Messianic Moments Devotional Series—Numbers

The book of Numbers is more than a record of Israel’s wilderness journey; it’s a powerful reflection of the journey toward redemption through Jesus. In the midst of rebellion and failure, God’s faithfulness shines through, pointing to Christ as the ultimate Saviour who leads us to eternal rest. The bronze serpent in Numbers 21 is one of the clearest symbols of Jesus, prefiguring His crucifixion—just as the Israelites looked to the serpent for healing, we must look to Jesus on the cross for our salvation (John 3:14-15). The Israelites’ failure to trust God and enter the Promised Land serves as a stark reminder of humanity’s need for a Saviour who offers not just earthly freedom but eternal salvation. Numbers isn’t just Israel’s story; it’s a picture of our own journey of faith, with Jesus as the faithful guide who brings us into the fullness of God’s promise.

1. • Jesus explicitly connects this event to His crucifixion in John 3:14-15: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
   • The serpent represents the curse of sin, and Jesus, though sinless, became the bearer of that curse on behalf of humanity (Galatians 3:13).
   • Looking to the bronze serpent for healing parallels the act of faith in looking to Christ for salvation.

1. • The Mishna (Rosh Hashanah 3:8) highlights the miraculous nature of this event, emphasizing that it was not the serpent itself but the act of looking upward in faith to God that brought healing.
   • The Talmud (Berakhot 10a) elaborates that healing was an act of divine grace, reinforcing the idea of God’s mercy despite the people’s rebellion.
   • Rashi interprets the snake as a symbol of punishment and repentance, focusing on God’s provision for redemption rather than the object itself.

1. • Serpents in the ancient Near East were often associated with chaos, danger, and divine punishment. However, they also appeared in healing motifs, such as the staff of Asclepius in Greco-Roman culture.
   • The use of a bronze serpent on a pole was strikingly counterintuitive, as the serpent represented the very source of the people’s suffering. This paradox prefigures the crucifixion, where Christ, though innocent, bore the sins of the world.

1. • Church Fathers like Augustine and Justin Martyr highlighted the paradoxical nature of the bronze serpent as a type of Christ, signifying how life comes through the acknowledgment of death and sin.
   • They also saw the pole as a foreshadowing of the cross, where the curse of sin is lifted through the death of Jesus.

1. • The Bronze Serpent was preserved as a sacred object but later became an idol during King Hezekiah’s reign, leading to its destruction (2 Kings 18:4). This shows the danger of misplacing faith in symbols rather than the God behind them.
   • The wilderness setting underscores the theme of human rebellion and divine grace, a recurring motif in the salvation narrative.

The story of the bronze serpent in Numbers 21 is a powerful reminder of God’s provision for redemption in the midst of rebellion and sin. Just as the Israelites, plagued by venomous snakes, were healed by looking at the bronze serpent on a pole, we too find our healing and salvation in the act of faith—looking to Jesus, who was lifted up on the cross to bear our sin and curse. It’s a striking paradox: the very thing that brought destruction—the serpent—became the instrument of healing, just as Jesus, sinless and without guilt, took upon Himself the sins of the world for our restoration.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to reflect on our own journey of faith and trust in the One who has made the way to eternal life possible. Numbers reminds us that despite our failures, God’s faithfulness prevails, and through Jesus, we are given the opportunity to move from death into life, not just in this life, but in the eternal rest He promises. Let this truth stir us to greater gratitude, knowing that the very symbol of death became the gateway to life, and through Christ, we too can look up and live.