December
15, 2003
THE
SERPENT IN THE WILDERNESS
"As
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:14,
15, NKJV).
The lifting
up of the snake in the wilderness (see Numbers 21:4-9) was
to teach Israel an important lesson. They could not save themselves
from the fatal effect of the poisonous bites of the snake
infested camp of Israel. God alone was able to heal them.
And He asked them to look at the snake on the pole in order
to live. They were required to show their faith in the provision
supplied by God through Moses by looking at the snake on the
pole in order to live.
There
was no virtue in the serpent itself. A snake is a symbol of
sin. And yet God made the snake to be a symbol of Christ in
order to save His people from their snake infested environment.
"For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be
sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God
in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). There it is, Jesus was
made to be sin for us. That snake on the pole represented
Christ when He died on the cross to save us.
So it
is with us. When we are poisoned by the venom of sin in the
snake infested environment in which we live, Jesus is the
antidote. We are to look to Him and live! He took our sins
and buried them at the cross enabling us to be resurrected
with Him clean and pure. We are to look to Jesus and live,
even when we are steeped in sin, especially when we are steeped
in sin.
The Bible
records that whoever was bitten by the poisonous snakes and
who looked on the bronze serpent lived. How much more will
God save those who look to Him, who look to Jesus, who on
the cross took care of that sin problem for us. Jesus is the
only antidote for sin.
While
the sinner cannot save himself, he still has something to
do to secure salvation. This is God's will, "This
is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the
Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will
raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40).
Thank
you God, thank you Jesus, for saving us from the poisonous
ravages of sin.
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