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Lessons
For The 21st Century From OT Saints And Sinners
The Grumblers Who Died Of Snakebite
Numbers 21:4-9
Introduction: Time
Time
is like a book. Somewhere in the paragraphs you can find your
name and the story of your life. You may try to thumb forward
in the book, but only God knows the words that will be written
on those pages—at the appointed time. If you’re wise, however,
you’ll flip back and read about the men and women who lived
before and whose stories have been written down so they will
be remembered and so you can benefit from what they learned
along the way. If you read carefully, their stories teach
valuable lessons that can change your present and determine
your future.
One
of the greatest stories in the book of time records the history
of the nation of Israel. Within that history there is one
hero who stands out from all the others—Moses. His life provides
a great instruction manual for people today—especially those
who find themselves in positions of leadership. Rescued from
the waters of persecution and placed into a life of Egyptian
luxury, Moses went instantly from rags to riches. But, those
riches were fleeting. Several years later a frantic flight
from Egypt to save his life returned him to a life of rags
in Midian. When God calls Moses from the burning bush forty
years later He finds Moses on the far side of the desert.
God brings him from that place where he is shepherding a bunch
of sheep to shepherding God’s chosen people—the often straying
nation of Israel.
One
vignette from Moses’ life poignantly illustrated his exemplary
leadership skills. It occurred when the beleaguered and bewildered
nation turned on him and the Lord in a place of pain where
the harshness of life drove them to despair (just as can happen
to us). It occurred in the parched wastelands of Palestine’s
desert. But, we have to read through some of the book of time
first to get to that point in the story.
The Setting For The Story
As
a result of certain events that began in Egypt, their land
of captivity, the people of Israel had become nomads.
The Exodus From Egypt
Having
lived in Egypt for more than 400 years the Hebrew people had
grown from a small family group in the days of Joseph to become
a vast nation. They lived in Egypt as slaves. Their cries
of suffering rose up to the Lord who called Moses to lead
the people out of Egypt to a land He promised would be their
own.
Pharaoh
didn’t want to release the people. The economy was built on
the backs of the cheap labor provided by the slaves. I wonder
if they ever had any discussions about the ethics of slavery
only to have the Secretary of the Department of Labor remind
everyone of how devastating the elimination of slavery would
be on their economy. You will remember the dramatic steps
that were necessary before Pharaoh finally agreed to let God’s
people go. A series of 10 plagues, ending with the death of
all the firstborn children in Egypt, finally moved Pharaoh
to relent and allow the people to leave.
Moses,
who had grown up in the courts of Pharaoh and then returned
from the far side of the desert, led the nation out of Egypt,
through the Red Sea to Mt. Sinai where God revealed the Law
that would govern their nation. Then, they hiked to the border
of Canaan, right to the very brink of God’s Promised Land.
The Unbelief At Canaan
Poised
at the edge of possessing God’s promise, Moses received new
instructions from the Lord.
Send
some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving
to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its
leaders.
Numbers 13:2 NIV
The
Lord guaranteed Canaan to the Hebrews. All they had to do
was conquer it. You know the sad tale that unfolds. 10 of
the 12 spies returned scared to death by the strength of the
Canaanites. This started a wave of grumbling that overwhelms
the camp.
All
the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole
assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in
this desert! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only
to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be
taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back
to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose
a leader and go back to Egypt.
Numbers 14:2-4 NIV
Can’t
you just hear them? Poor us… and it’s all Moses’ fault! Now
really, was it Moses’ fault that obstacles stood in the way?
He had nothing to do with high walls and giants in the land.
But then, as now, complainers usually focus their fear and
anger on leaders. So, Moses found himself facing a nation
of enraged disbelievers holding stones in their hands that
they fully intended to throw at him.
The Wandering In The Wilderness
God,
with His patience at an end now with these grumblers, steps
in.
The
LORD said to Moses and Aaron: "How long will this wicked community
grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling
Israelites. So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the
LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In
this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty
years old or more who was counted in the census and who has
grumbled against me.
Numbers 14:26-29 NIV
As
a result, the people wandered in the wilderness for 40 years,
never entering the Promised Land. The bitter fruit they reaped
was the high price they paid for their grumbling against God.
Analyzing The Plot In The Story
During
that period of wandering, Moses faithfully led the Hebrews
but had to watch as thousands after thousands died in the
desert. Toward the end of that tragic time of death and frustration,
Moses directed the nation around the land of Edom toward Moab.
Having just defeated the people of Arad the people are anxious
to continue north toward Canaan. Edom refused to allow them
to pass through their territory. So, Moses directs them to
go back to the south—back into the desert again.
The People’s Complaint
The
feelings of the people are understandable. They have been
going in circles in the desert for almost four decades. The
problem comes as they voice their frustration. A familiar
tone creeps back into their complaint.
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!" Numbers 21:4-5 NIV
It’s
the same song as before. They refuse to remember the necessity
of leaving Egypt. If I’m Moses I’m thinking, “It’s been close
to 40 years here people! Can’t we get beyond this going back
to Egypt nonsense?”
Moses
seems to be stuck. It’s not his fault the sun is beating down
on them. It’s not his fault that the terrain is rough and
food is sparse. In fact, it’s not even his fault they are
in the wilderness. Their own sinful rebellion caused that.
But, what do they do? They target him because he is their
earthly leader. More seriously, they launch a bitter attack
against God, too.
The
depth of their contempt is captured in complaining about God’s
gracious provision of food. They call the heaven-sent manna
keeping them alive miserable food. Jesus would later compare
Himself to manna, saying that He was the one true Bread of
heaven. In speaking out against the manna, the people attack
the grace of God who delivered them from slavery and consistently
demonstrated His power to them. With a great crescendo they
exaggerate their discomfort into one pathetic whiny blast
of hostility, “We’re all going to die in this wretched wilderness.”
Grumble, Grumble, GRUMBLE.
Like
vinegar simmering on a stove, their complaining filled the
whole house of Israel with a pungent, sour spirit. This wasn’t
a minor problem. It was poisoning the people. Their toxic
grumbling wearied the Lord, who unmistakably declares, “That’s
enough!”
The Lord’s Response
This
time without warning or explanation, the Lord sends swift
and ironic judgment.
Then
the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people
and many Israelites died.
Numbers
21:6 NIV
In
response to their poisonous complaining, God sends venomous
snakes. Slithering into the tents, they bite the people and
they die from the poison injected from their fangs.
It
doesn’t take long for the people to acknowledge the sin of
their venomous attitude and plead for relief.
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."
Numbers 21:7a NIV
It
has been said that pain plants the flag of reality in the
fortress of a rebellious heart. That was certainly true for
Israel. The fiery snakes worked like a purifying blaze, humbling
the people to plead for God to intercede.
How
would Moses, who has once again been demeaned and attacked,
respond to their pitiful cry for help?
The Leader’s Intercession And Solution
With
the people on their knees, Moses could have issued a withering,
finger-pointing, I-told-you-so lecture (a part of me really
wishes he had!). He could have just laughed at them and turned
away. However, without a word of condemnation, we are graciously
told…
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.
Numbers 21:7 NIV
God
answers the prayer and responds to their need, but not in
the way they expected.
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."
Numbers
21:8 NIV
They
wanted God to remove the snakes, but God leaves them there
and provides a remedy instead. Moses fashions a bronze replica
of the fiery snakes and lifts it up high on a pole where it
can be seen from all parts of the camp.
So
Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when
anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake,
he lived.
Numbers 21:9 NIV
They
could receive help, but these previously faithless people
would have to demonstrate faith by looking at the snake.
Centuries
later in a nighttime conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus used
the illustration of the snake as a teaching lesson about faith.
This is another familiar story from our faith past that you
most likely recall. Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night because
he is concerned—afraid—of what his fellow teachers of the
Jewish law might think of him. In their lengthy discussion
Jesus refers to the bronze snake—an account Nicodemus would
have known well.
Just
as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of
Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may
have eternal life. John 3:14-15 NIV
Like
the snake Jesus would be lifted up on the cross, bearing our
curse of sin. And like those who simply looked at the snake
and lived, anyone who believes in Christ will be saved. Jesus
is God’s marvelous cure for the deadly sting of sin! It is
amazing that so many people choose not to look and die needlessly.
You
have to appreciate how God works. The people had twisted the
gracious bread of heaven into something detestable. God now
transforms a symbol of death into a source of life and deliverance.
So it is that we look at the cross and see it as a source
of hope and blessing instead of the horrible tool of execution
that it was.
The
power carried by symbols can sometimes become something promoting
sin. We see Moses’ bronze serpent in the words of Jesus as
a symbol of life. But, we also see it coiled in the recesses
of the temple in King Hezekiah’s day as a symbol of idolatry.
When the godly king Hezekiah ascended to the throne in Jerusalem
almost 800 years had passed since the snake incident in the
desert. The new king’s first order of business was to destroy
Judah’s loathsome idols. Look what was on his demolition list.
He
removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut
down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake
Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been
burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.) 2 Kings 18:4 NIV
Nehushtan
is a combination of the Hebrew words for bronze and snake.
It was probably a derogatory name used by Hezekiah to make
the idolatry more personal. The people completely missed the
meaning of the symbol and were worshiping the symbol itself.
So, Hezekiah smashed it into pieces. What used to lead people
to God, now leads them into evil. It had to be destroyed.
The
true meaning of the bronze snake, however, will never be destroyed.
It was a symbol of God’s healing forgiveness, offered to all
who, in faith, look to the dying Savior on the Cross.
Declaring The Cross From The Story
This
goes far beyond an intriguing account of grumblers in the
desert. This story encompasses a world of truth about spiritual
life and death. Look at two broad principles that we can take
away from this account—to our benefit.
1st Principle: By Believing
The Simple Plan of Salvation, We Live
Faith
in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross provides complete
relief and total recovery from the spiritual consequences
of deadly sin. If we try to administer our own cure through
self-effort, we try in vain. It’s no more effective than trying
to keep the poisonous snakes away. We succeed for a time,
but eventually we are overwhelmed. Only by looking at the
cross—a small act of belief—can eternal life be ours. It is
in that look that we admit we need help that only God can
give.
2nd Principle: By Worshiping
The Symbol Instead Of Embracing The Reality Of Its Meaning,
We Die
We
can rub our church traditions and symbols like we would a
lucky rabbit’s foot, hoping good fortune will come our way.
But religion without relationship with Christ is tantamount
to idolatry. When the programs and the symbols become more
important than the Person—Jesus Christ—we are in trouble.
Conclusion: We See The Real Thing
This
story is not so much about serpents and hot sand as it is
about sinners in need of healing and recovery, forgiveness
and hope. At the core of this summer series that is, essentially,
what all the stories are about. Like Old Testament men and
women we encounter secret sin, pride, depression, greed, grumbling
and fear. But unlike the ancient saints who had only the symbols,
we see the real thing—the Messiah. And, as we see, we hear
His healing words first spoken to Nicodemus…
Just
as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of
Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may
have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.
John 3:14-16 NIV
I
don’t find any reason to grumble about that!
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