Numbers 21:4-9, “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. (5) 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." (6) Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the
people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. (7)
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. (8)
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." (9) 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.”
One of the many wonders of the Bible is how
it prepares us for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and reveals what his
work shall be. These glimpses, pictures, shadows appear from Genesis 3 onwards.
Sometimes we find them in the most unexpected of places, and Numbers 21 is
certainly an unexpected place!
This chapter records for us a further portion
of Israel wanderings in the wilderness. It tells us of victory in battle, God
providing faithfully for the people, further travelling and more victories in
battle. But in the midst of this we find a clear picture of Christ being set
before us, one that is so clear and strong in its design and purpose that even
Jesus used it in reference to Himself in John 3:14-15.
As has been the pattern of the people in
Numbers, after God’s provision, they moan and complain once more against God.
Food and water is the source of their complaint, their complaint is not that
God has failed to provide them with food, rather they have grown tired of the
food He gives them. They call the manna and the quail, “worthless food” which
they loath. We are seeing yet again that sin, complacency and ungratefulness
produces contempt for God.
In response to their contempt and extreme
ungratefulness God has to discipline the people again. This time God uses
snakes, venomous, deadly snakes and many people died as a result. When the
Israelites recognise that it is God’s discipline against their sin and the only
means of salvation from these snakes is to seek the grace and help of God, they
seek God’s forgiveness.
God’s mercy shines forth as He extends grace
and salvation through the means of this bronze snake mounted on a pole. All who
had been bitten need only to look upon this bronze snake, with the faith that
God would heal them by this means, and they would be healed. All who look up,
who look upon this snake that had been lifted up by Moses would be saved.
The
links to Christ and the Gospel are clear to see. We see ourselves in the people
of Israel, for we too have sinned against God, complaining against Him and
showing contempt. As a result, we will all come under God’s hand of just
judgement against our sin, a judgement which is death, for, “the wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23.
Just as those who were bitten by these venomous and deadly snakes could not
save themselves or keep themselves from death, so we cannot save or keep
ourselves from death and God’s eternal judgement. We need divine help, we need
God to deliver, to save us. God has graciously provided a salvation for us, one
far greater than this rescue in Numbers 21. These Israelites were physically
saved, but not spiritually, nor eternally saved, for they would all eventually perish
in the wilderness. God has provided for us a full salvation, a spiritual and
eternal salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.
How
does this salvation come to us? In a manner similar to this passage, all we
need do is acknowledge our sinfulness and its consequences and look up to
Christ, seeking God’s forgiveness and placing our faith in the person and work
of Christ, believing that it can and will save us from sin and bring us into a
right and eternal relationship with God. John 3:14-15, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son
of Man be lifted up, (15) that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
What a wonderful passage of Scripture Numbers
21 is, as it reminds us of the salvation we have through Christ! This
salvation, the person and work of Christ, was no accident, coincidence or a
last minute plan. It was always a part of God’s sovereign plan and works, and
He has made the truth of it known hundreds, thousands of years before it came
to pass. He gives us glimpse and pictures that point us to the coming Saviour.
How grateful we should be for this reminder, and be all the more grateful that
we do not await a Saviour from heaven to still come. He has come, He has
conquered sin, death and the devil, He has risen from the dead, He is reigning
and ruling over all things, and He is coming again in glory to take us to be
with Him, where we shall be made like Him.
Eternal God, we
thank and praise You today for the wonder of our salvation. We thank You that
it was always a part of Your sovereign purposes and plans, and was revealed to
us in Your wisdom. Thank You for not leaving us to the consequences of our
sins, and extending such undeserved grace to us. Thank You for this reminder of
the Gospel in Numbers 21, may You help us to see and think through the Gospel
every day, and not just when we read one of the Gospels. We pray that You would
cause many more to look to Christ and find salvation in Him. For Your glory we
pray this. Amen
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