Moses and the Israelites had to
travel around Edom, because their relatives wouldn't allow them to
travel through their land. Very soon this longer journey proved too
much for the Israelites and they did what they knew best, they
started complaining again. They forgot all about God's provision
for them and how He looked after them. They forgot that the reason
that they were still in the wilderness was purely their own fault.
They could have been in the Promised Land long ago, but due to
their unbelief they were still stuck in the wilderness and they
blamed everyone else but themselves:
"Why have you brought us out of
Egypt to die here in the wilderness?" They complained. "There is
nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this wretched
manna!" Numbers 21:5
It was shocking to think that they
could complain like this, but I suppose it is easy to judge them
from where I was sitting in our comfortable home with all my
favorite food at hand and aircon to cool the hottest part of the
day…
But God didn't take their
complaints lightly and sent poisonous snakes to kill them. Their
complaining quickly turned into sorrow and remorse and they begged
Moses to pray for them, which he did. God then instructed him to
build a bronze snake and to attach it to the top of a pole. He said
that everyone that looked at the snake will live. Of course it was
not the snake that healed them, but their belief that God can, that
did.
Jesus used this incident to tell us
that we need to do the same to be healed. We need to look onto Him
to be healed from the poisonous bite of sin:
"And as Moses lifted up the bronze
snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be
lifted up on a pole, so that everyone who believes in Me will have
eternal life." John 3:14,15
Only by looking up to Him can we be
saved from the poison permeating through our bodies. Faith in Him
is our ticket to new life. We can only truly run the race of life,
if we are not slowed down by the weight of sin. We need to ask His
forgiveness and try and move out of the wilderness into the
Promised Land. And we can only do that if we leave our complaining
behind, and move forward with His best interests in mind. He is
sitting in the honored seat at the right hand of God and from there
He knows what is best for us. And if we keep our eyes on Him, we
will know where the best route for our lives will be and we will
learn how to start living in the new life that He died to give
us.
"And let us run with endurance the
race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on
Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was
willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy He
knew would be His afterward. Now He is seated in the place of
highest honor beside God's throne in heaven." Hebrews 12:1,2
Father thank you for sending Jesus
to die for us and to provide a new way of life for us. Thank you
that we are cleansed from the poison of sin and help us to focus on
Jesus, our High Priest and to live our lives in order to please
You. Amen