PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Numbers 19-21
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” (Numbers 21:8)
These stories are designed to show us the effect of sin and the curse.
It all comes down to this: refusal to submit to or to follow God leads to suffering and death.
Then, and now, all suffering and death somehow flows from the curse of sin.
If we want to be saved from this, the curse needs to end, and we need to be healed.
The snake on the pole represents the end of the curse, and the hope for healing.
It becomes a symbol of how God eventually overcomes the curse of sin and death.
When Jesus is hung on the cross, He becomes the curse for us, to set us free.
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.'” (Galatians 3:13)
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” (John 3:14-15)
When I think about my own stubbornness, I find hope when I think about Jesus.
Staying focused on Jesus keeps me both humble and hopeful.
Life is not easy, but He is leading me through this wilderness, and He will bring me home!
PRAYER
Lord, I am no less stubborn or difficult. Thank You for not giving up on me, and for constantly drawing the eyes of my heart upward to You, and giving me hope.
Sometimes I get too caught up in the circumstances of the day and forget to look up! Taking a moment to ‘be still’, reflect and meditate – re-sets an anxious and stressful frame of mind. Like the Israelites – I need to look up – see the big picture – even as the ‘bronze snake’ raised up to spare people from the venom of the snakes- Jesus raised up – rescued me from the venom of evil! Help me to then move on the mission that God has given me!