Fiery Serpents! (Numbers 21:4-9)
Just when we think we are back on the right track with the new generation doing things right, we get another (last for Numbers) story of impatience and rebellion. The people don’t just complain against Moses as usual, but against God. The result of their latest sin is a bad case of venomous serpents.
This story always jumps out at me, even though it is barely a story—six verses tucked away in a string of other military accounts. That is because it involves snakes! As a kid, I was always terrified of snakes. I have always been fascinated with animals and animal stories in the Bible are some of my favorites. In this case, the most likely snake in the story is Echis coloratus. Saw-scaled vipers are among the more deadly venomous snakes. They fit the bill being found in the area where the story took place, being reddish and having a “fiery” bite that can kill.
The people confess their wrong, and God provides a way out of their predicament. Interestingly, though, God does not simply eliminate the snakes! He has Moses build a model of the snake that must be looked at to overcome the poison. This is interesting for several reasons:
1. It brings an individual, faith-based solution to bear. People had to trust that looking at the snake would heal them and choose to look.
2. It foreshadows the saving work of Christ who would similarly be lifted up and looked to for rescue from sin.
3. It presents a dangerous potential for an idolatry of the serpent. In fact, this would bear out centuries later in the Old Testament.
This story always jumps out at me, even though it is barely a story—six verses tucked away in a string of other military accounts. That is because it involves snakes! As a kid, I was always terrified of snakes. I have always been fascinated with animals and animal stories in the Bible are some of my favorites. In this case, the most likely snake in the story is Echis coloratus. Saw-scaled vipers are among the more deadly venomous snakes. They fit the bill being found in the area where the story took place, being reddish and having a “fiery” bite that can kill.
The people confess their wrong, and God provides a way out of their predicament. Interestingly, though, God does not simply eliminate the snakes! He has Moses build a model of the snake that must be looked at to overcome the poison. This is interesting for several reasons:
1. It brings an individual, faith-based solution to bear. People had to trust that looking at the snake would heal them and choose to look.
2. It foreshadows the saving work of Christ who would similarly be lifted up and looked to for rescue from sin.
3. It presents a dangerous potential for an idolatry of the serpent. In fact, this would bear out centuries later in the Old Testament.
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