The Fiery Serpent and the Brass Serpent ( Numbers 21:4~9 )

The Fiery Serpent and the Brass Serpent ( Numbers 21:4~9 )

 

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 spake 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 loatheth 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 looketh 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.

 

  

Today’s scripture from the Old Testament is directly connected to John 3:14-21 in the New Testament.

 

“14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

 

The important verses here are 14-16:

“14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Just as the brass snake was hung upon a pole, Jesus was also on the cross and whoever believes in him receives salvation. Here, the fundamental aspect of salvation is the same.

Let us take a look back at the time when Numbers was written, roughly 3500 years ago.

Numbers 21 records how the Israelites had been traveling through Mount Hor in the land of Edom, and they grew tired of trekking through mountainous regions. They began to resent and blame God for their hardships, a most grave sin. For their sins, a fiery serpent bit them and the Israelites faced painful death.

 

▲These fiery serpents were sent by God and they were one of the many venomous snakes that were living in the desert region where the Israelites were traveling. They get their name from their fiery appearance and pattern.

 

God sent the fiery serpents to the Israelites, had the serpents bite them, and then had the bitten Israelites look upon the brass serpent to be saved. This can be seen as a symbol of Jesus’ salvation for us.

 

This is the meaning of John 3:14-16 as well as the encompassing meaning of the Bible.

 

▲We must always remember that our lives were like that of one bitten by a fiery snake: destined to die with no way of salvation.

 

▲Before the Israelites were bitten, they had been acting as if they were God. They built themselves their own idol of a gold calf, making themselves the creator of a god.

While they were in the desert, the Israelites grew arrogant and treated God as if He were their servant, below them. They complained and blamed Him as if they were greater than God and His plans.

 

Those who never truly repent, end up living a self-centered life of faith. They place themselves in the seat of God.

Even now we treat God as our servant and try to be our own God.

 

God knows of our tendency to do this. That is why the first commandment God gives the Israelites upon escaping Egypt was: “Thou shalt not have any other gods before me.” This includes ourselves. Placing oneself into God’s position and acting as God is one of the greatest sins you can commit.

 

▲ The Israelites were bitten by the fiery serpent when they tried to become God themselves. It is no different today. If we try to act as our own God, we too may be bitten by a fiery serpent in a different form.

 

▲The fiery serpent has poison so deadly, that a single bite to a vital point could lead to death within minutes. Even with medical attention, if not treated properly, the poison could lead to paralysis or even death within days or hours.

 

Thus, if one is bitten by the fiery serpent, they will have no other thought than, “I am dying! If I do not receive help there is no way I will live!”

 

Today’s message is telling us that we must know that because we have sinned we are destined to die.

 

Romans 3:23 says, “23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”

And Hebrews 9:27 says, “27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

 

1 John 1:10 says, “10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

 

Hence, it is important that we admit and accept that we were born sinners. It is to those who can confess, “I am a sinner. What can I do to live?” that hope is given.

 

▲If this is so, then why did God tell Moses to place the brass snake upon a pole? Wouldn’t if have been easier to just catch and kill a fiery serpent and hang that on a pole?

In the Bible, brass is often a symbol of judgment. That is why in the Book of Daniel it describes Jesus’ hands and feet to be made of brass; it means that he is the “Lord of Judgment”.

 

During Moses’ time, brass was the strongest material. Therefore, knives, hammers, and spears made of brass were among the most powerful. This brass is a symbol of Jesus; those with out brass in war, those without Jesus in life, will received judgment and die.

 

The serpent is a symbol of sin and sinners. It symbolizes us, the sinners. The brass serpent is a representation of Jesus Christ who died on the cross and received judgment in our place.

 

The brass serpent on the pole is a representation of the cross. Let us all look at the cross upon which Christ died and confess and believe that it could and should have been us in Jesus’ place.

 

▲Those who died after being bitten by the fiery serpent were those who did not look upon the brass serpent on the pole. Why did they do this? It is because they failed to listen to God’s word and take God’s word seriously.

1500 years after, Jesus came to the Earth as many predicted and yet was killed on the cross by the Israelites, his own people.

 

John 3:18-21 describes the reason behind it as this:

“18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

 

Because the world was so filled with darkness, they could not recognize Jesus, the light of the world. Rather they turned away from him. It was painful for them to look at him and so they rejected him. The greatest sin that can never be forgiven is to reject the light of the world, Jesus Christ.

 

▲To look upon the cross Jesus died on, as the brass serpent was hung on the pole, is part of our daily life of faith.

Those who look at Jesus daily grow closer to him in resemblance. These are the people who nail their sins and desires to the cross everyday. These are the people who repent everyday, as they should.

 

Then, if one is bitten by the fiery serpent, what must they cry out?

The answer is in Numbers 21:7.

“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.”

 

Confessing our sins is the only way for us to receive God’s grace, forgiveness, and ultimately salvation.

 

Verse 8 continues, “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 looketh upon it, shall live.”

This is the cross. This is Christianity. This is salvation. Those to look are the ones who are saved. The only way to salvation is to look towards the cross and Jesus Christ.

“It is true! God! There is nothing I can do to for salvation. There is no other way. only the cross and Christ Jesus can save me.” This is the confession that will save us.

 

In honesty, all humans were bitten by the fiery snake the moment Adam committed the first sin in the Garden of Eden. We were already destined to die a painful death.

 

Knowing this we must be able to confess, “Lord, I am no better than already dead. I deserve death. But Lord, if there is a way, have pity on me and show me the way!”

 

 Yet there are those who think, “What can looking at a brass serpent do? A dead man is a dead man. This is a poisonous bite. It needs medicine and medical attention!” and ignore God’s commands. We must throw away such arrogance, trust in the Lord, and look upon the brass serpent.

 

Believing and following Jesus is honestly quite simple: It is to obey, believe, and accept God’s word without question or doubt. Jesus came to this Earth to become the brass serpent for us. This is God’s grace. This is God’s love. This is God’s gift. All we have to do is open it.

 

*How tiring and difficult would it be for us to travel from the US to Korea only by walking or swimming? No one would be able to make it to the other side of the world on his or her own. Even if one was to be successful, it would take months or even years.

 

But with a plane, you can travel across the globe within a single day. It requires no effort and little time. You don’t need to push the plane, flap any wings, or even pilot the plane. All you need to do is get on, watch movies, eat, and sleep your way through the flight.

 

The only thing that is required is our faith. We need to believe that the plane can take us to Korea in a day. If you doubt the abilities of the plane and think it will plummet to your death, then there is no way you would even buy a ticket let along ride one. Your doubt would cause you to reject planes, and you may never make it to Korea.

 

The same applies to Heaven. There is no way for us to get into Heaven through our own methods. In other words, good deeds alone cannot get you into Heaven just like good deeds can’t save a man bitten by a fiery serpent.

 

Just as the Israelites looked upon the brass serpent, we too must look upon Jesus. We must believe that the only way we can live is to live with Jesus in our hearts. Heaven is a place we can enter when we confess that we are sinners who were once condemned and believe that Jesus died for those sins and gave us the gift of salvation.

 

There are many times where the troubles of the world will corner us into feeling and thinking that it is the end. When this happens, we must look to Jesus. Look to Jesus as ask for his hand and help. He will help us. He will save us. Looking upon Jesus is our way to salvation.