The Bronze Serpent: A Story of Faith and Hope

“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, 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!”

So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. 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.

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!” 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!”

Numbers 21:4-9 (NLT)

Introduction

Last week, a friend reminded me of this blog I started. She had read my last post during some quiet time and even sent it to her mom afterwards. I wrote that post in July, and since then life got too busy for me to even think about writing, let alone to muster up the energy to set time to actually do it. After her encouraging words, however, the LORD began to stir my heart to write again. Given this season of quarantine, isolation, distancing, and being stuck at home due to COVID-19, I would say the timing of this is not coincidence. Now more than ever, we need to fight isolation, fear, and panic with words of hope. Although I may not be able to physically be with many friends and people to do this, hopefully they will see this and be encouraged.

The other night, I finally finished watching the first season of The Chosen, an online TV series following the life of Jesus and His disciples. If you haven’t watched this show yet, I highly recommend that you do as soon as you can. This isn’t your average, cheesy Christian show/movie, it is done very beautifully and faithfully. No, this is not a paid advertisement, it’s just the truth. Anyways, the introduction of episode 7 portrays Moses creating the bronze serpent and it is later referenced near the end of the episode in the middle of Jesus and Nicodemus’ conversation. It really got me thinking, and I would love to share these thoughts with you if you are willing to take the time to read them.

The Story

After giving the Israelite’s freedom from slavery in Egypt through the miracle of the Red Sea, God’s people quickly turned against Him. They complained that they had nowhere to go, nothing to eat, and that they would’ve been better off as slaves back in Egypt. As punishment, God kept them in the wilderness for 40 years, an entire generation. Even so, God in His infinite grace gave the people Manna, bread literally sent from God in heaven to His people. He provided exactly what they needed every single day for 40 years.

As was their nature (and ours), however, they began again to complain. They grew tired of God’s gift of manna, craving the foods that the rest of the world ate. In response, Numbers 21:6 happened:

“So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died.”

Well, that escalated quickly. Why God chose to respond in this way, I have no idea. What I am more interested in is what happened after. Quickly, the people realized their mistake and asked Moses to pray to the LORD on their behalf. When he did, the LORD responded in a very interesting way. He commanded Moses to construct a bronze replica of a poisonous snake (likely the ones that had been biting and killing the people) on a pole and erect it in front of the people. Then, anyone who would simply look at it and believe would be healed.

All Things Point to Jesus

There is a lot to unpack here. Let’s start with the moment in which Moses hears from the LORD and begins crafting the bronze serpent. Although Scripture doesn’t give us much exact detail, I think The Chosen depicts what it might have been like beautifully, showing Joshua, Moses’ second-in-command at the time, entering the tent as Moses is finishing up. In their conversation, Joshua brings up a very valid point in asking Moses whether making a replica of a snake and placing it in front of the people would seem like a cruel joke to them. After all, it’s snakes that have been causing their suffering! Moses’ answer is simple and so, so wonderful: “It’s not my choice.”

God does some very strange things sometimes, right? It doesn’t take long in your journey of faith and following Jesus to learn to expect the unexpected from Him. The LORD does not, cannot, and will not fit into any box we try to place Him in. I think that is a good lesson for these strange times we live in now, let’s expect God to do the unexpected in this pandemic season. That’s not really the point of this post, but something to think on nonetheless.

The bronze serpent story is given six verses in the book of Numbers. Only six. At first glance, you might ask and wonder why this was even included. Well, there’s an old theological saying that applies here, everything in the Bible points back (or forwards) to Jesus, and not just the prophecies. He was and is still God’s original plan for salvation. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to stretch too far to figure out how this story connects to Jesus, as He already did that for us!

“No one has gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”

John 3:13-15 (NLT)

These words often get lost as they come right before maybe the most well-known verse in the Bible, John 3:16. It is a shame too, because these verses may be equally as powerful. They show that long before Jesus ever set foot on the earth as a man, God had Him in mind. The bronze serpent was a symbol for salvation. God’s people were saved from the venomous snakes in the wilderness by simply looking at the bronze serpent and believing that the LORD would heal them. Now, all people can be saved by simply seeing Jesus (both on the cross and ascending into heaven) and believing that He has the power to save us from sin and death. Wow, God is good.

Faith and Hope

The only thing that the LORD requires of us is faith. When life seems hopeless, when the weight of sin is too much to bear, and when venomous snakes surround us, God tells us to look up. To see that He has lifted the Son of Man up for our sake. To believe that He has the power to heal and to save us from whatever darkness we have found ourselves surrounded by. It wasn’t that bronze snake on a pole that saved God’s people, it was God. It’s not our faith or good deeds that has saved us from sin, it’s Jesus.

The story of the bronze serpent is a story of hope. That in the midst of suffering, Jesus has been lifted up. Do we have the faith to believe in His power? Wherever you are right now, God is offering you hope through His one and only son Jesus Christ. He is in control. Look to Him in faith, walk with the Holy Spirit, and one way or another, these tough times will pass.