Looking Upon Jesus

This morning in my time with God, He spoke to me through this passage.

Numbers 21:4-9 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 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 we loathe this worthless food.” Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And 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. 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.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

There is so much packed in here for us to take away, as we read this story.

First, notice how so often we behave like Israel did. Like them, we have been given God’s Word, He has promised us all things we need to survive our journey through this life. Yet, we expect God to make things easy and we, too, get impatient with Him as we wait on Him to fulfill all our prayers. I’m not sure we really grasp how often we complain against Him. Or how often we simply do not do things as He calls us to. 

Then notice God’s response to their disobedience and their lack of faith. That’s what it is by the way; a lack of faith. We lack the faith to trust in God and in the way upon which He calls us to walk. God, being our Father, then brings discipline to us, just as we see here in God’s having brought fiery serpents. Our discipline may not come in that form, but just maybe things like a virus, might possibly be God moving in discipline. 

Then notice the people’s response, because it needs to be our response. The people come to Moses in confession and repentance and Moses prays for God to respond to their recognition of their sin. 

God responds by providing them a way to live, even in the midst of the judgment of their sin. 

This is a beautiful picture of Jesus. We celebrate Christmas because in response to our sin and its cost of judgment through death, if we will do as they were called to, and look to Jesus, when we see Him, we will live. The bronze serpent was a picture of Christ. 

Every time we sin against God, we can look to Jesus, at His death and resurrection by which He paid the cost of our sin, and by faith in Him, we can live. 

Let us look upon Jesus and live.