Read: Numbers 21:4-9
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
I once heard a story of a woman who had been asked by her husband’s doctor to come it to see her. He explained that her husband had a rare condition that was often fatal if not treated properly. She asked what could be done. The doctor instructed her, “Well, he needs plenty of sleep, so let him sleep as late as he needs to each day. He will need plenty of good nutrition, so you’ll have to cook him three big, healthy meals each day. He shouldn’t have too much stress, so he won’t be able to help much around the house for a while. He may experience aches and need a massage each evening. If you can do all of that for him, I think he has an excellent chance at recovery.”
The woman began sobbing and was obviously distraught. The doctor asked her, “What’s wrong? Your husband will get better if you follow my instructions.” She answered, “I’m going to miss him so much.”
Israel is getting close to entering the Promised Land. When they came to Edom, the Edomites refused to let them pass through their land, As a result, the trip grew longer and the people became impatient. In their frustration, the new generation repeated one of their parents’ mistakes: They began grumbling and complaining about the trip and about the food and water. They cry out against God and Moses, “Why did you bring us here to die?”
In response to their sin, God sent poisonous serpents into their midst. The people come to their senses and realize they’ve sinned and beg Moses to pray for them; which he does. In the end, God gives them a specific plan for how they can be healed from a snake bite. Moses puts a bronze serpent on a pole and puts it in the midst of the people. If a person is bit, he or she must look at the bronze serpent and they will live. But if a person refused to look, they would die.
On that day there were probably those who were bit and quickly ran to look upon the bronze serpent. Others may have thought, I will do it when I finish with my work. Others may have thought, I don’t think I need to look, I looked before. And still others may have thought, it won’t matter if I look or not. What good is a bronze serpent? While some looked, others were like the woman in the story; unwilling to follow the instructions given.
Jesus, when he spoke to Nicodemus about eternal life and being born of the Spirit told him, “14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” We must recognize the poison of sin in our souls and look to the cross, trusting in Jesus who died to bring us forgiveness and life.
The people of Israel kept that bronze snake. In 2 Kings 18:4 we read that when he became king, Hezekiah “broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).” They had taken a symbol intended to remind they of God’s grace and forgiveness and turned it into an idol.
While I doubt we are in danger today of making the cross an idol and worshiping it, I wonder if we forget that it should daily prompt us to seek God’s face that we might live and walk in his forgiveness. Our sins are forgiven, yet if we do not regularly take time to search our hearts and confess our sins, they can create distance in our relationship with God. Sin can keep us from sensing the prompting of God’s Spirit like a callus can harden and keep us from feeling pain.
We need to follow God’s instructions to look to the cross for forgiveness and life. We need to keep the cross before us each day, not letting sin take root in our hearts. We are forgiven in Christ! The penalty has been paid! Now we can walk in it and enjoy intimacy with our heavenly Father!
Take time to reflect:
Do you have a regular pattern of self-examination and confession? If not, take time right now to invite God to show you areas of sin in your life that need to be confessed.
It’s easy to carry guilt around when we come face-to-face with our sin, remember to also hear the words of God through John, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
The people of Israel often grumbled and complained about life’s circumstances. Take time to thank God for his work in your life. See if you can list ten specific things for which you’re thankful. A thankful heart can keep us from doubting God’s goodness and wisdom!