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.

The End Game

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.  Revelation 21:5-6 (KJV)

What is God up to?  What is His purpose for my life?  Why does He allow us to go through difficult times and endure hardship?  These questions permeate the minds of God’s people.  Even for those that say they trust the Lord it is hard not to ask, why?  Why did I lose my job?  Why did my spouse leave me?  Why did I get sick?  Why did I lose my loved one?  Why are there wars and famine?  Why do evil people seem to prosper while good people endure hardship?  The list of whys can go on and on.

Know this, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground it cannot bring about new life.  Written in the laws of God is the principle of the sowing.  Bundled in the tiny seed that has fallen from the stock that withered is the potential that only God can see.  Who can count the number of trees one tiny acorn can produce?  Inside that which was cast off from the mighty oak lies another tree.  Inside that tree lies thousands of acorns each able to produce more trees.  I have several oak trees around my property and I routinely rake up the acorns that fall to the ground.  All that I see are the tiny cast offs of from the wonderful shade tree that graces my yard but I am caught in a moment of time.  God is not.

We are all like that.  We live in this hour and enjoy the usefulness of the things we are blessed to have around us.  Every possession, every friendship, every love, is viewed through the lens of our own limitations.  But God is not subject to our limitations.  He sees the acorn and counts the trees.  Imagine how different our decisions would be if we could measure the souls touched by our kindness or the hearts mended by just a word of grace and mercy.  Instead of responding in shallow haste we would measure every word, every action, every thought in the light of eternity.  That is how God decides. 

Yes, His ways are higher than ours, His purpose more pure, His thoughts infinitely clearer and I know that I can trust Him.  Our verse this week reveals that God is sitting upon His throne and He is making all things new.  From the ashes of our lives He brings forth beauty.  He is not discouraged by what we see as failures but instead God is looking beyond our faults and seeing the unimaginable.  There is no life so lost that God cannot use it.  No heart so dark that God cannot cause light to spring forth.  No circumstance so dire that God is not in the midst of it.  He has not abandoned us.  God sits on His throne and speaks strength to the weary, hope to the abandoned, and life to the dead.