Author: Norm

SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 1:1-7 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: 1. Solomon wrote these words to help people gain wisdom – not information. We can know a lot of things, yet be very foolish. 2. Wisdom is something like common sense for daily living, for helpful, healthy and successful living. 3. Parables and proverbs capture in simple yet profound ways, in ways…

SCRIPTURE: Joshua 21:1-45 OBSERVATION: 1. The levites, whose task is to serve as spiritual leaders in the community, have their practical needs addressed by begin given towns for their families and pasture for their flocks. They lived among the other tribes, as a visible reminder to the rest of the people of the centrality of their…

SCRIPTURE: Joshua 20:1-9 OBSERVATION: Cities of refuge, places where people could find protection and a fair trial. There were no police, so when crimes occurred, people might take the law into their own hands. I do sometimes wonder how much of this law is Moses, and how much is God’s design. I am referring to Matthew 19:1-9…

SCRIPTURE: Joshua 18:11-19:51 OBSERVATION: The details of the land distribution do not hold symbolic meaning. This is the practical side of God’s plan for establishing the nation of Israel in the land, as a base camp for God to work out His kingdom plan, the coming of the Messiah, and the ultimate restoration of the whole…

SCRIPTURE: Joshua 18:1-10 OBSERVATION: The people are holding back. Joshua exercises wise leadership, organizing the last “stretch” of their campaign. The lot selection method (like drawing straws) done in a prayerful manner is how the remaining territories will be divided. Again we are reminded about the Levites who “inherit” the service of the Lord as priests….

SCRIPTURE: Joshua 17:1-18 OBSERVATION: Not sure what “lessons” I glean from this passage. Provision is made for Zelophehad’s daughters? The Manassites were not strong enough, or confident enough, to take the land from the Canaanites? They had more confidence in the enemy’s iron chariots than in their God’s power? Or, like Joshua learned the hard way…

SCRIPTURE: Joshua 16:1-10 OBSERVATION: Here we see God giving a double blessing to Joseph, by giving land to his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh. But he is also maintaining the number “twelve” for the tribes, because Levi is the landless tribe, they do not receive an inheritance because their “place” is throughout the nation as the…

SCRIPTURE: Joshua 15:1-63 OBSERVATION: My first thought when I read this is… BORING. Extended list of names of places I never heard of. Most people probably skip over this (some people are bothered that I assigned 63 verses of this stuff for 1 daily reading. So, is there a point? One thought that comes to mind,…

SCRIPTURE: Joshua 14:1-15 OBSERVATION: This section is about receiving the inheritance, the land (space, roots) promised by God. In the context for Israel, it was a dream come true, after Abraham left his home to look for a land, a place to call home. But this local story belongs to the ultimate story of humanity not…

Feel free to leave your comments. My comments are coming soon! SCRIPTURE: 1 John 5:13-21 OBSERVATION: APPLICATION: PRAYER: