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March 18, 1998
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Numbers 21: 4-9
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"Whenever those who were bitten looked at the bronze snake, they recovered." Numbers 21:9b
The people of Israel had rebelled . . . against Moses and against Jaweh! And now they were paying the consequences. Poisonous snakes had come into the camp. Many people had died. They were worried. Sooner or later we could all die from the snakebites. What to do?
Sorry, Moses! We shouldn't have been so quick to criticize. We're sorry, Moses. But just get us out of this frightful situation. Ask Jaweh to help us. Tell him we're sorry!
So Moses consulted with Jaweh. A bronze snake was mounted on a pole. And here Is the "hard to believe" part of the story . . . Anyone who was bitten by a snake would be immune to the venom, by simply looking at the bronze snake. Imagine!!
We can imagine skeptics in that crowd responding with ridicule. "Moses is really trying to pull a fast one on us this time," they might have said. "Just looking!?!? Ridiculous!!! We've got to do something, The very least thing would require that we shinny up the pole and touch the bronze snake." . . . And when the snake bit them, in their stubbornness, they didn't "look" and the venom killed them.
Believers, on the other hand, might have said, "Sounds too good to be true. But I'll give it a try." They "looked" and lived.
A parallel in our experience might be something like this. The snake venom is the influence of Satan in our lives . . . . Ultimately, if nothing is done, it will destroy us . . . . Ruin our earthly life, and remove us from God's presence . . . forever. What to do?
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." That's the gospel, the good news. We can respond like the skeptics in Moses' group. Or we can believe . . . call on the name of the Lord . . . and be saved. Theologically that's called "Justification by grace, through faith."
Prayer: Eternal God, we thank you for your gift of salvation, and pray for grace to live as your forgiven children. Amen.
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