BRONZE SNAKE . . .
“Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole.” Numbers 21:9
As had happened so often in the wilderness, the people of Israel complained about their food. Numbers 21 tells us that this time the Lord’s anger burned against their foolishness, and he sent venomous snakes among them to destroy them. The people got the message, repented, and prayed that the Lord would spare them from this plague. And as always happened, the Lord gave them a way of escape. He instructed Moses to fashion a large snake of bronze and set it on a pole where all the people could see it. Those who were bitten needed only to look at the bronze snake for a cure.
Jesus compares that bronze snake to himself in John 3:14-16: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” How interesting that the snake in Eden meant death to all, while this bronze snake meant life.
We discover that nearly 700 years later, during the reign of King Hezekiah, the Israelites were worshiping that same bronze snake. “He [King Hezekiah] removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it” (2 Kings 18:4).
When we look up to Jesus on the cross, we realize his great love for us and the tremendous sacrifice he made!
From: Precious Words of the Bible by Reynold R. Kremer