Snakes are not high on most people’s list of beloved animals. (Imagine trying to sell a litter of baby snakes on Craigslist.) Their popularity as pets will never rival that of cats and dogs. They are not affectionate, their babies are not cute—nothing about snakes is attractive. Even non-venomous snakes are widely hated. My dad has said it a million times: “The only good snake is a dead snake.”
Considering the curse of the serpent in Genesis 3, God’s later use of snakes in Numbers 21 seems bizarre. Again (AGAIN?!!) the Hebrews complained about God: “Why have you brought us out here to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water and we detest this wretched food!” They had bitter, ungrateful hearts, and “The Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died” Numbers 21:5-7.
So there was a curse of snakes slithering through the camp of a million Israelites. What did they do? They repented and cried out to Moses. So Moses prayed and God gave him an interesting instruction:
“Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.” So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered” vv.8-9.
What in the world? A snake on a pole? Does that mean anything for us? Yes. Jesus compared Himself to the snake:
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:15-16.
What could this bizarre story about real snakes and bronze snakes have to do with Jesus, the Anointed One, the Savior of the World? The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Prince of Peace? Snakes? Are you kidding me?
Here it is in a nutshell:
The Israelites were dying because of their rebellious, sinful hearts. Death came in the form of snakes. But rescue came in the form of a bronze snake raised high on a pole. If the cursed looked—BY FAITH—to that substitute serpent on the pole, they would not die from the bite of the deadly snakes. In the same way, if we who are dying from sin will look—BY FAITH—to our substitute on the pole, to Jesus, then we will not die from the curse of sin. He took the curse for us. He became sin for us—a fate worse than being a snake. As bad as snakes are, Jesus made Himself even lower, by becoming SIN for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Through Moses, God is saying: “Look here, look at this perfect man who has taken the curse of sin and death for you. Look to Him and live!”
Application: Salvation does not require special words. It is not “come into my heart and forgive my sins and save me.” Words are important, of course. And God is listening, and people should express their faith with words. But what God is really looking for is a heart of faith. Are you looking to Jesus alone for your salvation? Do you recognize that you are DYING IN SIN, and that JESUS (the dead man lifted up on a pole—the substitute who died in YOUR place) IS YOUR ONLY HOPE? Look to Him. He is your only salvation.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 