. They
had been disobedient. Now God
would harden their hearts and
close their ears.
When we lie to ourselves
about ourselves, we cannot be
honest with anyone else. We lie
to others, and we lie to God.
When the Chronicler describes
the people of Israel confessing
their sins (Nehemiah 9), he is
describing communication. He is
describing the way Israel took a
good, hard look at herself. Our
lesson will examine this soul
searching event In the life of
Israel to see what the implica
tions might be for the church of
the late 1960's.
We can state the questions this
way: Just what is the real na
ture of confession and covenant?
What is the role of confession
and covenant in the life of the
Christian church? What is the
relation between our being ready
to confess and our ability to hear
and speak with God and with
our neighbor?
Before You Bead the Scripture
The restored Israelite commu
nity had two points of reference
in its worship of God. Now that
the Temple had been rebuilt,
the ancient sacrificial system
could be started again. During
the Exile, however, another
point of focus for Israelite faith
had developed. This was the law.
The law had always been impor
tant. But during the Exile, when
people could not offer sacrifices
in the Temple, the law became
more important than ever. The
synagogue arose as the place to
study the law.
Alter the fall of Jerusalem
and the deportation to Babylon,
people looked back on the
prophets' warnings as statements
that should have been heeded.
"Because we disobeyed," the
people said, "we were captured."
In order to keep from going into
exile again, therefore, they re
newed their interest in knowing
the will of God. The result waa
the establishment of the Penta
teuch ? the first five books of the
Old Testament
Scholars disagree as to wheth
er the body of law Ezra read
(Nehemiah 8:1-8) was the
Pentateuch. The Pentateuch Is
composed of a number of tradi
tions and nairattvM that war*
molded together over a Ion* pe
riod of time. This part at the
Bible ?esini to have been com
pleted by a priestly narrator. Be
cause Ezra was a priest, some
scholars think he compiled the
Pentateuch. However, we have
no way of really knowing.
The Chronicler's account of his
material exalts the law and por
trays in moving terms the peo
ple's reverence for the l*w.
Originally the Feast of Booths
(Nehemiah 8:13-18) was a Cana
anite agricultural festival. The
booths had been used as dwell
ings by those who tended the
crops. However, as with all the
leasts borrowed from their
neighbors, the Israelites rein
I terpreted the celebration in line
' with their own history. Thus the
| booths became reminders of
God's grace during the forty
years of wandering in the wilder
ness.
What the Scripture Says
The Scripture for today is
Nehemiah 8 through 10. Selected
verses are printed below. See
Home Bible Study suggestions in
the back of the quarterly.
Nehemiah 8:1, 8
1 And all the people gathered
as one man into the square be
for the Water Gate; and they
told Ezra the scribe to bring the
book of the law of Moses which
the Lord had given to Israel. . . .
8 And they read from the book,
from the law of God, clearly;
and they gave the sense, so that
the people understood the read
ing.
Nehemiah 9i32-38
32 "Now therefore, our God,
the great and mighty and ter
rible God, who keepest covenant
and steadfast love, let not all
the hardship seem little to thee
that has come upon us, upon our
kings, our princes, our priests,
our prophets, our fathers, and
all thy people, since the time of
the kings of Assyria until this
day. 33 Yet thou hast been just
in all that has come upon us, for
thou hast dealt faithfully an<T
we have acted wickedly; 34 our i
kings, our princes, our priests, 1
and our fathers have not kept1
thy law or heeded thy com
mandments and thy warnings
which thou didst give them. 35
They did not serve thee in their
kingdom, and In thy great good
ness which thou gavest them, and
in the large and rich land which
thou didst set before them; and
they did not turn from their
wicked works. 38 Behold, we are
slaves this day; In the land that
thou gavest to our fathers to en
joy its fruit and its good gifts,
behold, we are slaves. 37 And
Its rich yield goes to the kings
whom thou hast set over us be
cause of our sins; they have
power also over our bodies and
over our cattle at their pleasure,
and we are to great distress."
38 Because of all this we make
a firm covenant and write it,
and our princes, our Levites, and
our priests set their seal to It.
Memory Selection: Ezra had
set his heart to study the law of
the Lord, and to do It, and to
teach his statutes and ordinances
In Israel. ? Ezra 7:10
How We Cndenftnd the
Sertptare
Nehemiah 8:1-12: The people
gathered in the seventh month.
This was a month of festivals,
for several war* celebrated dur
ing this month. The gathering
hare doea not Nam to have been
a worship service. It was a time
of public assembly to hear the
law.
As we have already men
tioned, some persons think Ezra
read the Pentateuch. However,
it would have required an ex
tremely long time to read all
live books. What he read may
have been portions of the book
we call Deuteronomy. Vena 8
may mean that the Hebrew had
to be translated into Aramaic,
the language of the Jews living
in Palestine after the Exile.
Ezra was surrounded by
twelve men. These were prob
ably elders of the community.
The number twelve is symbolic
of the twelve tribes of Israel, and
it suggests that either Ezra or
the Chronicler ? perhaps both ?
saw the assembly as the true
Israel. (The thirteenth name,
Meshullam, is missing from an
other account of this event.)
Chapter 8:13-18: The Feast of
Booths was celebrated in keep
ing with the law. The note that
this festival had not been cele
brated since the time of Joshua
probably meant that the details
of the celebration had not pre
viously been carried out as fully
as the people under Ezra carried
them out. Certainly the Feast of
Booths was celebrated during
the period before the Exile. Per
haps the Chronicler's words
were intended to associate the
practice with the wilderness pe
riod as a way of affirming the
true meaning of the festival.
Chapter 9:1-5: The people con
fessed not only their own sins
but also the sins of their fathers.
They were well aware that
Israel was not merely a commu
nity gathered at a given time.
Israel was the community of
God's people that survived the
passing of generations.
The note that the sins of the
fathers, as well as those of the
people, were confessed indicates
that the confession dealt with
the entire history of Israel's re
bellion. It was an honest look
not only at what Israel was at
the moment but also at what
she had been in the past. Such
honesty involved a shock of rec
ognition that could be adequate
ly reflected only in sackcloth and
ashes, the traditional signs of
mourning among the Jews.
Chapter 9:6-37: At this point
the Chronicler inserted a lengthy
prayer, placing it on Ezra's lipa.
The prayer recalls God's mercy
to Israel in the Exodus tha
wilderness wanderings,. Israel's
rebellion, God's kinrin?Hts despite
their early rebellion, his event
ual judgment upon them for
their continued rebellion, and m?
refusal to give them up com
pletely. The prayer concludes
with the assertion that Y ahweh's
judgment was just.
Chapter 9:38: In response to
all that God had done, and in
honest recognition of her own
rebellion, Israel reaffirmed her
allegiance to God through the
making of a covenant. By the
very nature of the covenant con
cept, this action meant that from
now on Israel would not turn a
deaf ear but would be attentive
to God.
Chapter 1*: The covenant en
tailed specific pledgee. Israel
would separate herself from non
Israeli tea and would bring tithes
and afferingi to the pSfji and