Look Up

I have been pondering several things from the Word of God lately.  I may be able to put a couple of them together in in this post.  I'm hoping to anyway; we'll see. 

Today we are going to look at another weird story from the Old Testament.  It was without precedent when it happened and nothing like it was repeated in the Old Testament.  It sticks out like a sore thumb and I'm sure the ancients who read this story scratched their heads in puzzlement. 

Our story is taken from 21st chapter of the book of Numbers.  Verses 4-5 say:

Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom.  But the people grew impatient with the long journey, and they began to speak against God and Moses.  "why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?" they complained.  "There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink  And we hate this horrible manna!" NLT

 Picture this.  God Almighty had poured His wrath out on their masters and brought them out of Egypt with signs and wonders.  When the people of Israel were cornered at the Red Sea, God parted the waters and they walked across on dry ground.  While that was going on, God was holding back Pharaoh and his army till they were safe on the other side.  Not only that, when God finally allowed Pharaoh and his army to advance, just as the troops were in the middle of the crossing, God released the water and drowned them all. 

Now the Children of Israel had seen all this.  They had heard the very voice of God on Mount Sinai.  They had seen water from the rock, miracle after miracle.  They never went hungry in the desert.  God sent them mana everyday.  

Alas, all they had to eat was that miraculous, God-sent mana!

There were several times in their wanderings that God wanted to wipe them out and even raise up a people from Moses, but time after time, Moses interceded and turned God's wrath from the people.  What about this time?  This time was a little different.  Let's go on with the story.

So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. vs.6 

So here we have a desperate situation.  There are poisonous snakes going throughout the camp, biting the people.  People are dying all over the place.  Oh my!

The people realize they are under judgment and they cry out for Moses to pray that God will take away the snakes and Moses does.  But God doesn't just take away the snakes.  He tells Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole in the camp.

Then the Lord told him, "Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole.  all who are bitten will live if they simply look at it."  So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole.  then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed." vs 8-9

 Do you see how this story is a little on the weird side?  What in the world was God thinking when He did this?  

 First things first.  What do the fiery serpents, as they are called in the King James Version, represent?  Well, if we think back to the first time we are introduced to a serpent, it is in the Garden of Eden.  It was a serpent that tempted Eve to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  It was a serpent that tempted her to sin and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).  So, as it was in the Garden of Eden, the sin of Man brought death near to them, in this case, through poisonous snakes.  Oh, the irony!

Now why would God tell Moses to make a replica of the very thing that was killing the people to save them?  This is the question.  What was God doing here?  The answer isn't found in the Old Testament, but it is in the New.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: John 3:14

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  2Corinthians 5:21 

Did you catch that?  Jesus said that He would be lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness because He became sin for us.  He became sin for us!  One more time....He became sin for us that we could become the righteousness of God in Him.  Folks, that is profound and humbling and awesome and worthy of praise and thanksgiving. 

Now to the point of this whole thing, what did the people have to do to be saved from the painful sting of death?  They had to look up.  That's all.  Look upon what the intercessor had done at God's command and be saved.

Part of me wants to say, "Now if you believe, it will cause a change in your life."  Or, " Show fruit meet for repentance."  But this isn't want the God said.  He said, "Look!"

How simple is that?  All you have to do is believe enough to look up.  You may think that everyone in the camp would have been saved, but think it through.  You know the nature of people.  I'm sure there were many who laid in their misery with their face to the wall saying, "That can't be so.  There's no way a snake on a pole can save!"

Or what about, "I was such a mumbler against God.  I don't deserve to saved!"

And the scariest of all, "I never wanted to leave Egypt in the first place.  I think I'll take my chances with the snakes."

People, you don't have to crawl to the pole and touch it.  You don't have to do some kind of genuflection or flagellation or anything.  Jesus did the work at the cross.  All you have to do is believe enough to look up. 

Well, I didn't tie in the other thing I've been pondering, the other revelation God gave me.  I guess I'll just have to write another post.  Folks, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31)