December 8, 2009 (Numbers 21-25)

^{Numbers 21:4} 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, ⁵ 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!”

How long are they going to test God's patience? How long are we, as we complain about our "lot in life". "Why have you left me here alone, with my husband a half world away?" I have to believe that if they would have humbled themselves before God, and thanked Him that He had provided meat for them in the past, and water from a rock, and manna from heaven, and then asked him for some variety, let's say "fruit", that He would have led them to an orchard. But no, they are unthankful and unholy and are complaining against His goodness. So how can they expect His blessing? A great reminder to me to stay thankful in the midst of trying circumstances. So, here's how God responded:

^{Numbers 21:6} So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. ⁷ Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸ 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!” ⁹ 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!

In my opinion, this is probably one of the most significant passages in the Old Testament. This was a foreshadowing of Christ. Just as the people were "bitten" and "poisoned to death" by the snakes, so are we "bitten by sin" and "poisoned to eternal death". But all they had to do was, by faith, look at the snake on top of the pole and they would be healed. That is just how easy it is for us to be saved from "eternal death" to "eternal life". We just have to look, by faith, to Christ and His finished work on the cross. Jesus himself said: ^{John 3:14} And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

The next verse is probably one of the best known verses in the Bible - you see it posted at sporting events, etc. John 3:¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

And if you ever wondered where the phrase "born again Christian" came from: John chapter 3! I've copied the first part of John chapter 3 below.

John 3

¹ There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. ² After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

³ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

⁴ “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

⁵ Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. ⁷ So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? ¹¹ I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. ¹² But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. ¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

¹⁸ “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. ²⁰ All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. ²¹ But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

So, lots to consider from today's reading....