SCRIPTURE: Numbers 36 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Although the patriarchal patterns of that culture did find their way into the Law of Moses, nevertheless God shows His concern for women and children in the Law in a way that the other cultures and religions did not. In this chapter we see God’s concern extend to Zelophedad’s daughters. The way…
Author: Norm
what I believe
I put this together several years ago, and still find it a helpful expression of what I believe: I believe in God Do you believe that there is a God? I do! This is a core conviction, one that shapes my whole way of living and thinking. I am not alone. Most people believe in…
no place to hide from justice
SCRIPTURE: Numbers 35 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The Levites were given towns among the other tribes, since they did not receive land. These towns were their refuge, their place to call home. In addition, six of these towns were set apart as cities of refuge, for people who were accused of a crime (for example, murder) and need a…
two long sentences about sin
“Some may for a time dream of the essential goodness of man and speak indulgently of those separate words and actions that do not measure up to the ethical standards of good society as mere foibles and weaknesses, for which man is not responsible, and which readily yield to corrective measures; but as time goes…
my lot in life
SCRIPTURE: Numbers 34 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: In this chapter we see the land being distributed by lot (that is, by the Lord’s direction), according to the number of the people. The Lord is distributing the land as a gift, and they are to be stewards of this gift. They are to faithfully serve Him in the land that…
how far does confession go?
Recently someone asked this question, and I am open to hearing from others about how they might discern God’s will for this struggling Jesus-follower. I committed a serious crime over 30 years ago and was aressted for it. I lied and got out of it. After i became a Christian I asked god to forgive…
away from me, Satan!
SCRIPTURE: Numbers 33 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: This chapter recounts the stages of their journey through the wilderness to the promised land. If finishes with a warning not to be enticed by the culture and religion of the land. Compromise will be deadly! This may seem harsh, but only if we underestimate the poisonous corruption and cruelty of the…
remember Lot’s wife (or looking back)
SCRIPTURE: Numbers 32 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: At first Moses is not impressed by what the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh ask – to take the land on the east side of the Jordan. What he hears them asking, and what he gets so angry about, is basically to stop before entering the land. Moses reminds…
light in the darkness
SCRIPTURE: Numbers 31 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Although I do not like this chapter – people as plunder, kill the boys, save the virgins – in an odd way I see Jesus in this passage. The mess of sin is our responsibility, but God does not abandon us to it. He does not snap His fingers and end it…
struggling with patriarchal passages
SCRIPTURE: Numbers 30 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: This chapter is not about vows first of all, it is about “relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living in his house”. [Numbers 30:16], applied to vows. “Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny…