The Italian Memorandum

“And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore,
but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying,
This is the way, walk in it…”

(Isaiah 30:20,21)

“What’s for supper?” I’d ask my mom (translated—“Can we eat now?”). The usual response was, “Wait until your father gets home from work.” “Okay mom.” Five minutes later—we’d run through the same information again. This time, however, she’d reply to my question—“bread and water.” And, so, early on, I would frequently hear the expression “bread and water.”

The expression “bread of adversity and water of affliction” turns up in Isaiah 30:20-21. Historical research into the bread and water proves this phrase to be a prison reference. 1 Kings 22:27 reads, “Thus says the king, Put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water…” It carries the idea of difficult times coming to an end when the people of God would suddenly behold their “Teacher.” The English Standard Version capitalizes “Teacher.” We have reason to think that this Teacher is a Messianic reference. Jesus entered his public ministry, appearing, not just as another teacher, but as the Teacher (Mk. 12:14; John 1:38; 11:28; 3:2; 14:6). The Dead Sea Scrolls also state that the Qumran Community was waiting for the coming of one called, “the Teacher of Righteousness”.

Friend, do you sit at his feet today, or have you settled for bread and water?

–Robert M. Housby

“I will not forget thy word”

(Psalm 119:16, KJV)

Pavese wrote, “We do not remember days, we remember moments” (The Burning Brand (1961). This may be true in many respects, but, there are admonitions in Scripture to remember both days and years (Deut. 32:7). Yet, there is a forgetting which goes beyond the trivial and enters the terrible. The psalmist declared: “I will not forget your word” (Ps. 119:16, 176). Psalm 119 is closely aligned with the law of the LORD, as given through Moses (see John 1:17; Deut. 1:5; Ps. 119:1).

In Deuteronomy 8, the word “remember” occurs twice (8:2, 18). The word, “forget” occurs three times (8:11,14,19). Of course, to not forget, and to remember, are expressions of the same intended object. That object is “the LORD your God” (8:2, 7, 11, 14, 18, 19, 20). But, to remember and not forget the LORD includes a foundational approach to the Bible. Note—“And you shall remember the whole way” (Deut. 8:1,2, emphasis on the whole); “…but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (8:3).

The psalmist wanted to express where he stood in relation to the law of the LORD. If it should ever seem like he has forgotten you, perhaps, rather, it is you that have forgotten him (Isa. 49:14,15; 51:12,13;Lk. 12:6). “Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And yet not one of them is forgotten before God.” If God should not forget us, how could we forget such a God?

-Robert M. Housby

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD”

(Isaiah 2:3)

The artist, Pablo Picasso was a great admirer of the ground-breaking work of Paul Cezanne. He referred to Cezanne as, “my one and only master.” Picasso was so enthralled with Cezanne’s mountain, Mont Sainte-Victoire, that he contacted his art dealer one day to announce that he had bought it. Since Cezanne had done so many paintings of this mountain, he asked Picasso which one he had purchased. Picasso answered, “Not a painting—the mountain—Mont Sainte Victoire!” Indeed, he had actually acquired Chateau de Vauvenargues, on the side of the mountain (Architectural Digest, May, 2006, 117).

The prophet Isaiah spoke of a time in his distant future when Jerusalem would be elevated by God, and for God’s purpose. Isaiah 2:1-3 makes three statements encouraging all nations to recognize that–

1. This mountain would be the unrivaled mountain of mountains [“the highest of the mountains” and “lifted up above the hills”].

2. This mountain would be the place of origin from whence teaching from God’s law (torah) would begin [“out of Zion” and “from Jerusalem” (see John 4:22; Luke 24:47)].

3. This mountain would launch the law and the word (dabar) of the LORD [“shall go the law …and the word of the LORD”].

Beneath a cedar tree on the side of Cezanne’s mountain Picasso is buried. Yes, upon whose mountain one lives, there shall he also be buried. Who is your one and only master? Have you been to the mountain?

-Robert M. Housby

“…he has put eternity into man’s heart…”

(Ecclesiastes 3:11)

He dazzled his world, at a young age, with his sophisticated mathematics. He, then, proceeded to speak of a “God shaped vacuum.” His name was Blaise Pascal. Is there such a thing as a “God-shaped vacuum?” A void, which, if not filled, causes a man to attempt to connect in some way to the eternal, by legitimate and illegitimate means? Is there such a need built into man to seek out the eternal? Is there a need so important and basic that without its comfort one is destined only to constantly apply band-aids to his dying wounds? Is this search for love and quest for ultimate purpose an inherent condition of man’s soul?

The Bible does speak of such a “God-shaped vacuum.” For example, it is written in Ecclesiastes 3:11—“I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Eccl. 3:10-11). Add to this reference, the words of Jesus in John 4:13,14, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever.” (see also Acts 17:27,28; 2 Cor. 5:2).

But, the real question is not whether such a vacuum exists. The more incisive question is whether one has found the right resource to fill it. If the Christian fulfillment story of the gospel is rejected, perhaps all that one can expect is summed up—“She is older than the rocks among which she sits; like the vampire she has been dead many times” (Pater’s reflections upon Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, The Renaissance). Thank God for Jesus and the power of his rising (Acts 13:30-41)!

-Robert M. Housby

“The God of heaven will give us success”

(Nehemiah 2:20, NEB)

There is a great need in our world to redefine “success.” Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet” (Matthew 5:13).

The world continues to define success along the lines of the big-four. It is not strange that Jesus addressed all four in his, Sermon On the Mount (Matthew 5-7).

1. Money (secular security) – “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24).

2. Power (achievement/advancement) – “Your kingdom come, your will be done” (Matthew 6:10).

3. Beauty (external endowments) – “Therefore do not be anxious, saying…What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things”

4. Athleticism (talent) – “On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not…and do many mighty works in your name?” (Matthew 7:22).

Humanistic success, as grounded in the big-four, may cause one’s peers to oooh and ahhh! But, the God of heaven is not impressed. For, this kind of “success” is a “success” without God, and/or without God’s plan. May we come to learn that, “The God of heaven gives success” (Nehemiah 2:20).

-Robert M. Housby

“ And there arose another generation after them who did
not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel”

(Judges 2:10)

How sad are the words of Judges 2:10. In this brief narrative verse, one is brought face to face with the reality that all it takes for God’s people to fall away is one generation of children who do not know the living Lord.
We may ask, what precipitated this lost generation? Seven observations from the biblical text appear significant:

1. Joshua died (Judges 2:8).
2. The elders who were with Joshua died (Judges 2:10a).
3. There followed a time of individual pursuits (Judges 2:6).
4. New religious convictions were formed (Judges 2:11).
5. Old religious convictions were abandoned (Judges 2:12).
6. God no longer could support their sinful ways (Judges 2:12-15).
7. The people were overtaken by their enemies (Judges 2:14).

We may be accustomed to seeing the phrase, “The Lost Generation” in reference to Hemingway, Stein, or Picasso, but never really seeing that it could also apply to our own children. But, from the lesson of Judges 2, we must never forget that apostasy is only a generation away–if that generation does not know the Lord (Judges 21:25).
Do you and yours’ know the Lord (John 17:3)? Let us not take for granted the things which we learned from our fathers; lest we too become a lost generation.

-Robert M. Housby

“And they will all be taught by God”

(John 6:45)

There are many versions of Christianity in the marketplace today. To most, this is a rather pleasant arrangement, as it allows for a smorgasbord approach to God—take what you want and leave the rest. But, there is a deep problem here. It is the same problem which Isaiah spoke of many years ago:

1. Preferring the word of men above the word of God (Isaiah 29:13).

2. Persevering in a plan that is not God’s plan (Isaiah 30:1).

3. Persistently refusing the Lord’s instruction (Isaiah 30:9).

To be taught by God is not optional (Isaiah 2:1-3; John 6:45;63; Hebrews 8:10-11). Jesus, himself, applied this information to the religious humanists of his day—“…in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men” (Mark 7:7-8).

So, would you be open to new information—information which comes directly from the Bible—without human creed, without human catechism, and without presumptuous human claim of direct revelation (2 Timothy 3:16,17; Galatians 1:6-9)? So, what is your attitude about Bible study?

Are you reachable or unreachable (Isaiah 59:1,2,21)?

-Robert M. Housby

“And I said to the angel who talked with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord”

(Zechariah 4:4-5)

There is something to be said for second generation faith. Paul said, “I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors… I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2 Tim. 1:3,5). But, for members of the Lord’s church who have assumed the posture that faith is transferable by mere association, it may come as a surprise that such a notion is problematic nonsense (Heb. 8:10-11). Grandpa and Grandma may have been faithful in their church attendance; gospel meetings; service to others; teaching of children; hospitality; students of the word; and being disciples of Christ— BUT, THEIR FAITH IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFERABLE! Each soul must choose whether heaven or hell will be their final home. There will be no piggy-back rides into eternity. Paul would write, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13).
We are planning to deliver a series of lessons from the book of Zechariah this fall. Basic concepts from Zechariah teach personal faith. The Menorah of Zechariah 4:1-14 is one such concept about light. May our brethren learn to get their own faith. The problem with second generation faith is that the individual has not developed a personal faith of their own.

-Robert M. Housby

“A glad heart makes a cheerful face”

(Proverbs 15:13)

“When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the friends are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh…

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the cloud of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far…”

–Author unknown

The story is told of a man visiting the Louvre in Paris. He went through the entire museum and commented sarcastically to the doorman upon his leave, “I didn’t see a thing in there!” The doorman smiled and gently replied, “Don’t you wish you could have?” (Arlie J. Hoover, Fallacies of Unbelief, p. 64). We cannot always be of a chipper disposition (John 11:35; Philippians 4:11; Proverbs 15:13). But, what determines whether we spend our days in a chipper mood or a dismal flurry of bitterness? It is written, “good news refreshes the bones” (Proverbs 15:30). The gospel is a message that must be internalized and verbalized (Romans 10:8-11). If we wait for chipper days, we miss the point. We must activate what we know by the gospel. There are no chipper days, only chipper people (see James 5:13). May it be so with you.

-Robert M. Housby

In the World War II military movie, Patton, George C. Scott portrays General George Patton, Commander of the United States 3d Army. Throughout the movie, General Omar Bradley is shown constantly counseling Patton on political decorum. One scene in the movie shows Patton confronting a G.I. in a hospital in Sicily for his apparent mental battle fatigue. Patton started striking him on the head and screaming at the man for alleged cowardice. Then he ordered the soldier out of the hospital to a separate location. He would not have this coward to share the tent with honorably wounded American soldiers.
A warm and sensitive psychologist–Patton was not. Still, there are statements made by the Holy Spirit which lead one to know for certain that God hates cowards among his people.

1. Revelation 21:8 reads: “But as for the cowardly…their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.”

2. The opposite of cowardice is courage. Joshua 1:9 reads, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.” And, the way to “courage” is to realize that fear is replaced with the promise of Joshua 1:9b—“Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” The promise of the Lord’s presence with his disciples in a New Testament sense is axiomatic to Christian faith— “…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20; see also 2 Chronicles 32:6-8; Acts 28:15).

3. Honor is conditioned upon service (John 12:26).

For all that you’ve done, and all that you’re going to do in the name of Christ, it will not be forgotten (1 Cor. 15:58). Serve Him today!

-Robert M. Housby