The Israelites had been wandering for a long time.
But they had also seen some amazing miracles!
The Lord had just saved them from an attack from their enemies in a dramatic way.
However, immediately after being saved…
The Israelites started to complain.
All of this wandering was taking so long!
There wasn’t any good food to eat!
God was going to let them die in the wilderness!
In response to their ingratitude, selfishness, and pride, the Lord sent a plague of fiery serpents to the Israelites, killing many of them.
They pleaded with their prophet Moses to find a way to get rid of this plague.
“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.’” (Numbers 21:8, ESV)
The Israelites learned that the solution to their bitterness and ingratitude was to look simply look.
They had to look to a serpent made of brass.
Just like the Israelites and their brass serpent, we, too, can find a simple solution to our sins of ingratitude, impatience, and pridefulness.
We need to look to Jesus!
Even when we are tempted to murmur and complain about all the ways He has left us, and life is miserable…
The answer is to simply turn toward Jesus and let Him take away the sting of our problems.
Jesus as “the brass serpent” is one of the many symbols we will cover in the Old Testament this year, and I’m so grateful for this powerful reminder!
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
