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*The bronze snake *

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Numbers 21:1-21:9 (NIV, NIRV, TNIV, KJV)

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The Bronze Snake \\ \\ \\ God sometimes chooses to show His Glory through some very strange people, you only have to look around at ourselves to figure that one out.

When you consider the type of nations that God could have chosen to be His people, you wonder why He chose the nation of Israel initially.

He could have chosen the powerful Egyptian or Phoenician nations.

Instead he chose a man called Abraham, in a tent, and informed him that His descendents were going to become a great nation.

(Genesis 18) \\ \\ As Christians we can learn an awful lot from the relationship between God and this nation.

There are an awful lot of parallels between their lives as a nation and our lives as a Christian.

They were a people who found themselves enslaved by cruel masters when they were in the land of Egypt.

In chapter 6 of the book of Romans we find that before becoming Christians we were slaves to sin.

\\ \\ They were a people freed from slavery through Gods mercy and found themselves heading towards a promised land.

As Christians we have been freed from the bondage of sin through Christ’s death, and are now heading towards our own promised land, heaven.

\\ \\ It is the bit in the middle that most interests me.

After leaving Egypt and before entering the land that was promised to them they had to endure forty years in the wilderness.

Their walk with God in these forty years bears a lot of resemblance to our own relationship with God on this earth.

As we wait for our own promise of heaven, life can be like a wilderness experience.

You may have a promise upon life in another area, and in waiting for that to come to pass, you can feel like you are in a wilderness experience.

The church can have a promise from God.

In waiting for that to come to pass it can feel like a wilderness experience.

\\ \\ There are a lot of lessons that we can learn from this time period, but I just want to look at one incident.

It is an incident involving something that was to have relevance a further two times in the Bible.

It is one of the more peculiar items we read about in the Bible, a bronze snake.

From this item I believe that we can learn about the dangers of discontentment, about the dangers of idolatry, and about overcoming our earthly problems through Jesus.

\\ \\ \\ The Dangers of Discontentment.

\\ \\ \\ Numbers 21:1-9 \\ 1 The king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim.

Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners.

\\ 2 So Israel made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” \\ 3 And the LORD listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities.

So the name of that place was called Hormah.

(Utter Destruction) \\ \\ 4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.

\\ 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?

For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”

\\ 6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

\\ 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.”

So Moses prayed for the people.

\\ 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”

\\ 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

\\ \\ \\ Although the first three verses of this chapter aren’t really about the bronze serpent, I purposely included them as I wanted to show you that this incident followed on from a great victory that the Lord gave to the Israelites.

It doesn’t take long for the thrill of a victory to disappear and for discouragement to set in. \\ \\ You may have experienced the same in your own life.

A great meeting and move of God on a Sunday, followed by a monotonous day at work on the Monday.

\\ \\ Why then are the Israelites discouraged?

They are coming to the end of forty long years of wilderness experience.

They are not far from entering the land promised to them through Abraham, the place we now know as Israel, the place that is described as a land flowing with milk and honey, the place of plenty.

\\ \\ They were discouraged because they were eager to enter into their promise, but had come across another detour.

In verse four we read that they had to go by the way of the Red Sea, around the land of Edom.

It probably felt like they were never going to get there.

What made it worse was the fact that they would have expected to have been able to have gone straight through Edom rather than having to go all the way around it.

\\ \\ It is the chapter before that gives us the reason for their detour.

The people of the nation of Edom were the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother.

The Jews were therefore related to the Edomites.

In chapter 20 we find that the Jews had requested permission from the king of the nation to pass through the land.

They had promised not to eat any of the crops of Edom or leave any mess.

Not only had the King of Edom refused them permission to pass through, but he had even sent an army out to make sure that they didn’t even think of trying.

\\ \\ This must have been hurtful to the Jewish people.

They had faced much opposition, but now it was even their own family causing them problems.

You can start to understand why they felt discouraged.

Add to that the fact that the land they were passing through was very dry.

It was very hilly on either side.

The rock was hard and the sun was hot.

Worst of all, they were heading away from the promised land.

\\ \\ As Christians we can often find ourselves in the same situation.

You may be expecting a time of refreshing upon your life or your church.

You may be waiting for a particular promise or to be released into a certain ministry.

You may be waiting on a promise for your family to come to know Christ.

The wilderness waiting time can be difficult, but unbearably so when we come across a detour.

When we think we are closing in, but all of a sudden something comes our way that seems to push it again over the horizon.

We feel we are heading in the wrong direction.

\\ \\ The detour can be any number of things, and like in the case of the Israelites it can be even more painful when the cause is someone or something close to us.

Something that we weren’t expecting.

\\ \\ Your detour could be many things, an unwanted change in your job, a financial difficulty or even the death of a loved one.

It is something that you know means you are going to spend longer in that waiting period.

\\ \\ There are a lot of lessons to be learnt from the Israelites failing to react to this situation in the right way.

Their reaction demonstrates that they have lost hope, are ungrateful for what God has done and fail to grasp what God is doing for them.

\\ \\ They ask why God brought them out of Egypt only to die in the wilderness.

In their discouragement they have instantly forgot the miracles that God performed on their behalf in order to free them from brutal oppression.

There are times as Christians when we can forget the price God paid for us to set us free.

\\ \\ Then they exclaim that there is no food or water and despise what God is providing for them.

In saying this they fail to see what God is proving for them.

It isn’t true that there isn’t any food or water, God has been providing for them miraculously on a daily basis.

He has been providing manna from heaven.

They may not have the type of food they want, or in the quantities they are after, but they still have everything that they need.

\\ \\ In the same way, God hasn’t promised that he will provide everything that we want, but instead everything that we need.

\\ \\ Matthew 6:31-33 \\ 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ \\ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek.

For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

\\ 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

\\ \\ It is in these times of need that we need to learn to be content.

We need to keep our eyes focused on the goal, knowing that God will not let us perish and holding on to the fact that He always keeps his promises.

Paul learnt these principals.

\\ \\ Philippians 4:11-13 \\ 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

\\ 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

\\ 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

\\ \\ God does not allow us to go through the barren times alone.

He is always with us and he actually uses them for our own benefit.

He uses them so that when these troubling times come along, our hope will grow.

\\ \\ Romans 5:3 \\ 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; \\ 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

\\ \\ The first thing that God has given me to say to you is to be content, God will fulfil His promise even if it doesn’t appear to be coming along as quick as you would like.