seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Numbers 21:4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea,[c] to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
c. Numbers 21:4 Or the Sea of Reeds
This is the commentary from the easy English site.
The king of the country called Edom had refused to allow the Israelites to travel through his country (Numbers 20:14-21). So they had to go round it. This delayed them on their journey to the Promised Land. Also, the route was difficult. So the people became impatient. The Hebrew word for ‘impatient’ in this verse meant also ‘to become angry’. And it meant that the situation was depressing them.
The Israelites complained to Moses again. They said the same things that they had said before (Numbers 20:4-5). But what they said was not true. They did have food. They had the manna that God had provided daily. But they were not grateful for it. The manna was a gift from God. It was angels’ food’ (Psalm 78:25). But the Israelites insulted it. They rejected the way that God was blessing them. Also, they rejected the plan that he had for them to enter the Promised Land.
So God punished them. He sent poisonous snakes among them. The Hebrew word for ‘poisonous’ meant ‘something that is burning’. Probably, this referred to the feeling of pain when the snakes bit. But also this word referred to the angels that serve God in heaven (Isaiah 6:2). Angels are God’s servants. They take messages from God to people on the earth. So this word emphasised that God had sent the snakes himself, as a punishment.
However, on this occasion, the people soon apologised. They realised that they had sinned against God. And they were genuinely sorry. They asked Moses to pray to God. They wanted God to remove the snakes.
But God did not remove the snakes. Instead, he provided a way to cure every person whom the snakes had bitten. But each person had to do something. They had to look up at the bronze snake on the pole. If they did this, they lived. If they did not do this, they died.
This story is very important for Christians. Jesus referred to it when he was talking about his death (John 3:14). People lifted Jesus up on a cross. He compared himself with the bronze snake on the pole. Sin is like poison. Everyone is born with a desire to sin because Adam, the first man, did not obey God (Genesis chapter 3). This sin causes death to our spirits. It does not allow us to live how God intended us to live.
God did not remove the snakes; and he does not remove all sin from the world. Instead, he provided a way to cure every person from the results of sin. And, like the Israelites, we have to do something. We have to look at the cross. We must believe that Jesus died on our behalf. Then he will forgive all our sins. He suffered the punishment that we deserve.
Every Israelite had to look at the bronze snake themselves. Nobody else could do this on another person’s behalf. In the same way, every person must believe in Jesus on their own behalf.
The Israelites complained to Moses again. They said the same things that they had said before (Numbers 20:4-5). But what they said was not true. They did have food. They had the manna that God had provided daily. But they were not grateful for it. The manna was a gift from God. It was angels’ food’ (Psalm 78:25). But the Israelites insulted it. They rejected the way that God was blessing them. Also, they rejected the plan that he had for them to enter the Promised Land.
So God punished them. He sent poisonous snakes among them. The Hebrew word for ‘poisonous’ meant ‘something that is burning’. Probably, this referred to the feeling of pain when the snakes bit. But also this word referred to the angels that serve God in heaven (Isaiah 6:2). Angels are God’s servants. They take messages from God to people on the earth. So this word emphasised that God had sent the snakes himself, as a punishment.
However, on this occasion, the people soon apologised. They realised that they had sinned against God. And they were genuinely sorry. They asked Moses to pray to God. They wanted God to remove the snakes.
But God did not remove the snakes. Instead, he provided a way to cure every person whom the snakes had bitten. But each person had to do something. They had to look up at the bronze snake on the pole. If they did this, they lived. If they did not do this, they died.
This story is very important for Christians. Jesus referred to it when he was talking about his death (John 3:14). People lifted Jesus up on a cross. He compared himself with the bronze snake on the pole. Sin is like poison. Everyone is born with a desire to sin because Adam, the first man, did not obey God (Genesis chapter 3). This sin causes death to our spirits. It does not allow us to live how God intended us to live.
God did not remove the snakes; and he does not remove all sin from the world. Instead, he provided a way to cure every person from the results of sin. And, like the Israelites, we have to do something. We have to look at the cross. We must believe that Jesus died on our behalf. Then he will forgive all our sins. He suffered the punishment that we deserve.
Every Israelite had to look at the bronze snake themselves. Nobody else could do this on another person’s behalf. In the same way, every person must believe in Jesus on their own behalf.
The Blueletterbible.org site brings up another interesting notion.
In fact, they perhaps acted worse than their fathers here. In eight previous passages (Exodus 15:24, 16:2, 17:3; Numbers 12:1, 14:2, 16:3, 16:41 and 20:2), the children of Israel are described as speaking against Moses. In those situations, Moses knew (Exodus 16:7-8) and the LORD knew (Numbers 14:27) they were really speaking against God - but the people were not brazen enough to do it directly. Now they are brazen enough, because it says the people spoke against God and against Moses!
They were on the threshold of the Promised Land, closer to it than the previous generation of unbelief had been, and now they were beginning to act with the same unbelief - or worse! Something drastic had to be done.
They were on the threshold of the Promised Land, closer to it than the previous generation of unbelief had been, and now they were beginning to act with the same unbelief - or worse! Something drastic had to be done.
These victims were mostly those of the older generation of unbelief, and this was God's final way of fulfilling His promise that they would perish in the wilderness, and not enter the Promised Land.
Recently I saw a post from a beautiful young woman. She said her son had clogged up the toilet and lied about it and then her daughter had hit, smacked and pinched her in a temper tantrum. She posted a picture of herself. She looked resolved. I've heard that they had to clean that bathroom and then spent some time in the time out chairs. She loves them, but they were getting out of hand. She needed to be resolved and she needed to punish them in some way. That's what I thought about as I read these verses this morning.
God wanted the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. The gift had already been delayed a generation [40 years] and the stupid humans were getting worse rather than better. Banishing them from the Promised Land was not an option for God so He used the snakes.
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