Numbers 21:4-9

Is our trust in God and Him alone?

Dear KY family,
Numbers 21:4-9
They travelled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go round Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!’ Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ 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, they lived.

What are we trusting in today as we bring our prayers to God for our church and nation?

When we read this passage from the Old Testament, it is almost impossible not to immediately relate it to the Gospel of John when Jesus said to Nicodemus regarding the Kingdom of God.
No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. ~ John 3:13-15
From a New Testament perspective, Jesus’ Words obviously refer to Himself being lifted up on the cross, from the grave, and into the heavenly realm where God the Father sits on the throne. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on calvary, this Old Testament passage is now understood as an archetype pointing to the future redemptive work of Christ.
In the previous Pastor’s Heart edition, I shared about the role of faith in our individual spiritual journeys and in intercessory prayer. In this edition, I would like to share in regards to religious icons. What was the function of the bronze snake that Moses lifted up before the people?
For many, religious icons or even religion itself are symbols connected to a belief in magic. The bronze snake to such ones would be an assurance that divine powers could be marshaled whenever needed to alleviate a human difficulty. In the course of Christian history, some have considered the elements of the Holy Communion in this way. But of course, that will be an errant understanding because so closely connected with such a magical approach is an even more dangerous possibility – idolatry.
Any Christian would know that idolatry is strictly prohibited. The worship or reverencing of anyone or anything other than God is a deadly error. Yet, so many times, people choose to put their trust in unhearing uncaring human creations even if those icons are meant only to point to God. And while we as hearers in modern times are tempted to say that these are two different things and that people can’t be so foolish to trust in the icon instead of God Himself. Yet, as history teaches us, this happens all too often.
In fact, Scripture tells us that the particular bronze snake that Moses lifted up in the desert did indeed become an idol to the Israelites. Centuries later, King Hezekiah, during an attempt to rid the people of the pagan idols and altars, actually removed this very bronze snake from the temple and broke it into pieces because the Israelites had been burning incense to it (2 Kings 18:4). From this account, we are reminded that even the noblest of virtues can become twisted into icons for something else. What are we trusting in today as we bring our prayers to God for our church and nation? Is our trust in our own acts of piety as if we can move the hand of God? Or is our trust in God and Him alone?