“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. 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.’ Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 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. 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.’ 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.” + Numbers 21v4-9
This is a fascinating Old Testament narrative that is far more than just a narrative. In these few short verses we see a glorious snapshot of the gospel. There are three main turning points: Israel’s sin, God’s judgement, and God’s salvation.
Israel’s response to God’s unmerited mercy and continued goodness toward them in guiding, protecting, and sustaining them is sin. They become impatient along the way. In their impatience they speak out against God and against God’s ordained leader for them – Moses.
God’s initial response to Israel is judgment. This is the proper response. A holy, righteous, and good God has no obligation to show mercy to rebellious sinners. In fact, God’s one obligation to sinners is judgment. God must punish sinners in their sin or he negates his holy, righteous, and good character. So God’s righteous wrath is poured out on the Israelites in the form of poisonous snakes. The snakes bite the people, and the people get sick and some die. God is fulfilling his only obligation to man.
However, God has revealed himself to be not only a God of justice, but also of mercy. This, he does not owe to sinners. Yet he freely gives of his own accord. His mercy he reveals in the form of a bronze serpent which Moses crafts with his hands. All who look to this bronze serpent are healed from the snake bites and live. God provides a provision for his people. He provides salvation.
This narrative shouts forth the gospel message. We are sinners who stand under the wrath and condemnation of God, due to our being sinners. We are rebellious sinners who are owed judgment. A holy, righteous, and good God is obligated to judge us. He must. As we saw in the narrative of snakes killing the Israelites, and as we read in Romans 6v23, “…the wages of sin is death…” But Romans 6v23 doesn’t end there. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God has made a provision for his people. He has done so through His son Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said this was his purpose. John 3v14-15, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Jesus seemed to know the purpose of the of the serpent narrative in Numbers – to point forward to himself.
As we look at the bronze serpent which provided a temporary salvation for Israel, we look through it to Christ, who, when raised up on the cross for the sins of many, provided a permanent
salvation for his people. In Numbers 21, God is preparing us for the greater salvation to come in Christ.
As sinners, when we sin, we are drinking down poison that will kill us, much like the Israelites who were infected with the poison of the serpents. As sinners, when we look to Christ, raised on the cross, we gain an eternal salvation in Christ – a much better salvation than the kind God provided through the bronze serpent.
God is in the business of making provisions for his people. He has done so, emphatically, in Christ. Look to Christ, his life, his blood, his outstretched hands, his pierced body, his gushing side, and find life. Look to his resurrection, his ascension to the right hand of the Father, his interceding for his elect, his impending return, and live.
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” + John 3v14-15
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