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.” – Numbers 21:8
The people complain. | WATCH ON YOUTUBE
The people of Israel must have been hugely disappointed. They had been on the verge of conquering Canaan and they now had to make this detour. They needed to travel from Mount Hor along the route of the Red Sea, to go around Edom. And so, they complained.
This time, they complained about the lack of bread and water. They ‘detested the miserable food’. The Lord had been providing manna and quail in the desert. They never knew hunger or thirst even for a day. And yet, here they were, complaining again.
And so, the Lord sent venomous snakes among the people. The snakes bit the people, and many died. The people came rushing to Moses in repentance, asking him to intercede to the Lord on their behalf, which Moses did.
The Lord told him to make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Anyone who was bitten could look at it and live. Now there was no therapeutic value in the bronze snake. The healing was not in the piece of brass. The healing is in the Lord. The people bitten had to look at it, not pray to it. So also, salvation.
We receive salvation by faith alone. It is not earned. The Bible says in Romans 10:9, if you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. You have nothing to do but look and believe.
What is stopping you from looking to Jesus today?
Lord Jesus, I look to you today and believe in your death and resurrection for my sins.
Extended Reading — Numbers 21-22
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