I apologize if anyone is offended by the title. It is not original to me.
Numbers 21:4-9, NKJV.
'Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged 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 our soul loathes this worthless bread."
6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
7 Therefore 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 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."
9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.'
John 3:14-15. 'And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.'
[A quick translation note: most modern versions translate the Greek word ophis as snake, not serpent. The NKJV follows the KJV. However, ophis is also used in Revelation 12:9 & 20:2]
Obviously, the verses draw a parallel between Moses lifting up the serpent and the Lord Jesus being lifted up on the cross. It is helpful to note that in the Numbers passage the Israelites were under the righteous judgement of God on account of their sin (v.7). It was not enough for them merely to confess their sin; Moses had to make the 'fiery' or 'bronze' serpent and the people had to look at it in order to live. They were then rescued by God from a punishment that He Himself had imposed. So today, mere repentance from sin does no one any good unless he is looking to Christ crucified to take away his sin and save him from the judgement that God has imposed.
But why did God command Moses to make a fiery serpent? Why was the antidote to the poison the same as the agent of the poisoning? How could looking at a snake cure people of snakebite? There is some very strange typology here - so strange that many commentators shy away from it, but once you see it, it's hard to deny. Where else do we see a fiery serpent in Scripture? In Revelation 12. There, the 'great, fiery red dragon' (v.3) is revealed to be none other than 'That serpent of old, called the devil and Satan ' (v.9). So the serpent on the pole is a picture of the very epitome of sin.
So Moses took this brazen serpent, hung it on a pole and raised it up so that the serpent hung between heaven and earth and shouted "Look to the serpent!" In the same way, 1,500 years later, men took the Lord Jesus Christ, hung Him on a cross and raised it up so that our Lord hung between heaven and earth, and the preacher's job is to cry out, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" And as many as look in faith to Christ made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) will be saved.
So here we have the task of the preacher - to lift up the crucified Son of God who was made sin for us. There are various reasons why an Israelite might not have looked at the serpent and therefore have died. There are as many reasons why men do not look to Christ today.
1. Sheer unbelief. They don’t believe they’ve been bitten; they don’t believe the snakes are poisonous; they think the whole idea of looking at this bronze snake is ridiculous. In the same way today, there are those who don’t believe in the very concept of sin, and therefore they see no need of a Saviour. Preachers need to reason with such people and show them their sinful condition. ‘Now as Paul reasoned about righteousness, self-control and the judgement to come, Felix was afraid’ (Acts 24:25).
2. A low view of sin. They admit that they have been bitten, but they don’t see that the bite is fatal. They think they’ll get better on their own. So people today have a low view of sin and they can’t believe that God hates it so much in all its forms and will punish it. We need to preach what the Puritans called the sinfulness of sin and teach men and women about the holiness and justice of God. ‘You [God] are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity’ Hab 1:13).
3. A high view of man. They think they can suck the poison out of the wound themselves or treat themselves in some other way. Many folk today will admit that they’re not perfect, but they think they can make themselves right with God by their own efforts. We have to admonish these folk. ‘Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin’ (Rom 3:19-20).
4. Synchretism. They think that looking at the serpent is fine for those who want to do that, but that there are many ways to be cured of snakebite. In the same way many people will say that they admire Jesus and Christianity greatly, but believe that all religions are equally good. We need to warn such people. ‘Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name given among men by which you must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).
5. Despair. They really do believe that they’re dying from snakebite, but they can’t believe that just looking at a serpent can help them; they’re too far gone for that. So there are people who accept that Jesus Christ really is the Son of God, but, can’t believe that he would shed His blood for someone as evil as they are or that God would ever let them into heaven. We must exhort these poor folk to trust in our all-sufficient Saviour. ‘Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon’ (Isaiah 54:6-7).
.
Numbers 21:4-9, NKJV.
'Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged 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 our soul loathes this worthless bread."
6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
7 Therefore 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 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."
9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.'
John 3:14-15. 'And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.'
[A quick translation note: most modern versions translate the Greek word ophis as snake, not serpent. The NKJV follows the KJV. However, ophis is also used in Revelation 12:9 & 20:2]
Obviously, the verses draw a parallel between Moses lifting up the serpent and the Lord Jesus being lifted up on the cross. It is helpful to note that in the Numbers passage the Israelites were under the righteous judgement of God on account of their sin (v.7). It was not enough for them merely to confess their sin; Moses had to make the 'fiery' or 'bronze' serpent and the people had to look at it in order to live. They were then rescued by God from a punishment that He Himself had imposed. So today, mere repentance from sin does no one any good unless he is looking to Christ crucified to take away his sin and save him from the judgement that God has imposed.
But why did God command Moses to make a fiery serpent? Why was the antidote to the poison the same as the agent of the poisoning? How could looking at a snake cure people of snakebite? There is some very strange typology here - so strange that many commentators shy away from it, but once you see it, it's hard to deny. Where else do we see a fiery serpent in Scripture? In Revelation 12. There, the 'great, fiery red dragon' (v.3) is revealed to be none other than 'That serpent of old, called the devil and Satan ' (v.9). So the serpent on the pole is a picture of the very epitome of sin.
So Moses took this brazen serpent, hung it on a pole and raised it up so that the serpent hung between heaven and earth and shouted "Look to the serpent!" In the same way, 1,500 years later, men took the Lord Jesus Christ, hung Him on a cross and raised it up so that our Lord hung between heaven and earth, and the preacher's job is to cry out, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" And as many as look in faith to Christ made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) will be saved.
So here we have the task of the preacher - to lift up the crucified Son of God who was made sin for us. There are various reasons why an Israelite might not have looked at the serpent and therefore have died. There are as many reasons why men do not look to Christ today.
1. Sheer unbelief. They don’t believe they’ve been bitten; they don’t believe the snakes are poisonous; they think the whole idea of looking at this bronze snake is ridiculous. In the same way today, there are those who don’t believe in the very concept of sin, and therefore they see no need of a Saviour. Preachers need to reason with such people and show them their sinful condition. ‘Now as Paul reasoned about righteousness, self-control and the judgement to come, Felix was afraid’ (Acts 24:25).
2. A low view of sin. They admit that they have been bitten, but they don’t see that the bite is fatal. They think they’ll get better on their own. So people today have a low view of sin and they can’t believe that God hates it so much in all its forms and will punish it. We need to preach what the Puritans called the sinfulness of sin and teach men and women about the holiness and justice of God. ‘You [God] are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity’ Hab 1:13).
3. A high view of man. They think they can suck the poison out of the wound themselves or treat themselves in some other way. Many folk today will admit that they’re not perfect, but they think they can make themselves right with God by their own efforts. We have to admonish these folk. ‘Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin’ (Rom 3:19-20).
4. Synchretism. They think that looking at the serpent is fine for those who want to do that, but that there are many ways to be cured of snakebite. In the same way many people will say that they admire Jesus and Christianity greatly, but believe that all religions are equally good. We need to warn such people. ‘Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name given among men by which you must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).
5. Despair. They really do believe that they’re dying from snakebite, but they can’t believe that just looking at a serpent can help them; they’re too far gone for that. So there are people who accept that Jesus Christ really is the Son of God, but, can’t believe that he would shed His blood for someone as evil as they are or that God would ever let them into heaven. We must exhort these poor folk to trust in our all-sufficient Saviour. ‘Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon’ (Isaiah 54:6-7).
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