SCRIPTURE: Joshua 11:16-23 OBSERVATION: I was totally taken aback by the words “not one city made a treaty of peace”. Was this an option for them? “The Lord Himself hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel”. OK, this takes some prayer. I don’t think this implies that their hearts were soft before He hardened them,…
Author: Norm
Feb 14 — Joshua 11:1-15
SCRIPTURE: Joshua 11:1-15 OBSERVATION: Why hamstring the horses and burn the chariots? It would be the equivalent of destroying the guns and the ammunition of the enemy. This was God’s ways of saying, don’t trust in their weapons, trust in Me! Not sure if hamstringing the horses made them suffer, or just useless for battle (if…
Feb 13 — Joshua 10:29-43
SCRIPTURE: Joshua 10:29-43 OBSERVATION: What a lot of killing and death. It is important to remember that God did not design death as a part of His perfect world, it is the result of our sin and rebellion. Death is inevitable. God did not intend death for this world, but He does control it for His…
Feb 12 — Joshua 10:16-28
SCRIPTURE: Joshua 10:16-28 OBSERVATION: The Bible often stresses the role of leadership in the rise and/or fall of the people or nation. God has ordained leadership to manage this twisted, sinful world, but unfortunately the leaders themselves are often twisted and sinful (Romans 13:1-7). What happened to these kings was not a unique or new thing, they…
Feb 11 — Joshua 10:1-15
SCRIPTURE: Joshua 10:1-15 OBSERVATION: Two major issues arise from this reading: the killing of Canaan’s people in the Name of the Lord, and the sun standing still in the sky. I will deal with the killing in Joshua 10:29-43 (Feb 13). So did the sun stand still in the sky? Technically it would be the earth that…
Feb 10 — Joshua 9:16-27
SCRIPTURE: Joshua 9:16-27 OBSERVATION: This passage reveals how seriously they took their word. They made this peace treaty with a binding oath (v.15), which likely included a curse from God if broken (“May our God break His vow to us, if we break our vow to you”, or something like that). There are consequences for the…
Feb 9 — Joshua 9:1-15
SCRIPTURE: Joshua 9:1-15 OBSERVATION: The Gibeonites know that they can’t beat the Israelites and their God. They are not repenting and seeking mercy, they are tricky and deceiving, so that they can hang on to their lives and their ways. The Israelites forget to keep their focus on God (success gets to their heads?) and make…
Feb 8 — Revelation 22:12-21
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 22:12-21 OBSERVATION: This is Jesus’ personal message of encouragement for His followers as they go through trials and persecution. Hang on, I am in control of the beginning and the end, and everything in between. Your oppressors will not have the upperhand forever. Trust me, I am coming soon! Don’t let anyone mess with…
Feb 7 — Revelation 22:1-11
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 22:1-11 OBSERVATION: The river of the water of life (Revelation 22:1) A reference to Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 47:1-12), symbolically portraying God’s life flowing from the center of the new world. It begins with Jesus, and through Jesus with the Spirit in us (John 7:38-39). Just as water represents life for us (space scientists today are desperately looking…
Feb 6 — Revelation 21:9-27
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 21:9-27 OBSERVATION: Twelve tribes of Israel… twelve apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:12,14) Symbolism for the whole community of faithful, from both the old covenant (Israel before Jesus) and the new covenant (Church after Jesus). Notice the symbolic numbers of wholeness and perfection (multiples of 12 and 10), representing the fullness (symbolized by 10) of…