Fiery Serpents and the Cross
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November 13, 2016 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived" (Numbers 21:9)
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life" (John 3:14-15).
As recorded in Numbers 21, God had the Israelites pass through the wilderness so that they would become qualified to enter the land of Canaan, "a land flowing with milk and honey".
However, they failed to fathom God's will and became quick to speak out and grumble against Him each time they faced difficulties. They accused God and Moses who had freed them from their bondage in Egypt. God's wrath once found its way to the people of Israel in the form of fiery serpents and it is recorded that many people of Israel died after being bitten by them.
Only then did the Israelites come before Moses to repent. When he interceded for them, God instructed Moses to make the image of a fiery serpent and set it on a standard at which the Israelites were to look. Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a standard, and whoever looked up upon it lived even after being bitten by a fiery serpent.
1. Spiritual Lessons to Be Learned from the Fiery Serpent Incident
1) Regardless of the nature of our problems, we must find solutions from God.
As the Almighty who has absolute authority over the life, death, blessings, and misfortunes of all men, God could not only bring about fiery serpents upon the Israelites but He could also save them from the harm. Now, these fiery serpents did not just spring up from the ground. In the wilderness, fiery serpents and scorpions were common, but since God had protected His people, such creatures could not go near them. As the Israelites spoke against God, however, they were no longer under God's protection and they became subject to the harm (Numbers 21:5-6). Therefore the Israelites had to seek and find from God the root and the solution to the problem of the fiery serpents.
Here, "fiery serpents" spiritually refers to the enemy devil and Satan. Also, as God told the serpent that had tempted the woman in Genesis 3:14, "Dust you will eat all the days of your life…" the "dust" here signifies man who had been formed of dust from the ground. Following Adam's sin of disobedience, the serpent—the enemy devil—began making prey of all fleshly people living amidst their sins and bringing upon mankind trials and afflictions.
Children of God must seek and find the root of their problems and resolve it according to the Word of God (1 John 5:18). As the people of Israel repented of their sins and came before Moses, the children of God must come before Him and repent of their wrongdoings. When people rend their hearts in repentance, destroy the wall of sins, and come into the light, God will resolve their problems regardless of their nature.
2) We must endure trials of faith with only gratitude and gladness.
Even the forefathers of faith were subject to all kinds of afflictions. Likewise, the trials in the wilderness to which the people of Israel were subject was a process they had to undergo in entering Canaan, the land of God's blessings (Deuteronomy 8:15-16). If they had truly trusted God instead of speaking against Him, they would have transformed themselves in gratitude to His love and blessings.
When we endure trials of faith in gratitude and gladness, we will surely enter the land of blessing. Roman 8:18 reads, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." When we trust the merciful God in any kind of situation, remain patient until the end (James 5:11), and give thanks, then we can receive blessings prepared by God.
3) We must realize God's love by which He has helped us possess faith by looking to the bronze serpent.
When the Israelites were bitten by fiery serpents, they survived only when they looked to the bronze serpent set on a standard. Does this mean God could not heal them by His power, without having them look upon the bronze serpent?
If the people of Israel had the kind of faith possessed by the centurion featured in Matthew 8, who said to Jesus, "Just say the word," then all God would have had to do was, "Be healed." Yet, the Israelites did not possess this kind of faith.
No matter how great the manifestation of God's power it would not have served a purpose if people did not believe. So God gave the Israelites a visible emblem of faith. As they saw the figure of a fiery serpent set on a standard, the people of Israel could believe with greater conviction that God had saved them from the harm of the fiery serpents.
2. God's Providence of Salvation in Jesus' Crucifixion
Note what is found in John 3:14-15 saying, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life." This refers to the crucifixion of Jesus. Just as the fiery serpent was set on a standard, the sinless Jesus was hung on a cross to redeem us from our sins.
If a serpent generally signifies Satan, then why does the Bible equate looking to the bronze serpent set on a standard to fixing our eyes on Jesus hanging on the cross?
That is because the crucifixion of Jesus directly signifies the destruction of the enemy devil and Satan. As the fixing of our eyes upon Jesus hung on the cross is the same as witnessing the destruction of the authority of the enemy devil and Satan, when we believe it we will gain eternal life.
According to the law of the spiritual realm, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Therefore, after Adam's sin, he and all his descendants were condemned to death. Jesus came into this world in order to save mankind. By instigating evil people, the enemy devil and Satan had sinless Jesus crucified.
They believed that the killing of Jesus would ensure their eternal grip on the authority of death. But they ended up losing that very authority because the law of the spiritual realm dictates that the punishment of death is intended only for sinners. But the enemy devil and Satan violated that law and killed Jesus, who had neither the original nor self-committed sins.
Thenceforth, they have been forced to release from the authority of death and hand over to Jesus anyone who believed He is their Savior.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus' crucifixion around 2,000 years ago enabled anyone to receive salvation and eternal life and enjoy answers and blessings by faith. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will clearly understand the message of the cross and receive authority and blessings as God's children and enjoy eternal glory in Heaven.
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