Feb 27 2009 Num 21-23, Mark 6-7

Scripture
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
Number 21:9

Observation
The Israelites were wandering in the desert. Why were they wandering? Because they refused to trust God’s leading. They had been led right to the border of the Promised Land, but they were afraid to enter. God did not make them go forward, so he allowed them to stay in the desert and wonder.

So they wondered and then they started to fuss and criticize. But they picked the wrong person to criticize. The sin of the Israelites was to criticize God. They refused to trust God’s love and care. They forgot the miracles God had done for them. In short, they were so focused on themselves and what they thought was best.

And the consequences came upon them almost immediately. The Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people and bit many of the people and they died. And so the people – in the throws of agony – recognized their sin. They called to God and said, “We sinned… take the snakes from among us.” And God in his mercy heard the people and provided a way for them to be saved from death.

Application
God’s answer to the problem of the snakes was rather odd. It is interesting that God didn’t remove the snakes from the camp. The consequences of sin remained with the Israelites. They were still bitten – still felt the fiery poison. But what God did provide was salvation from death. He allowed the Israelites who trusted God to avoid perishing as a result of sin.

It is also interesting that God didn’t provide a sophisticated snake serum. He didn’t enable the healers to develop an amazing cure. He didn’t create a special liturgy or ceremony that the priests could use to save the snake bit. He just said, “Look at the bronze snake on the wooden pole.”Why a snake, I wonder? Was God trying to cast a shadow back to the original problem – the serpent in the Garden? Or was God trying to force people to look at and confess the root of the problem – sin? You see, it sure is easy to focus on the symptoms – the little white lies, the sinful desires, the lusts, the laziness. Focusing on the symptom – the snake bite tempts us to try to find a solution to that rather than what caused the snake bite.

Prayer
Lord, thank you for Jesus who was lifted up on the cross so I can look and live.