One Year Bible Reading Guide:

Numbers 21:1-22:20
Luke 1:26-56
Psalm 57:1-11
Proverbs 11:9-11 

Verse of the day:

So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed! (Numbers 21:9)

Maybe you’ve seen this symbol before?

It’s a familiar image, especially if you’re in the medical field, that makes think of medicine, healing, and recovery. Although most cite this particular symbol stemming from Greek mythology, a very similar image was fashioned by Moses during the Israelites 40 year wander in the wilderness. They had just reached the border of the Promised Land that they had been dreaming of for years, only to get freaked out by the people already living there. They doubtedGod and his ability to fulfill promises and thus, God made them wander around. 

Due to discouragement and the mere fact that they were wandering in the wilderness, the Israelite people began to place the blame and heat on Moses. They forgot that it was their own lack of faith that prevented them from obtaining the wonderful promise God had for them. Fed up with their complaining, God sent poisonous snakes to teach them a lesson. And a lesson they learned! After many had died, groups of people came to Moses repenting and asking him to pray that God would take the snakes away. So Moses prayed and God told him to build a replica of one of the snakes and attach it to the pole. Whoever would look at the pole would be healed. And then everyone lived happily ever after. 

Kind of a weird story. Instead of just performing a mass healing with the snap of a finger, God demanded a statue be built of a snake on a pole. Why? God was using this moment to teach his people about faith. It’s weird and irrational that looking at a statue would heal someone of poison, but God wanted to remind the people of their sin that brought their suffering and trust that He would be their healer if they did what He said. The even cooler part is that this was all foreshadowing of what Jesus would be for all of humanity. Jesus said in John 3:14, “As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” The snake statue was symbolic to Jesus, the cursed one who would take away the sins of anyone and everyone who look to Him in faith. In the deep dark moments, Jesus is still the healer, hope, joy, peace, and life that He promised to be. Look to Him with assurance as the Israelites did with the snake statue. He’s faithful to the last detail.