Numbers 21
While the first impression given in reading Numbers 21: 5-9 may be a bit off-putting, we have the incredible benefit of having commentary, from Jesus Christ, on the passage. Together, let us look at Jesus’ commentary on the Numbers text and see what He has to say, then we will look at the Numbers narrative in detail. Jesus’ commentary is in John chapter three. In this scenario, Jesus is in an evening meeting with Nicodemus, a prominent Jewish leader.
Jesus begins strong with a significant statement about his authority as the Son of Man, a statement about his own divinity. Here we are told, among other things, of Jesus’ authority to define the meaning of the Numbers text.
Jesus then moves on to state that the Numbers narrative is an analogy for Gods redemption plan. Bruner clarifies for us by saying, “Jesus continues in verse 14 when he identifies Moses' saving hoisted bronze serpent, is a parable and preview of the way God determined to reconcile his rebellious world to himself, definitively, when he sent his to-be-lifted Son Messiah.” Jesus begins by making the incredible statement that he is God and the Numbers narrative is an analogy for how God will provide redemption.
Jesus continues by helping us to see His role in our redemption is not condemnation, rather the inference is that our fallen nature already accomplishes this, and our existing state is separation from God. The Law of God tells us we are broken, in fact the entire cosmos is broken, because of the Fall. Sin and our innate desire to be at the center of our journey in the wilderness, is like serpent poison. It is the kiss, or rather bite, of sin that sentences us to eternal separation. Christ was here not to bite us with venom, that has already happened. Christ was here to save us from the consequence of our venomous demise.
God’s Law diagnoses our fate. It is the unwelcome news given by a trusted physician that we have no future in our current condition. It is the x-ray that shows the malignancy in our person. We have already been judged because of our fallen nature; the condition pre-exists. To not trust God is to remain in our fallen state and thereby perish. But the provision of God, in the person and work of Christ saves us from the consequence of our natural state. We are not sentenced by Christ; we are saved from our sentence through Christ.
Our deeds, choices, and even our most noble aspirations are already misguided and display the venom in our veins. But Christ brings to the table the sacrifice, the celebratory sacrifice, the redemptive sacrifice that lights the path for those who trust God, out of the condemnation they by default deserve.
Therefore, do not fear the exposure of your sinfulness. Do not hate the good physician’s diagnosis. It is Truth. There is a way to avoid the venom taking us to our logical end. Do not look at the suffering of this life and blame God as the people do in Numbers. The Hebrews wanted circumstances their own way and grouse about God when life does not comply.
Instead look to the One lifted up. Trust in the provision of God through Christ lifted up on the cross.
Now that we have been through Jesus’ commentary on Numbers 21, let us go back and look at Numbers and see the application that comes into focus.
In the wilderness narrative we can see that from their perspective, there is an acute and critical problem with their current circumstances. It is interesting to note that their perspective on the circumstances is conflicted. We see in their grumbling, first they indicate they have no food, but we also see that it is more accurate to say they do not like the food God provided. It is not the absence of provision they are truly complaining about, it is that Gods provision is insufficient from their perspective. Life is not playing out in a way their sensibilities can reconcile. If God is good, then why manna? If we are His people, why are we so miserable?
When God sends serpents, it is difficult to understand. From casual glance it appears in the Numbers narrative that God was upset about being accused and lashed out on his people in retribution for their error. If we are not careful, it is tempting to think dualistically about God’s sovereignty. In that belief we end up sounding like Job’s friends, that the serpents represent penalty. Perhaps it would be better to say that in God’s sovereignty over all things, life occurred and serpents showed up as they sometimes do, and God is sovereign over it when it happens at the right time and when it feels like the wrong time. It is the mystery of His wisdom that decides when trial occurs and not dualistic moralism. We want God to bite the wicked, but this is not always how it works, now or frequently in the Old Testament. This is where Christ's interpretation of Numbers helps shed light on what is happening in the narrative.
First, Jesus clarifies that He is not here to inflict painful bites and deadly venom on his people. Rather our sinful nature and desire for control have already done this and our guilt is exposed by the Laws diagnosis. Death brought about by bite and venom is the natural consequence of our inherent sinfulness and the consequence of reality’s fallen disorder. When we lie to ourselves about our alienation and lack of trust in His provision, which stem from our crooked wills, the consequence is self-inflicted separation and death.
In contrast, Christ is here to save us from the venomous death that we naturally deserve. Christ does not deliver the consequences of sin, they are already here; as evidenced by our lying, grumbling, and suffering. The venom has its way with our lives because the existence we navigate is already broken. It is the gift of Christ, in the love and provision of the Father, and trusting in Him that is the path to an exit from the corruption and errancy of our sinful insistence on having it our own way.
In Numbers 21:7 we see the application of confession. This is where we recognize our circumstances accurately and do not hide from our diagnosis. Here the people see the trouble they are in, assess it accurately and pivot from blame and accusation to repentance and faith – something the first generation of Israelites was slow to do if they could do it at all. This looks back on what Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:20. If we hate the Truth and will not come into the light, it is because we do not want our sinfulness exposed, nor our venomous ailment remedied. We like our categorized reality we understand, broken though it is, and do not want provision that requires us to confess we are wrong.
Next, we see God’s provision and avenue of rescue from the suffering and brokenness of this world. God tells Moses to construct the bronze serpent and gives instruction to trust as the avenue out of their current state. The application is striking. See the trouble you are in and let it be exposed by recognizing it honestly, then trust in God to provide exit from the trials and suffering of life through the person and work of redemption completed by Christ. Dr. Iain Duguid puts it well, “Whether you are young or old, all you need to do is look to Jesus Christ and confess him who was crucified for your sins and raised for your justification. In that simple confession of faith is the gift of eternal life. Just as Jesus told Nicodemus, “God so loved the world, that he gave is only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
In the last verse of the Numbers narrative, and here is where we finish, we see a few typological reflections that provide significant application. In verse nine, we see thematic principles that are examples of realities. Again, Christ’s conversation with Nicodemus will be the ground we stand on as we conclude.
Our first, final note of application is that we see Moses as an intercessor. Moses does as God has instructed, on the behalf of the people so that they might find exit from their predicament. Moses plays the role of a type of christ, but not the Christ. Numbers gives us a typological example, but not the complete and final redemption that is procured in Christ. The intercession Moses provides is a solution, but not the complete and final solution. That is found only in Jesus Christ.
Second, we see in the text “If a person is bitten", which is ironic because indeed we are all bitten. The wisdom of God, found in Jesus' commentary in John 3, tells us it is not if we are bitten, rather that we are already bitten. We are not facing a potential death from bite and venom, as seen in the narrative text of Numbers, but we are sentenced to death because the poison is already here, and we know it, even if we do not admit it. The narrative in portion reflects the reality we know in full. Christ explains that God's love and provision of salvation is found in the One lifted up, antidoting on our behalf so that we may be saved from the consequences of our venoms curse. "If a person is bitten", reflects the reality that all of us are bitten.
The third point of application we see in verse nine is trusting in times of suffering and trial. Trust that God is sovereign even when the circumstances appear otherwise. Catastrophe and death visited the Israelites, and trust is the prescribed answer. This is reminiscent of the Psalmist’s refrains that cry out in lament but often circle around to trust in God for his sovereignty over all things, even the hard things.
Habakkuk is a protest of scenarios that appear out of God’s control, but circle back to praise and trust when God’s sovereignty and grace is explained. “The transition from the complaining prophet to the rejoicing prophet surely must be seen as a work of God’s sovereign grace. Nothing else could explain how a person could be happy and contented in the face of the calamities Habakkuk must undergo.” The protester becomes the humble worshiper when his trust is placed in God’s plan, even when it includes suffering.
Similarly, we see the cry of Job, “Though He slay me, I will hope (trust) in Him.” Difficulty comes, and trust is the divine instruction given. “This … is a reminder that the Creator loves to bless. Job who had wished the day of his birth to be blotted out, now lives to praise, and glorify God.” An epic investigation into the mysteries of God concludes not with understanding, but trust and praise for the Creator of the universe.
These examples point us to the realization that sin and serpent difficulty is resolved not in concrete categorical answers and equitable equations, but by trust in God and his sovereign plan to take all discord to the cross. The Israelites are saved through trust. Their faith during circumstances that were difficult, even deadly, are reflections of our life experiences as we trust God when the debits and credits of life cannot be reconciled. Similarly, we trust in God’s redemption so that we may be saved from the venom in our veins. The Hebrew’s experience of trial and trust reflects our own life experience.
Finally, our last reflection is while the Israelites survived the serpent venom bite locally, we as believers in Christ, those who trust and depend on God's saving act in Jesus Christ lifted up on the cross, will find life eternal in the perfect presence of God where the venoms curse is no more and our freedom to live in right relationship with God is manifested into the reality we experience. While the Israelites experience is localized and temporary, our redemption is broad and eternal.