Fiery Serpent Imagery

As Jesus, our Saviour, our healer, the great physician of souls, typified by the brazen serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness, that those who were stung by fiery serpents might look to him, and be saved, Matthew Henry's Commentary, Acts to Revelation, Volume 6, page 725. 

Do you know the story referenced by Matthew Henry in the above paragraph, of Moses lifting up the brazen serpent in the wilderness? 

Have you read about the rebellion of the Israelites, with their railing against God, the very God that had delivered them from slavery via signs, wonders, and miraculous events? 

Have a listen to their grumbling, in Numbers, chapter 21, verse 5:

And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 

It makes me nervous when I hear people complain about God, or suggest things like, Why does God let bad things happen to people? The blame game, where a created creature, accuses their Maker, is a dangerous playground to occupy. If I imply that everything I do that has consequences of an unholy nature attached, is someone else's fault, and worse yet, is God's responsibility, and that they, or he specifically, is accountable for the outcomes for my choices, then I am quite simply, a childish impish ingrate, refusing to acknowledge my role in my own destruction and demise. Let us go back into The Bible, to hear and see God's response to the grumbling Israelites: 

Numbers 21:6

And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 

The Israelites were wandering in the wilderness for forty years, and don't think for one moment, that they were not provided with water and food, O no, they had all they needed not only to survive, but to be fruitful and multiply! But isn't it so, with humans that indulge their base nature, to want and want some more, even at the expense of their souls, and their relationship with God? 

The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and venomous bites wiped many of them out. God is long suffering, and there comes a point in time, where his patience runs dry, and just desserts are served up to the impertinent complainers that have the gall, to not only speak against God, but brazenly accuse him of neglect. 

Imagine the desert littered with poisoned people, dropped to the ground with venom coursing through their veins. What is one to do when they see their family members dying before their eyes? What would you do, in these circumstances? Would you, like the Israelites, do as follows?

Numbers 21:7

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 

God and Moses were spoken against repeatedly whilst the Israelites wandered the desert. God, and Moses as his representative and mediator to the people, were merciful over and over again. God and God's people, do not delight in the ruin of others, rather, it pains us, and we want none to be lost. God foreshadows the ultimate resolution and cure for our sins, by giving us a glimpse of the cross of Christ. Here are his instructions to Moses:

Numbers 21:8, 9

And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. 

The antidote, the anti-venom, the healing solution, given by God, was symbolic, and effective too, when instructions were taken to heart and followed. As I indicated earlier, this was a foreshadowing of Christ, and modern society must look to Jesus on the cross, dying for our sins, and the venom of the serpent that courses through our veins will not harm or kill, but rather, will be cleared, so that we might live. The message is, Repent, and sin no more; stop accusing God of misconduct, when you are the one that deviates from his commands, denying his care and blessings, making you the responsible one, for the dire straights you may find yourself in. 

Are we any different from the ancient Israelites? any less cocky and self-absorbed as a global society? Snake venom courses through the veins of modern men, soaking their souls in the sin of rebellion against the God that made them, provides for them, and loves them, even while they choose to accuse him and speak what ought never, to be spoken, against him. 

Look with me at the symbol in this piece of writing that we all recognize, and see so often, that it goes almost unnoticed, when our eyes happen to pass it by. It is pharmakeia, which is the use of drugs, potions, and spells, and is the root of the modern English word pharmacy, that people look to, for their wellness. Doctor visits are imbedded in schedules, with regular check-ups and testing, and along with these face-to-face encounters, prescriptions are doled out as though the medications are useful, and to be taken mindlessly, consumed like a Smartie, M&M, Skiddle, Gummie, or any other bit of candy. 

Satan, that clever snake, bastardizes everything to his advantage, and covid was an almost perfect performance for the wicked one and his slithering seed; but let us not give him too much credit. Let us be very conscientious about the wages of sin being death: it was the LORD that sent fiery serpents among the people, that bit them, because they spoke against him, and it is the LORD that has permitted the biting by fiery serpents via pharmakeia, for those that looked not to Jesus, but rather, embraced the snake they knew well, via modern "science" often called "medicine". 

The LORD saves, dear one. The LORD redeems, and if your mind has been poisoned against him in a world that hates him and denies him as the Sovereign, you can turn your gaze in his direction, and see the brilliance of Christ's saving grace, and plead for not only forgiveness, but for healing for your wounded and wobbling soul. 

Here again, are Matthew Henry's words:

As Jesus, our Saviour, our healer, the great physician of souls, typified by the brazen serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness, that those who were stung by fiery serpents might look to him, and be saved.