A Bronze Snake in the Wilderness

READ: NUMBERS 21:4-9; JOHN 3:13-18; ROMANS 3:25-28; EPHESIANS 2:4-8

On the surface, the Old Testament passage about the bronze snake might seem like an odd story. While the Israelites were in the wilderness, they complained about the lack of bread and meat. They complained A LOT. They were grumbling against the Lord instead of bringing their concerns to Him. And they were forgetting how He rescued them from slavery in Egypt and how He was leading them to a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. In response, the Lord sent dangerous snakes that killed many of the people.

Then the people repented and asked Moses to intercede for them. And God is so rich in mercy and He loved them so much that He answered their prayer by providing a remedy. Under direction from the Lord, Moses made a bronze snake replica, mounted it on a pole, and held it up before the people. All who had been bitten and looked on it were healed! But why a bronze snake on a pole?

Think about it. It’s not that the pole or the snake had magic powers. It was about an act of faith. The snake mounted on a pole likely resembled a cross. Looking forward to Jesus’s death at Calvary, God lovingly told His people to look at the cross-shaped image. All who looked up in faith were saved.

And saved from what? From the harm of the serpents who bit the people. This hearkens back to the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve were deceived by the deadly serpent, Satan—and where God promised to crush that serpent through Jesus, the Savior descended from Eve (Genesis 3:15).

Whatever ills the serpent can inflict from the Garden of Eden until today, there is one who has overcome. The whole of the Old Testament points to the work of Jesus on the cross. When Jesus took our sin upon Himself and died the death we deserved, He made the way to forgive all our sins and rescue us from all the death and brokenness sin causes.

It’s not some sort of magic made by humans like Moses. It’s the sacrificial work of God the Son to provide a remedy for our sin. Just as the Israelites were saved in the wilderness when they looked up in faith, so too will we be saved when we put our faith in Jesus Christ. • Mike Hurley

• Can you think of a time God helped you, even after you complained against Him?

• For more about what it means to put your trust in Jesus, see our "Know Jesus" page.

[Jesus said,] “And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” John 3:14 (NLT)