Serpent Poison II
Numbers 21:5-9 | John 3:13-21
In the Gospel of John, chapter 3 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.
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.”. [1]
The 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.”[2]
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.”[3] 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.”[4]
Job’s 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. 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.
[1] I. Duguid, Numbers, God’s Presence In The Wilderness (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006), 265
[2] O.P. Robertson, The new International Commentary On The Old Testament, The Books Of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (Grand Rapids, MI: Wn.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990), 247
[3] Job 13:15 (NASB)
[4] R.S. Fyall, Now My Eyes Have Seen You (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press), 177