Day 5: Bronze Serpent
- Readings: Numbers 21:4-9
- Bonus Reading: John 3:1-15, Hebrews 12:2
Okay let’s put this passage into context. The Israelites are still wandering in the desert before the promise land. They’ve experienced the miracles of the plagues (Exodus 7-13), parting of the red sea (Exodus 14) , they’ve been protected from the heat of the scorching sun by God as a cloud, they were kept warm in the cool evenings by God as a pillar of fire, they’ve cried out to God many times and God has delivered. They cried out for water so God made water come from a rock (Exodus 17), for food and God gave manna from the Heavens and quail (Exodus 16). They cried out in desperation over and over again and God has come to their rescue.
BUT this time around it’s different. Verse 4 tells us they became impatient. Their exact words are at the end of verse 5.
Sometimes I like to make the Bible come to life, so read verse 5 with a 5 year old whine and exaggerate while falling to the floor in a dramatic despair. It’s how I picture this scene to be.
“Why have you brought us out of Egypt to DDDIIIEEE in the wilderness? For there is not food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” (Emphasis mine)
First off, you can’t say there is no food and you end that same sentence with the fact that you have food but it’s worthless.
Second, hello, water miraculously came spouting from a rock!! Food falls from the sky! I mean people... come on.
Let’s get back on point.
The Israelites cry out to God because of their unbelief and God sends judgment. A serpent or snake. To be bitten by a snake means a very slow and painful death. Up until now, you better believe God has been protecting the Israelites from those same snakes as snakes are all over the desert floors. But here, God allows them to bite as punishment. But Moses cries out to God in confession and prayer and God instructs him to make a fiery serpent and put it on a pole. And whoever lifts their eyes to the pole will live.
Sounds odd right. But it points to our salvation. You see, the Israelites needed to look at this evil/sin (serpent) on a pole. The bronze, back then, represented judgment. So when Moses held up the pole, the Israelites were looking at their sin and judgment. And as long as they kept lifting their gaze to the pole, they would be saved. They would be healed of their sickness, their venomous bite.
The Bronze Serpent foreshadows the body of Christ. Jesus taking on the sin of the world and bringing it to the judgment of the cross.
Just as the simple act of looking to the pole showed their belief and obedience to God, we need to look at the cross. Our world is full of poison, sickness and sin. The devastation is everywhere creeping in on us, but Christ gives us the answer to overcome the worldly sickness. He gives us himself, on a pole (wooden cross), dying to overcome it all. If we simply look to him, our hearts are healed and we are transformed.
Christ and his crucifixion and resurrection are what we need to look to each and every day to be reminded of his loving grace and mercy to save us from evil and bring us into His holy presence. If we can always remember that, it's amazing how we can guard our hearts and mind from the world that surrounds us and focus on the mission he has before us.