21 March 2010
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Numbers 21
4. They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;
5. 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!"
6. Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.
7. 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.
8. 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."
9. 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.
-- what if your sins were visible? -- what if the condition of your heart was evident for all to see? -- that is the question that Frank Peretti addressed in his novel, "The Oath" -- "The Oath" takes place in the northwestern U.S. in the fictional town of Hyde River
-- the hero in the story, Steve Benson, comes to Hyde River to investigate the mysterious death of his brother, and in doing so, exposes a secret that has remained hidden for decades in this town
-- you see, Steve's brother was not the only person to mysteriously die in Hyde River -- over the years, many people had disappeared and the townspeople's explanation was that a dragon had eaten them -- of course, as a wildlife biologist, Steve immediately discounts this story as a fantasy
-- but, as Steve begins to investigate, he discovers that all of the people who disappeared had one common trait -- days before they vanish, a black, oozing rash develops on the skin above their heart -- at first, they, and everyone around them, are aware of it, but within a couple of days, they seem to forget about it -- they don't notice it anymore at all -- and when this happens, they are drawn to the old, abandoned part of town and are eaten by a literal dragon
-- as Steve discovers the truth, he finds out that the townspeople are well aware of the dragon in their midst and tolerate him as a part of life -- they are powerless against the dragon and can do nothing to stop his destruction of those people in their midst with the black, oozing rash above their heart
-- it doesn't take a great mind to understand what is going on in this allegorical story -- the black, oozing rash that develops on the skin of the marked people represents the sin that is hidden in their hearts -- and the dragon represents the death that comes through sin -- as the Bible says, "the wages of sin is death" -- and in this book, we see literal death come upon those who live in sin to the point where they are no longer aware of it
-- Peretti's purpose in this book is to make us stop and think about the hidden sins in our lives -- I've said before that you can never know the state of another person's heart -- Peretti makes the case that you can ignore the state of your own heart to your own detriment -- and so, he asks the question, "would it make a difference if your sins were visible? -- would it make a difference if you could see the consequences of your sins? -- would that be enough to bring you to the One who can remove the stain from your soul?"
-- as I was reading through this passage from Numbers 21 in preparation for today's sermon, I had to ask myself if this was not what God was doing to the Israelites -- ever since God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, they had continually murmured and complained and sinned against Him
-- in fact, from the time that God led them across the Red Sea until He finally had Joseph bring them into the Promised Land, the Bible records eight specific instances where the people had done just that -- and each time, their murmuring and complaining showed a lack of trust in God to deliver them from their trials
-- the only way to enter the Promised Land was through obedience -- the only way to enter the Promised Land was by following God and His ways -- but, each time God brought the people near, they would turn away and choose to follow their own path rather than God's path
-- but even though the people gave up on God, He never gave up on them -- even though the people turned away from God through their murmuring and complaining, God's prevenient grace still worked in their lives -- wooing them and drawing them back to the place of repentance -- back to the place of salvation -- back to the place where they would be offered the choice to follow God or to turn away yet again
-- when the people complained that there was no food, God delivered manna -- spiritual bread -- to sustain them
-- when the people complained that they were tired of eating manna and wanted meat, God provided quail
-- when the people complained that they were thirsty and were going to die in the desert, God brought water from a rock
-- each time, God forgave the people of their sins and moved in their lives in miraculous ways to show His providence and His power in their lives -- but it wasn't enough -- they still continued to murmur and sin and complain
-- so, God allowed the Israelites to suffer the consequences of their sin in order to get their attention -- in order to get them to turn to Him in complete and total trust and obedience -- when the people refused to go into the Promised Land because they were scared of the Canaanites, God made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years
-- when Korah led a rebellion against Moses, God opened the earth beneath him and destroyed him and all those who stood with him against Moses and against God
-- but still, that wasn't enough -- suffering the consequences of their sins was not enough to bring the people's hearts and minds and souls to God -- they still continued to murmur and complain against God -- they still continued to want to do things their own way and sin against Him -- so here, in this passage in Numbers 21, God does something dramatic and miraculous -- He allows the people to actually see their sins in a physical way so that they might finally turn to Him for salvation
-- let's look at this passage and see what God did here for the people of Israel and for us
II. Scripture Lesson (Numbers 21:4-9)
-- look back with me at verse 4
4. They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;
5. 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!"
-- as this passage in Numbers 21 opens, we are nearing the end of the 40-year exile in the wilderness -- the old generation of Israelites who came from Egypt -- all those who had murmured and complained against God and sinned against Him in so many ways -- all those whose hearts never really left Egypt -- have passed away
-- and, now we see a new generation on the threshold of the Promised Land -- they are closer to it than the previous generation of unbelief had been -- but now they are beginning to act with the same unbelief of their fathers
-- the author tells us here that as God is bringing them up the Promised Land that the people get impatient -- the King James Version says they get discouraged -- in other words, they know what they want and they want it now -- they want to take possession of the Promised Land -- they want all the blessings that God had promised their forefathers -- but they don't want to follow the path that God is leading them on -- it is too long -- it is too slow -- they want a shortcut to the Promised Land
-- we see that in our own lives, too, don't we? -- how many of us want to reap the benefits of the blessings without paying the price it takes to truly appreciate them -- without becoming the people who the blessings were meant for?
-- we can see an example of this with teenaged sex in our country -- many of our young people want to experience this blessing of marriage in their lives -- they desire a sexual relationship -- but rather than wait until marriage -- rather than wait until they have matured and developed physically and emotionally -- rather than wait until they understand God's plan for the family -- they jump right in and take a shortcut of pleasure that can have lasting effects -- whether we're talking about teenaged pregnancy, failed marriages, or even sexually transmitted diseases -- because they weren't ready for the blessing, they suffer the consequences the rest of their lives
-- the Bible's message is that God wants to bless us -- Ephesians 1:3 says that God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ -- but just because God has a blessing waiting for us doesn't mean that we are ready to receive it -- just like the Israelites, we may have to undergo a time of testing -- a time of maturation -- before we can truly receive and enjoy what He has for us
-- this new generation of Israelites wasn't ready to enter the Promised Land yet -- their hearts weren't right before God -- they weren't mature enough to receive these blessings yet -- but that didn't matter to them -- they knew what they wanted and they wanted it now -- and when God didn't let them have their way, they threw a fit -- they threw a tantrum -- and started murmuring and complaining to God with every old excuse their parents had used
-- "Why did you bring us to the desert to die? -- we don't have any bread -- we don't have any water -- and we hate this food that you gave us"
-- they sinned because they didn't trust God -- they sinned because they wanted to do things their own way instead of the way God wanted them to do it
-- verse 6
6. Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.
-- as I said, in the past, God responded in many different ways to the sins of the Israelites -- sometimes He answered their prayers and provided food and water for them so they could see His goodness and trust in His grace -- other times, He allowed them to suffer the consequences of their sins, whether that meant wandering in the desert for 40 years or death
-- but this time, God does something different -- He does something drastic to get the Israelites attention once and for all -- He lets them see their sin
-- He sends venomous snakes into their camp that bite them and that lead to death
-- Can you think of a more perfect picture of sin and the effect of sin in our lives? -- it was through the serpent that sin first entered the world -- and God uses the venomous serpents here to let the Israelites see that sin again -- to let them see clearly that their murmuring and complaining were more than just words -- that their murmuring and complaining were sins that brought death
-- God had dealt with these rebellious Israelites for many years -- He knew the state of their souls -- He knew the state of their hearts -- and He knew that if they were to become the people who could possess the blessing of the Promised Land, that they would have to confess and admit their sins and disobedience and would have to turn to Him for salvation
-- when we are living in disobedience to God -- when we are living with sin in our lives -- God will do whatever He has to do to get our attention -- whether that's through making us aware of His blessings or allowing us to suffer the consequences of our sin -- God will always bring us to the place where we become aware of our sins and are offered the choice to turn to Him for salvation or to keep on going down our own path to death
-- verse 7
7. 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.
-- well, it worked -- when the Israelites saw the snakes -- when they suffered the pain of their bites -- they knew what was going on -- they saw their sins and recognized the state of their hearts
-- they went to Moses, God's representative, and confessed their sins and asked God to take the snakes away from them
-- verse 8
8. 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."
9. 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.
-- did you notice what God did and didn't do in these verses? -- God heard the prayers of Moses on behalf of the people, but He didn't take the snakes away -- He only made a way for the people to live after they had been bitten
-- why was that? -- why didn't God take the snakes away? -- well, I think it comes down to this -- I think it comes down to free will -- you see, the only reason why the snake were there was because the people invited them in -- the snakes were the physical representation of their sin -- of their disobedience -- of their wrong choices
-- as long as the people chose to oppose God -- as long as the people chose to follow their own evil desires rather than the desires of God -- the snakes, and the pain and death they brought, would be there in the camp
-- but, if the people turned from their evil ways -- if the people recognized the bite that sin had given them and turned to the Lord for help, He would remove the sting of death -- He would forgive their sins and lead them into life
-- God did something else in this passage that He had never done before -- just as He had used the serpent to physically represent sin, He now had Moses put a bronze snake on a pole to physically represent the salvation that came through trusting Him
-- bronze is a metal associated with judgment in the Bible because bronze is created through fire -- thus, the bronze snake on the pole represented the judgment of God on the sins of the Israelites and the cleansing that came through the fire of His word
-- now understand that it was not the bronze snake that saved the Israelites, but the power of God in their lives -- the bronze snake was just a physical symbol of the spiritual reality of judgment and cleansing and restoration following repentance
-- by looking at the snake, the Israelites were putting their trust in God and not in their own strength to save -- by looking at the snake, the Israelites were demonstrating that they had turned from their sins and were now living by God's word and in His grace -- by looking at the snake, the Israelites were finally becoming the people who were ready to enter the Promised Land
-- so, what does this mean for us? -- what lesson can we learn from this story of the bronze snake?
-- if you would, turn over to John 3 and let's finish up there by looking at Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus -- John 3:13
13. No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man.
14. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15. that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
16. "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.
-- here in these verses, Jesus tells Nicodemus how the bronze snake in the desert symbolized the salvation that would come through Him -- there's several things that we can learn from this
-- first, just as Moses lifted the serpent up on the pole so that the Israelites would look to it for deliverance, Jesus was to be lifted up on the cross so that sinners would look to Him for salvation
-- second, just as there was no other remedy for the snake bites for the wounded Israelites, there is no other way of salvation for us than faith in the blood of Jesus -- the Bible tells us that Jesus is the only way to be saved and that no one comes to the Father apart from Him
-- third, just as everyone who looked at the bronze serpent was cured and lived, everyone who looks to the cross and believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life
-- and, fourth, just like it was not the bronze serpent that actually saved the people but it was the power of God working through their faith, it is not the cross that brings salvation to us but the power of God through Christ Jesus that saves
-- the cross is just a symbol to remind us of the death and atoning sacrifice of Jesus for our sins, just as the empty tomb is a reminder of the promise of eternal life through Him
-- what Jesus was trying to get Nicodemus to see here is that when He is lifted up, we will see our sinful self -- we will see the condemnation of sin -- and we will see our hope
-- The principles are the same, though the circumstances are different -- we don't have venomous snakes or black, oozy rashes on our skin to remind us of the state of our heart or the sin that we have -- but we can see the effects of sin all around us
-- we don't have a bronze snake on a pole to look at for deliverance, but the cross reminds us that the cure for sin is not within us, but only through faith in Christ
III. Closing
-- this past week, we celebrated Saint Patrick's Day -- and once again, as I do every year, I was reminded of how Saint Patrick relates to this story of the bronze snake
-- as you probably remember, Patrick was the son of a British noble who was captured by Irish raiders and brought back to Ireland as a slave
-- even though he had grown up in a Christian home, Patrick was not a Christian, but his captivity and his exposure to the pagan worship in Ireland forced him to seek out the God of his fathers as he sought freedom from his slavery
-- Patrick eventually escaped from slavery and went home, but he couldn't escape the call of God -- He looked to the cross and accepted Jesus as His Lord and Savior and became a priest in the Catholic Church
-- responding to a vision, Patrick went back to Ireland to bring the message of Christianity to the people who were living in darkness there -- a symbol of life coming from death -- a symbol of freedom from slavery
-- many legends have arisen about Patrick in the years since his death -- one of those is that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland -- and while this may be a myth, in a sense, he really did so because by introducing the people of Ireland to Jesus -- by lifting up Jesus on the cross to them -- the Irish were able to cast out the snakes of paganism and sin in their lives and to come to salvation through Christ by faith alone
-- so, as I close, let me ask you this -- what will it take for you to see the sin in your life? -- what will it take for you to turn from this sin -- to cast your gaze upon the cross -- to trust and believe in Jesus for eternal life?
-- the cure for our sin has been given -- Jesus has been lifted up for our salvation -- all we have to do is trust and believe and we will be saved
-- will you do that today?
-- let us pray
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