The Fiery Serpents
However much the people thought that they had valid things to complain about, it’s clear the Lord wasn’t sympathetic to their grievances. After all these years in the desert, all these years of seeing God working among them, what do they do but regurgitate the same old complaint about having been brought into the desert in order to be killed? No wonder the Lord wasn’t sympathetic. What made their complaints even worse was that they just had experienced a victory over the Canaanites.
Read Numbers 21:5–9. How again do we see Moses in the role of intercessor? Why, especially now, did the people need an intercessor?
There are about 35different species of snakes in Palestine. Some are extremely poisonous. The poisonous serpents that infested the wilderness were called “fiery serpents,” on account of the terrible effects produced by their sting. As the protecting hand of God was removed from Israel, great numbers of the people were attacked by these venomous creatures. In other words, it wasn’t that God sent them upon the Israelites; rather, the Lord took His protection away from them, and they then suffered the consequences.
Read John 3:14, 15. How does Jesus relate the incident with the serpents to the plan of salvation? In what sense have we all been bitten by fiery serpents?
The existence of the bronze serpent on the pole wasn’t enough to stop the bites from killing people. They had to look; they had to make the choice to obey and then receive the benefits of the provision made in their behalf. In the same way, the death of Jesus itself automatically doesn’t bring salvation to the world. His death provided the means of salvation, but just as the people in the wilderness needed to look, we have to look to Jesus and believe in order to receive what He so freely and graciously offers.
| How have you known in your own life the healing power of Christ, even now? What other hurts do you need to bring to Him for consolation, healing, and strength to move on despite what seems like insurmountable pain? |
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