The Bronze Snake

Are you afraid of snakes? Most people are. I am not afraid of them; I just have a healthy respect for them.

The people Israel sinned against God (again) by speaking against Him and against Moses. They cried out with their usual imbecilic statements:

“Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the desert? Numbers 21:5

God let loose the snakes that bit the people and they died.

Once they repented, God did not take the snakes away, but He did provide a way for them to live. He had Moses make a bronze snake, put it on a stick and raise it up high so that “when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.” Numbers 21:9 When they looked at the bronze snake they were putting their faith in God and his provision for their healing.

This became the picture of how God would save us through Christ. Christ was lifted up on a cross and anyone who looks to him in faith receives healing – eternal life. This is how Jesus put it:

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14-15

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