Look Upon the Banner-Pole and Believe

"They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a polLe. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived." (Numbers 21:4-9)

The people grew impatient along their way. That is, their ability to endure became shortened (cf. Judges 10:16, Micah 2:7). With any physical exercise we often think we cannot do what we are really able. We complain at the first hint of discomfort.

The response of God was to send poisonous snakes to bite and kill the people. There is a connection here between the original sin of Adam and the actions of the people. Adam and Eve listened to the Nahash (snake) and they died. Here the Nahash didn’t bother to talk—it just killed them. The Nahash may have been possessed of supernatural beings as they were also called Seraphim (Isaiah 6:2) which are an order of angels. More likely, the snakes reflect the result of sin. Sin devours and consumes the sinner. Individual Seraph can also be “fire” (Leviticus 4:21, 8:17) used in sacrifice. This is, of course symbolic of how sin bites and destroys lives (Romans 6:23 “the wages of sin are death”). God’s remedy is to put sin on a standard/ banner pole. Christ became sin for us when he was upon the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21).

God “hangs around”. If you profess Christ, but (try to) practice sin, then God’s Holy Spirit becomes a pest. But if you walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with God. The blood of Christ cleanses from sin (1 John 1:7; cf. 2 Pet. 1:4). He becomes our hero, deliverer, savior, helper…on and on. Like Aslan in Narnia in answer to the question: “Is He safe?” “Oh my NO. But He’s good.” If you are rightly related to Him you will be nurtured, if not then you are part of the food chain.

Pray: "Lord, help me to live a lifestyle of belief. Deliver me from my addictive appetite that I might follow you and live."