THE FUTURE OUTLOOK
J. F. JOHNSON Editor & Publisher
MISS EMMA P. JOHNSON News Reporter
L. A. WISE Staff Photographer
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FIRST AID
Too much emphasis can never be placed on the im
portance of knowing first aid and reading all available in
formation.
Numerous deaths and disabilities have been caused
by the lack of one having a little knowledge of first aid.
First aid medical devices are useless without knowing
how and when to use them. Every organization should
employ three or more persons that have a knowledge of
the use of first aid.
On one occasion an ambulance was called for a victim
of a knife wound and enroute to the hospital the ambu
lance was blocked by a train. The ambulance attendants
had no knowledge of first aid and the victim died from a
hemorrhage. This was uncalled for. By all means such
persons as policemen, ambulance attendants, and all public
transportation operators should have a knowledge of first
aid.
First aid is needed in the home, especially where small
children reside. One with a thorough knowledge of first
aid shouldn't use it to capitalize upon anyone. They should
give their services free and willingly in the case of
emergencies.
When a family takes a vacation in their personal
vehicle or any trip they should always have their first aid
kit with them. They may not need it for themselves but
there are so many accidents on the highways that they
could render service to someone else.
May we name a few accidents and emergencies that
could be remedied^ by someone having some knowledge of
first aid, electric shock, freezing, unconsciousness, burns,
cramps, dog bites, hemorrhages, poison gases, etc.
Such incidents may occur at anytime but the ambu
lance attendants, police departments and fire departments
should be prepared to render first aid for any particular
case that may happen before the doctor arrives.
We advise all of our readers to study some phase of
first aid. Have literature in the home as well as on the
job. We further advise our readers, who have no knowl
edge of first aid to beware of advice given by the many
peddlers of patent medicines, which are supposed to reme
dy many little illnesses.
A story tells of a young man who suffered from a
throat illness. He took the advice 114 persons who had no
knowledge of treatment for his case and the more reme
dies he took the worse his throat became. Finally he visit
ed his physician and no one out of the 114 persons had
suggested any type of medical treatment anywhere near
the cure.
We should all have our family doctors, both dental
and medical and never complain to others of our personal
illness except in the case of an accident or emergency.
Why not write to the Red Cross today for first aid
literature for your convenience. May we also advise our
readers that some things are required such as death, in
our immediate family. Don't allow yourself to forget the
fact that many illnesses may arise in which a person
with a knowledge of first aid may be able to help before
the doctor arrives.
First aid is necessary to the victim as well as it would
be to the one who acquires the knowledge of administering
its uses.
POET'S CORNER
"Lord, when Thou seest that my work is done.
Let me not linger on,
With failing powers,
Adown the weary hours,
A workless worker in a world of work.
But, with a word,
Just bid me home.
And I will come
Right gladly,
Yea, right gladly
Will I come."
This Weed's Sunday School Lesson
GOD'S COVENANT PEOPLE
7. God Chooses a People
What Is Our Concern?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a
great theologian and Christian
martyr. 1 1 s was imprisoned and
put to death under the Hitler
regime.
"I believe," he said, "that God
can and will bring good out of
all things, even the most evil.
For this he needs men who will
| let all things work tor the best
in respect to them. I believe
that in every trial God will give
us as much power to resist as
we need. But in order that we
will rely on him alone and not
on ourselves, he does not give
it ahead of time. Such faith
must overcome all anxiety
about the future. I believe that
even our mistakes and errors
are not in vain, and it is no
harder for God to deal with
them than with what we regard
as our good deeds. I believe
that God is no timeless rate,
but that he waits for and an
swers upright prayer and re
sponsible deeds."
Do you have this kind of
vital and unconquerable faith in
God? Do you move through
life with a confidence and cer
tainty because you trust God
and because God can depend on
you?
God speaks to men today just
as surely as he spoke to Abra
ham. He may use different
means, but he is still calling
men into covenantal relation
ship with him. How do you re
spond?
Before You Read the Scripture
In the statement by Bonhoef
fer we have a portrait of Abra
ham. He was a man who let
things work for the best with
respect to him and his descen
dants.
God brought good even out
ol Abraham's mistakes. Even
when Abraham became impa
tient and attempted to "help"
God fulfill his covenant prom
ises ? as in the birth of Ishmael
(Genesis 16) ? God brought
good from these mistaken "good
deeds." In all of this God em
powered Abraham to take the
first steps toward the fulfill
ment of God's goal of redeem
ing men from sin. Abraham was
God's chosen agent in his new
plan for the redemption of
mankind.
This lesson is the first of four
in a unit of study entitled
"God's Covenant People."
What the Scripture Says
The Scripture for today it
Genesis 12:1-9; 15; 17:1-21; 18:
13-14; 21:1-5; 22:15-19. Selected
verses are printed below. See j
Home Bible Study suggestions
in the back of the quarterly.
Genesis 12:1-3, 7
1 Now the Lord said to
Abram, "Go from your country
and your kindred and your
father's house to the land that
I will show you. 2 And I will
make of you a great nation, and
I will bless you, and make your
name great, so that you will be
a blessing. 3 I will bless those
who bless you, and him who
curses you I will curse; and by
you all the families of the earth
shall bless themselves."
... 7 Then the Lord appeared
to Abram, and said, "To your
descendants I will give this
land." So he built there an altar
to the Lord, who had appeared
i to him.
Genesis 17:1-8 I
1 When Abram was ninety
nine years old the Lord ap
peared to Abram, and said to |
him, "I am God Almighty; j
walk before me, and be blame
less. 2 And I wil make my
covenant between me and you,
and will multiply you exceed
ingly." 3 Then Abram fell on
his face; and God said to him,
4 "Behold, my covenant is with
you, and you shall be the father
of a multitude of nations. 5 No
longer shaU your name be
Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham; for I have made you
the father of a multitude of
nations. 6 1 will make you ex
ceedingly fruitful; and I will
make nations of you, and kings
shall come forth from you. 7
And I will establish my cove
nant between me and you and
your descendants after you
throughout their generations
for an everlasting covenant, to
be God to you and to your de
scendants after you. 8 And I
will give to you, and to your
descendants after you, the land
of your Boj ournings, all the land
of Canaan, for an everlasting
i possession; and I will be their
God."
1 The Lord visited Sarah as
he had said, and the Lord did
to Sarah as he had promised.
' 2 And Sarah conceived, and
bore Abraham a son in his old
age at the time of which God
had spoken to him. 3 Abraham
called the name of his son who
was born to him, whom Sarah
bore him, Isaac.
Memory Selection: I will make
of you a great nation, and I
will bless you, and make your
name great, so that you will be
a blessing. ?.Genesis 12:2
How We Understand
The Scripture
In these early centuries long
before Christ was born (2000 to
1400 B. C.), many wandering
tribes and nations roamed
around tEe Near East. Some
were looking for lands to con
quer. Others were following
their flocks. The Hebrews were
among these wandering people.
This is the background
against which we see the devel
opment of a covenantal rela
tionship between one deity and
one people ? God and the He
brews.
God promised Abraham, the
first patriarch, that through
him would come a great nation;
his name would be great; he
would be a blessing; and
through him all families of the
earth would be blessed. (Gene
sis 12:1-3)
Abraham's faith in God is a
dominant idea running through
the Old Testament. It is present
also in the New Testament
In Genesis 12:6 place means
a shrine, a "holy place," where
the Canaanites worshiped a
deity other than Yahweh. Yah
weh is the name of the Hebrew
deity. In the Revised Standard
Version and the King James
Version, the word is not trans
lated but is represented by
"Lord" printed in capital let
ters. (12:7) The name is given
as Jehovah in the American
Standard Version.
When Abram (as Abraham
was first known) came to
Shechem in Canaan, he had
fulfilled his first promise to
God, so "he built there an altar
to the Lord." (12:7) What is
more natural than that the first
act of a faithful man in a new
land should be praise and
j thanksgiving to God? At this
time the land of Canaan wai?
promised to the descendants of
Abram.
The Covenant
Genesis 15 and 17 are two dif
ferent presentations of God'a
covenant with Abram. The
covenant is not a bargain be
tween equals; rather, it is a
gift initiated by Yahweh him
self. (See 15:1; 17:1-2.)
In Genesis 15, which com
bines material from the J and
E sources, no specific demands
are made of Abram, although
the story implies that Abram is
to maintain a right relationship
to God. However, in Genesis 17,
which comes from the P source,
the requirements are spelled
out. In verse 1 God says to
Abram, "Walk before me, and
be blameless." Verses 9-14 re
quire every male to be circum
cised as the sign and seal of the
covenant.
In 17:1 God identifies himself
to Abram, saying, "I am God
Almighty." In a time and coun
try where many gods were
worshiped by many people, it
was important to know the
name of the deity with whom
one talked. This name, God
Almighty, appears frequently in
Genesis.
In 17:5 we read of the change
of names from Abram to Abra
ham. The change of names sym
bolized a new relationship ? a
covenant relationship ? be
tween God and Abraham.
Verse 8 emphasizes the im
portance of the Promised Land.
The Hebrew way of thinking
was one of concreteness. If Is
rael was to be the people of
God, she must have a land in
which she could live out her
task and mission. This thought
is presented in Psalms 105:44
45.
God's promises about the
greatness and the blessings of
Abraham's descendants depend
ed upon the fulfillment of the
promise of a son. The story of
the birth of Ishmael (Genesis
16) may represent an attempt
by Abraham and Sarah to help
God fulfill his promise. But
God is not swayed from his
purpose by the solutions men
attempt when their faith waiv
ers. God did promise to make
a great nation of Ishmael's de
scendants also, but his plan was
still to be realized through a
son of Sarah.
The effort of Abraham and
Sarah to provide an heir
through Hagar suggests a kind
of "practical atheism." A "prac
tical atheist" gives lip service
to God but acts as though God
is powerless to fulfill his prom
ises. God will have none of this.
So in due time Abraham and
Sarah had a son ? Isaac. (21:1
3) The name Isaac means "He
laughs." (See Genesis 17:19; 18:
15; 21:6.)
Covenants occupy an impor
tant place in the religion and
history of Israel and her spiri
tual heirs ? the church. A cove
nant, in the biblical meaning of
that word, is a solemn agree
ment between two parties (not
necessarily equal in status) in
which each party takes on cer
tain obligations.
In the story of Abraham we
(Continued on Page S)