Moses Lifts the Bronze Serpent Before the IsraelitesBible World
21:6Numbers 21:6
And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
On the journey from Mount Hor to compass Edom the people grew discouraged by the hardships of the way and spoke against God and Moses, complaining falsely that they had no bread and no water and loathing the heavenly bread He had given them. The wilderness was infested with poisonous serpents from which God had preserved them by continual miracle, and the serpents are called fiery because their bites brought burning inflammation, violent thirst and speedy death. The Lord sent the serpents as judgment for ingratitude, unbelief and murmuring by withdrawing His restraining power and permitting them to do what they would have done all along, so that many were bitten and died. The calamity exposed the danger from which He had continually kept them, to humble them and lead them to confess their sin and seek deliverance. In mercy He commanded Moses to lift up a brazen serpent as the only supernatural remedy, so that all who repented and looked in faith lived at once, which pointed to Jesus lifted on the cross as the only salvation from the bite of that old serpent the devil for all who trust in Him.
Setting and Meaning
The verse belongs to the march from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to compass Edom, when the length and hardships of the way left the souls of the people much discouraged. In that discouragement they spoke against God and against Moses, asking why they had been brought up from Egypt to die in the wilderness. Their complaint said there was no bread and no water and that their soul loathed the light bread.
That murmuring was unreasonable and went to extremes in falsehood, for bread and water had both been given by a miracle of mercy. God had fed them with bread from heaven, angels' food, and had laid Egypt waste with plagues to free them from bondage, yet they did not appreciate His goodness and mercy and love. The serpents are called fiery because their bite produced heat with painful and violent inflammation, thirst, and speedy death.
The wilderness through which Israel traveled was already infested with poisonous serpents, with reptiles and wild beasts of the forest. God by His own power had held them in check and restrained them from entering the camp and hurting the people, so that up to this time Israel had been preserved from them by a continual miracle. That restraint had kept back what the serpents would have done all along the way if He had not held them in check.
That unseen protection came through the only begotten Son, One equal with God, accompanying and leading them in the cloud. It was wrought by angels and by the pillar of cloud by day as a canopy over them and the pillar of fire by night, though they did not know it. With it He provided food and water, kept sickness from them, restrained the wild beasts, saved them from a thousand dangers and evils He was holding in check, and preserved their feet and clothing through their travels. Israel had grown so accustomed to the covering cloud that they treated it as common, lost sight of their advantages, failed to consider their dependence and the angel constantly guiding and protecting them with merciful and wonderful dealings, and were ungrateful.
Judgment to Awaken Repentance
The sending of the serpents was punishment and judgment for ingratitude, wicked unbelief, continual rebellion, perversity, murmuring, selfishness, discontent, stubbornness and loss of the fear of God, including tempting Christ. It followed speaking against God and against Moses, complaining of being brought up to die in the wilderness with no bread and no water and loathing the light bread, though God had fed them with bread from heaven, angels' food, and had laid Egypt waste with plagues to free them without their appreciating His goodness, mercy and love. Their sting brought certain death for which no cure could be found, and many were bitten and died. Their complaints and failure to trust God brought upon them the very punishment they said they feared, for they complained needlessly about the hardships of the journey.
God did this by withdrawing His protection and restraining power and permitting the serpents to bite. He had by His own power held in check the reptiles, beasts and venomous serpents of the wilderness so they had not hurt Israel, but He removed His restraining hand and let the poisonous serpents do what they would have done all along the way if He had not restrained them. The attack came after constant murmuring, stubbornness, impenitence and transgression, when the people had failed to recognize their dependence and were ungrateful for His care. Their bites caused heat, violent inflammation, thirst, and speedy death, which is why the serpents were called fiery.
The calamity exposed the danger from which God had continually preserved Israel and was meant to make them recognize their ingratitude and repent. It showed how much suffering and death they had been spared, making them understand and acknowledge God and their need for deliverance. They were made to recognize that God had previously protected them from dangers and difficulties they had not even known or seen, having provided food and water, kept sickness from them, and preserved their feet and clothing during their travels. Those bitten faced death and cried out for deliverance, and God did not leave them when bitten but stretched forth His hand to save them.
The suffering and dying in the camp was meant to call Israel to their senses, awaken their paralyzed thoughts about their course, and humble them. It led them to confess that they had sinned in speaking against God and Moses and to ask Moses to pray for them that the plague might stop. The deadly bites made the people recognize their danger and turn to God for help, acknowledging their need for deliverance when the restraint was removed. Christ had been leading and watching over Israel in the cloud, and forgetting His care and guidance left them unprotected.
The biting came also as a test and correction, meant to teach submission and to see whether they had learned submission and were prepared to receive the rich blessings He had in store. It was to correct their selfishness so they could take their place in His divine theocracy as a representative people to reveal His character and bear living testimony as pure, holy, intelligent light-bearers whom God honors when they honor Him. God does not remove all difficulties, trials and hardships but would have His people put trust in Him as the unseen, invisible helper. Instead of remembering that the angel of the Lord was constantly guiding and protecting them with merciful and wonderful dealings, they lost sight of their advantages, magnified the trials sent to prove them, and dishonored God by unbelief, with whom God could not work while they continually lost sight of their advantages.
Remedy Pointing to Christ
In great mercy the bitten people were not left to perish, but Moses was commanded to lift up a brazen serpent on a pole as the provision for healing. That uplifted serpent was appointed as a supernatural remedy beyond human reasoning, and it was the only remedy provided. All who repented and looked at it in faith lived and recovered health at once.
Those who refused to look perished, and some refused because the provision seemed foolish. The bitten did not need to climb the pole or accomplish anything, but only to look and live. Refusing the truth God sends is refusing Christ.
The serpent lifted up pointed to Jesus lifted on the cross of Calvary, and looking to it in faith illustrated trusting Christ alone for salvation from sin. Being bitten pictures being bitten by that old serpent the devil. Looking to the uplifted Saviour gives hope, courage, faith, pardon and life.
The lifting of the brazen serpent points forward to the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, when the uplifted Saviour will be presented in all lands and places so that all who look to Him in faith may live. The destruction by the serpents stands as an example warning later believers not to tempt Christ. Being badly bitten also describes the spiritual danger of laying aside God's commandments for human commandments, a condition meaning death unless those affected repent.
The episode illustrates that God's living power and protecting restraint holds back destructive forces the enemy desires to unleash, presently permitting evil to act only to a limited degree. The healing showed Israel that preservation came from God's presence with those who obeyed His will, not from chance or any virtue in the bronze. The miracle saving those perishing from the bites further evidenced God's power to the surrounding nations.
On the journey from Mount Hor to compass Edom the people grew discouraged by the hardships of the way and spoke against God and Moses, complaining falsely that they had no bread and no water and loathing the heavenly bread He had given them.
The wilderness was infested with poisonous serpents from which God had preserved them by continual miracle, and the serpents are called fiery because their bites brought burning inflammation, violent thirst and speedy death.
The Lord sent the serpents as judgment for ingratitude, unbelief and murmuring by withdrawing His restraining power and permitting them to do what they would have done all along, so that many were bitten and died.
The calamity exposed the danger from which He had continually kept them, to humble them and lead them to confess their sin and seek deliverance.
In mercy He commanded Moses to lift up a brazen serpent as the only supernatural remedy, so that all who repented and looked in faith lived at once, which pointed to Jesus lifted on the cross as the only salvation from the bite of that old serpent the devil for all who trust in Him.
Setting and Meaning
The verse belongs to the march from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to compass Edom, when the length and hardships of the way left the souls of the people much discouraged. In that discouragement they spoke against God and against Moses, asking why they had been brought up from Egypt to die in the wilderness. Their complaint said there was no bread and no water and that their soul loathed the light bread.
That murmuring was unreasonable and went to extremes in falsehood, for bread and water had both been given by a miracle of mercy. God had fed them with bread from heaven, angels' food, and had laid Egypt waste with plagues to free them from bondage, yet they did not appreciate His goodness and mercy and love. The serpents are called fiery because their bite produced heat with painful and violent inflammation, thirst, and speedy death.
The wilderness through which Israel traveled was already infested with poisonous serpents, with reptiles and wild beasts of the forest. God by His own power had held them in check and restrained them from entering the camp and hurting the people, so that up to this time Israel had been preserved from them by a continual miracle. That restraint had kept back what the serpents would have done all along the way if He had not held them in check.
That unseen protection came through the only begotten Son, One equal with God, accompanying and leading them in the cloud. It was wrought by angels and by the pillar of cloud by day as a canopy over them and the pillar of fire by night, though they did not know it. With it He provided food and water, kept sickness from them, restrained the wild beasts, saved them from a thousand dangers and evils He was holding in check, and preserved their feet and clothing through their travels. Israel had grown so accustomed to the covering cloud that they treated it as common, lost sight of their advantages, failed to consider their dependence and the angel constantly guiding and protecting them with merciful and wonderful dealings, and were ungrateful.
Judgment to Awaken Repentance
The sending of the serpents was punishment and judgment for ingratitude, wicked unbelief, continual rebellion, perversity, murmuring, selfishness, discontent, stubbornness and loss of the fear of God, including tempting Christ. It followed speaking against God and against Moses, complaining of being brought up to die in the wilderness with no bread and no water and loathing the light bread, though God had fed them with bread from heaven, angels' food, and had laid Egypt waste with plagues to free them without their appreciating His goodness, mercy and love. Their sting brought certain death for which no cure could be found, and many were bitten and died. Their complaints and failure to trust God brought upon them the very punishment they said they feared, for they complained needlessly about the hardships of the journey.
God did this by withdrawing His protection and restraining power and permitting the serpents to bite. He had by His own power held in check the reptiles, beasts and venomous serpents of the wilderness so they had not hurt Israel, but He removed His restraining hand and let the poisonous serpents do what they would have done all along the way if He had not restrained them. The attack came after constant murmuring, stubbornness, impenitence and transgression, when the people had failed to recognize their dependence and were ungrateful for His care. Their bites caused heat, violent inflammation, thirst, and speedy death, which is why the serpents were called fiery.
The calamity exposed the danger from which God had continually preserved Israel and was meant to make them recognize their ingratitude and repent. It showed how much suffering and death they had been spared, making them understand and acknowledge God and their need for deliverance. They were made to recognize that God had previously protected them from dangers and difficulties they had not even known or seen, having provided food and water, kept sickness from them, and preserved their feet and clothing during their travels. Those bitten faced death and cried out for deliverance, and God did not leave them when bitten but stretched forth His hand to save them.
The suffering and dying in the camp was meant to call Israel to their senses, awaken their paralyzed thoughts about their course, and humble them. It led them to confess that they had sinned in speaking against God and Moses and to ask Moses to pray for them that the plague might stop. The deadly bites made the people recognize their danger and turn to God for help, acknowledging their need for deliverance when the restraint was removed. Christ had been leading and watching over Israel in the cloud, and forgetting His care and guidance left them unprotected.
The biting came also as a test and correction, meant to teach submission and to see whether they had learned submission and were prepared to receive the rich blessings He had in store. It was to correct their selfishness so they could take their place in His divine theocracy as a representative people to reveal His character and bear living testimony as pure, holy, intelligent light-bearers whom God honors when they honor Him. God does not remove all difficulties, trials and hardships but would have His people put trust in Him as the unseen, invisible helper. Instead of remembering that the angel of the Lord was constantly guiding and protecting them with merciful and wonderful dealings, they lost sight of their advantages, magnified the trials sent to prove them, and dishonored God by unbelief, with whom God could not work while they continually lost sight of their advantages.
Remedy Pointing to Christ
In great mercy the bitten people were not left to perish, but Moses was commanded to lift up a brazen serpent on a pole as the provision for healing. That uplifted serpent was appointed as a supernatural remedy beyond human reasoning, and it was the only remedy provided. All who repented and looked at it in faith lived and recovered health at once.
Those who refused to look perished, and some refused because the provision seemed foolish. The bitten did not need to climb the pole or accomplish anything, but only to look and live. Refusing the truth God sends is refusing Christ.
The serpent lifted up pointed to Jesus lifted on the cross of Calvary, and looking to it in faith illustrated trusting Christ alone for salvation from sin. Being bitten pictures being bitten by that old serpent the devil. Looking to the uplifted Saviour gives hope, courage, faith, pardon and life.
The lifting of the brazen serpent points forward to the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, when the uplifted Saviour will be presented in all lands and places so that all who look to Him in faith may live. The destruction by the serpents stands as an example warning later believers not to tempt Christ. Being badly bitten also describes the spiritual danger of laying aside God's commandments for human commandments, a condition meaning death unless those affected repent.
The episode illustrates that God's living power and protecting restraint holds back destructive forces the enemy desires to unleash, presently permitting evil to act only to a limited degree. The healing showed Israel that preservation came from God's presence with those who obeyed His will, not from chance or any virtue in the bronze. The miracle saving those perishing from the bites further evidenced God's power to the surrounding nations.