Numbers 21:1-9 - Look, Trust, and Live!

Numbers 21:1-9

Canaanites Defeated at Hormah

1 The king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. 2 So Israel made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” 3 And the LORD listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called Hormah.

The Bronze Serpent

4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. 5 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 our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

7 Therefore 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.

8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

The people journeyed on towards Canaan when the news reached them that Israel was coming for them and their land.  A king of Arad fought them and took some of God’s people prisoner, which led to the people of the LORD vowing to destroy their cities as originally commanded by God if He would deliver the captives to them.  It was a resounding victory because God listened and heard their plea for deliverance and their vow to annihilate the sinful cities of those occupying the promised land belonging to Israel by divine command.  But as they continued on around the Red Sea, the people again became discouraged because it was taking so long.  They lacked perspective and patience for the long term goal of the promise, and once more spoke against God’s appointed leaders, Moses and Aaron.  They asked with entitlement for the best food and conditions as if they had those as slaves of rigor in Egypt!  They whined about the manna bread and lack of abundant water until the LORD had enough and sent serpents to bite and kill many of them for lack of faith and faithfulness to trust the promise and be satisfied with contentment (Philippians 4:11-13) in and with all things given by God’s good providence.  Only as they were dying did they see the error of their ways and confess their sin, begging for Moses to pray for them and their relief.  The solution from God was for Moses to make a bronze snake on a pole for the people to look at and live, trusting the solution of God’s word and not worshipping the snake as an idol.  Those who trusted by faith looked and lived.  This was explained in John 3:14-15 as a picture of Jesus Christ lifted up on the tree of cursing, a cross, for all who are dying from sin’s penalty since Adam to look upon and live forever.  Whoever looks and believes in Him as the Son of God sent to take their consequences of their sins as a sacrifice to cover them once and forever, these will be given eternal life in Him by that trusting faith to believe God’s word of the gospel and look to Him in trust for life (John 5:24, 6:47) and escape the stinging bite of the serpent (2 Corinthians 11:3, 1 Corinthians 15:55-56) from the Garden where we all chose not to believe and still suffer the consequences.  We are called to look to the cross, trust Jesus and His work to cover our sin by His lifeblood shed for us, and know we will certainly live forever according to the unbreakable promise of the gospel as we sojourn through this world to the heavenly promised land (Hebrews 11:16) to come.  This way to reconciliation with our Creator God seems too simple, but the difficulty is in humbling ourselves and our efforts to be good in order to confess our sin that only can be forgiven by Him who earned Heaven for us and then trusting by looking upon Him in believing He has done what we cannot to save us from the eternal consequences.  Look, trust, and live!