The Fiery Serpent

Numbers 21:4-9 (KJV)
4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
5 And the people spoke against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loaths this light bread.
6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much 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 thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live.
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

We have all known someone that seemed to be growing in their relationship with God and then suddenly everything took a sudden turn for the worse. Their attitude turned sour, their prayer life became quiet and they turned on the people that had given them the most. It’s hard to understand how this could happen. There is a great insight in the story of Israel and the fiery serpents.

God had miraculously delivered His people from the Egypt, spoken to them from the top of Mount Sinai, and fed them with manna from Heaven yet we read that they became discouraged because of the way. Let me remind you that every day the Israelites got out of bed to see God in the midst of their camp in the form of a pillar of smoke and every night they went to bed with the glow of the pillar of fire radiating through the camp. There was no doubt that God was with them yet they became “discouraged because of the way”. How could this be possible?

The answer is found in the complaint made in verse 5 of our text. The people spoke against God and Moses because of their ungratefulness. Instead of considering the abundance that God showered on them each day they dismissed it. Instead of honoring Moses for his leadership and sacrifice they condemned it. They felt they deserved more than what they were getting. They had quickly gone from slaves to privilege in their own eyes. Their self serving ways are highlighted in the question they asked Moses,

“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?”

The unspoken sentiment was that they could do better. They felt they were responsible for their victories and no longer needed Moses.

There is a dangerous place in the Christian walk. It is a place where freedom becomes a deadly trap. A place where mercy becomes quicksand and the heart of those delivered becomes hardened. In this place the glorious gifts of God are taken for granted. Thankfulness becomes a duty rather than an overflow of the heart and the goodness of God and others in our lives is quickly dismissed for the desire for more. In 1 Timothy 3 Paul tells us to not put a novice in the office of Bishop.  Ungratefulness can creep into our lives at any time but it is in the "novice" stage of our walk when we have quickly matured and found some success that we are most vulnerable.

This is a dangerous place along the path we trod. It is a place of forgetfulness, where we have come far enough that the past seems distant and our sins no longer weighty. Grace and mercy have overflowed our lives and we have received gifts from God. We are being used by God and instead of seeing ourselves as vessels to be used we begin to think we are entitled. We no longer owe a debt to those that have poured into our lives but instead we deserve more.

This is the place the Israelites found themselves. They arose in the morning under the shadow of the Pillar of God’s Cloud and began to complain and rebel against God and Moses. God’s answer was swift. He sent fiery serpents into the midst of the people. They began to bite the people and many of them died. I find the typology of these fiery serpents intriguing. The bite of the serpent introduced venom into the lives of the ungrateful, proud, self-centered people. This venom quickly spread through the body and made them ill. Death was imminent! The punishment pictured the offence. The sin of pride and ungratefulness is like the venom that was spreading in the convulsing bodies of the people bringing them to a certain end. There was no cure to be found and soon death was marching to claim its victims.

Many died in their sins refusing to repent, but soon some of the people came to their senses and admitted their wrong. They appealed to Moses and confessed their sin. With God it is never too late to start over. A humble heart can enter the throne room and find mercy. God told Moses to put a brass serpent on a pole and lift it up in the camp. All those that looked upon the serpent would live. The typology is once again overwhelming. Jesus said, “and if I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me”. It was on the cross that our sins were placed upon the Holy One of Israel. It was on that pole, hanging between Heaven and Earth, that Jesus bore our sins. When we look upon Him let us remember that sin was spreading its deadly venom through our lives and the cure was not of ourselves but was a gift from God. And let us live our lives forever grateful for the presence of God in our lives.