look and live

And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”

Numbers 21:5

Selfish desire can have a demoralizing, poisonous spread among God’s people. It did so in Israel under Moses on several occasions. The Israelites in the wilderness, led and fed by God, were living under a plan from God that they didn’t like. After seeing tremendous victory in the defeat of the King of Arad who had harassed the nation of Israel, many now presumed they could speed up their wilderness wandering. But God led them in a winding road on purpose. They were to take a winding way, around Edom, and the people grew impatient, accusing, and complaining. They questioned God’s goodness, they questioned Moses’ leadership, and they ignored God’s provision, considering manna from heaven as “worthless food”. This was faithless, selfish, willful rejection of God and His care for them.

Yes, this generation had been already doomed to die in the desert because of their unbelief (see Numbers 14 for how they all went down). They were brought out of Egypt to die in the desert. But not their children. It seems though that they thought they could just shake off that consequence. After all, hadn’t God just given them an awesome military victory against this Canaanite king? But their actions show unchanged hearts. Their grumbling and rebellion only intensified.

So God sent snakes of fire among them and many of the grumblers died from their poison. Then the people recognized their sin and pled once again for undeserved mercy. And God told Moses how to make a way of faith. A bronze snake, fashioned in the likeness of a fire-snake, was lifted on a pole. Faith would save them. Bitten and bitter Israelites looked to it and were healed, a precursor to the cross of Jesus (John 3:14-25) that Jesus Himself proclaimed. In Jesus, all those poisoned by sin introduced by The Serpent can be healed by faith, looking to His cross. God will save even the most selfish, rebellious heart that will humbly look to His sole means of salvation.