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Sighting A Serpent
One summer evening my oldest daughter excitedly ran into our house and told me about a snake she had seen on our front porch. The snake had cozied up in a crack between steps but hurried away once its presence was discovered. Although we had never taught our daughter what to do if she saw a snake, she went and told my husband right away. He arrived just in time to see the snake slither off and by the time I was aware of the situation, it was gone for good. I remember feeling disgusted and alarmed thinking that someone may have accidentally stepped on the snake.
This incident came to mind upon a recent reading of the account of the bronze serpent in Numbers 21:4-9. I wondered what the experience would have been like for the Israelites who were not only surrounded by multiple snakes (or serpents) but also bitten and killed by them.
Having one snake in my yard led to me joking with my husband about how it might be wise to consider selling our home and finding a snake free dwelling. I can’t begin to imagine what it may have been like to be surrounded by multiple deadly snakes and to witness my own friends and family members perish as a result of their presence. My initial reading of these verses led me to believe that God not only removed the serpents but He also provided a way for the people to be healed.
Studying the Serpents
A question in my Bible study book caused me to examine the account further and I learned that I was wrong. As I reread Numbers 21:4-9, what struck me most was that God didn’t remove the serpents from His people’s presence. Many of them died as a result of hardening their hearts against God by putting Him to the test (1 Corinthians 10:9). Even so, He provided a way for many to be healed.
After asking Moses to intercede for them, those who were repentant were to look at a bronze serpent on a pole that God had instructed Moses to create. It was a means of pointing to the promised Serpent Crusher of Genesis 3:15 who would similarly hang on a cross bearing the weight of sin and God’s wrath for all who placed their hope for salvation in Him.
Salvation Through A Serpent
John 3:13-15 says, “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” As a stand alone account, the story of Numbers 21 initially sounds strange. But considering all of Scripture, we learn that this instance is foreshadowing the fulfillment of God’s plan to send a Savior. How might this short story hold significance for me, a modern Christian who, thankfully, doesn’t encounter snakes often?
When I began writing this blog post on November 10, 2022, I was writing as I marveled at God’s mercy in making a way for many to have temporary physical salvation by looking at the serpent and spiritual (and ultimate physical) salvation by looking to Jesus. This story is especially lovely because it is one of many biblical accounts of God keeping His promise to send Jesus. He could have wiped out all of the Israelites as the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and before a holy God they were certainly not innocent. However He remained faithful when His people were, again, faithless (2 Timothy 2:13).
Although I have never been bitten by a snake, I have felt the sting of sin and its effects in my own life. Hours after I began writing this post, we received word that my husband was laid off from his dream job. In the Lord’s kindness, he received a 60 day notice which he hadn’t received in his two prior periods of unemployment. The first few days of us processing through this were incredibly difficult. In 2021, we grieved the death of a baby. In 2022, we grieved the death of a dream. Similar feelings, different circumstances, yet the same God was (and is) with us.
In the incredibly long process of waiting out the 60 days, many small stings came along with the big one. While God didn’t undo the hurt that had been done, He was with us in it and He used it to give us an increased awe of His love and character. In response to trials, my pastor has proclaimed, “I don’t know why, but I know God,” and I would add, “And because I know Him, I can trust Him.” Psalm 34:18 tells me that He is near to the brokenhearted and Psalm 73:28 tells me that His nearness is good. While this trial has felt incredibly painful, the gain we received has far surpassed the enduring of any earthly dream (Romans 8:18, Philippians 3:7-11).
The serpent of salvation was eventually destroyed as the Israelites idolatrously worshiped it. Their faithfulness, much like ours, was fickle yet God remained faithful — the proof is the cross. Perhaps, like me, you’ve never been bitten by a snake. But living life in a fallen world, you are no stranger to the reality that, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). There are seasons of life in which we endure major trials and sometimes the little trials of daily life can feel increasingly overwhelming. Even so, God is still at work finishing what He began in those He calls His (Philippians 1:6).
Today, we are finally over the 60 day threshold. It is a new chapter for us as my husband begins his new job that pays more yet still has him working on projects for the same company that laid him off — the job that he received without even having to apply or interview for. In God’s kindness, it was actually one of many jobs he was offered including one he was offered about a month before the lay off even happened.
Perhaps the stings are a part of the way He’s keeping His promise to transform us from one degree of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18). Even though it is hard and painful, He is with us. He remains faithful to us and our hearts are not without hope.
I don’t know what tomorrow holds but I know Who holds it and today my hope is in Him. And I’m especially grateful to Him for giving me one more account of His faithfulness to feed on (Psalm 37:3) in the story of the bronze serpent. He made a way for His people to be saved then and even though I don’t know how this chapter of our story ends, He’s making a way for us now too.
