Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Numbers 21:9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.
PORTRAITS OF THE PASSION: THE BRONZE SNAKE
I don't know about you, but snakes give me the creeps. Whatever your feelings about snakes may happen to be, they're next on our list of portraits to be found in our Old Testament gallery.
As we look at the painting before us, we see a nation of grumbling people. Instead of trusting their faithful LORD, they complain about the way God is taking care of them.
Sound familiar? Despite the fact that she has been so richly blessed, America is a nation of whiners. Do you and I have that problem as well? Are we slow to see how God blesses us so richly in body and soul, and quick to point out all the ways in which we think He's letting us down? Maybe we don't say it in so many words, but our constant complaining shows our lack of trust in our LORD God.
God sent venomous snakes into the Israelite camp in order to bring them to their spiritual senses. The death and sickness which resulted caused the people to confess their sin. Through Moses God heard their pleas for help and provided a remedy. A bronze serpent was to be placed on a pole. Whenever a snake-bitten person looked at the serpent, he would be healed. He would live.
What is the meaning of this portrait? Again it's all about Jesus. Just as God's grace stood behind the promise that whoever looked at the bronze serpent would live, so God's grace stands behind the promise that whoever looks in faith to the crucified Savior will live. Jesus is the only antidote that works against the death-bite of sin. Whatever your sin, look and be healed!
"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:14-15).
