Today, we continue our exploration of the roots of our faith. Over the past couple of weeks we have been reminded that when we dig down into the soil of our faith, we will find that our roots tap into the promises of God, and also the commandments that offer the gift of peace. So far, we have retold big stories in the Bible like Noah and the flood, and the story of God promise to Abraham and Sarah to have a child, and today I will retell the ever popular “Put a Snake on a Pole to Keep Everyone from Dying” story. I know, I know, it is your favorite.
“From where did you dig up this story, Pastor Jira?”
Indeed, it may not be on everyone’s top ten thousand list for favorite Bible stories. However, I drug it up from the depths of obscurity because there is a lot of truth in this thing. And, not only is there a lot of truth, but it is also the launching point for one of the most memorized and beloved verses of the entire Bible. But, there will be more on that later. First, we are going to dig into Numbers 21:4-9 and plumb it for the truths that it holds.
As the story begins, we see that the Israelites are continuing to wander in the wilderness after having been freed by God from slavery in Egypt. But, their days of wandering are going to start getting really, really long because they decided not to trespass on the land of the Edomites, the decedents of Esau; their distant and disagreeable cousins. And, this long detour is where the truth of this text starts spilling all over the place.
“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.”
I have heard this conversation before, and so have you. At a family gathering during the holidays, a member of the family, who will remain unnamed, took a look at the multiple dishes of food spread across the large holiday dining table, took the napkin off of their lap, threw it on the table and declared in a put out tone, “There’s nothing here to eat.”
“Well, I’m sorry that we don’t have any tofu derived meats or organically grown potatoes smashed using lactose free skim milk and grass fed goat cheese!”
I kept the thought to myself.
“There is literally a table full of food in front of you. You didn’t have to make any of it! You didn’t spend hours in the kitchen making preparations for everyone.”
And, the same goes for you, O Israelite people. There is literally manna and quail falling from the sky daily for your consumption from the hand of God, and your only response is, “There’s nothing here to eat or drink. I detest this miserable food.”
I have to admit, I do not blame God for sending the snakes to bite the ungrateful twerps. If I had snakes to send across the table and bite my relative during that holiday meal, I would not have hesitated. I’m not joking. Come on!
But, some things never change. Or, more accurately I should say “people never change.” It seems that we are hardwired to just automatically complain about everything.
Just this other day a certain little boy was asking for a bowl of Lucky Charms for breakfast. This is a hypothetical story, of course, and has nothing to do with the brand new box of Lucky Charms that I bought the other day.
And after the boy whined continuously, and after finally being able to pour the bowl of Lucky charms, and the milk, and then set it down on the table, a certain little boy, hypothetically screamed, “I don’t want that!” and just about swiped the bowl onto the floor. Where are those snakes when you need them?
But, to be fare, I should have been bitten by those same snakes many times over throughout my own life. For instance, how many times have I cried out to the Lord to help me out of a tough spot in life, only to act like those 9 lepers who just walked away from Jesus without giving thanks to Jesus for healing them? Not only am I thankless, but I have the nerve to cry out for help the very next day, giving no recognition to God for saving me previously.
How short are our memories! How focused we become on the problems rather than the salvation God has given!
And, there it is. That is the problem right there. We get so focused on the hardships of life that we immediately forget the salvation that God has granted us.
What if we could look to something and remember the salvation that the Lord has provided?
What if we could look to something and remember just how good and full of steadfast love is the Lord?
After-all, as Psalm 30:5 declares, “For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
What if we could look to something and remember that the Lord is a Lord of salvation?
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’ So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.”
Do you think that if I put a ham on a pole and put it at the head of the dinner table that a certain relative would remember to just be quiet, give thanks, and eat like everyone else in the room?
The problem with the ham on the pole is that people might forget that it is a reminder of how good God is and just worship the ham…I mean, the problem with the snake on the pole is that people might forget that it is a reminder of how good God is and start looking to the snake for salvation rather than God.
That happened by the way. After a thousand years, King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18:4, takes the snake that God instructed Moses to make, and utterly obliterated it. Somehow, the people of God forgot who it was who brought their salvation. It was not a pole with a bronze snake; that is certain. Rather than pointing to God and God’s salvation, the bronze snake had taken the place of God and God’s salvation.
But, it still was not a bad idea to raise up something so that God’s people would not forget God’s love and salvation. It was not a bad idea to raise something up so that they would not forget this root of faith: that faith is about trusting in God’s salvation and is not about how I save my own skin or how great I am as a spiritual being.
It is so easy to forget, even for pastors. One of the main concepts that our preaching professors tried to drive into our heads again and again was that preaching is about God and God’s salvation. It is not about us. It is not about what we should be doing. It is not about the 10 things that we can do to save ourselves.
“You should pray more.” “You should say something loving first thing in the morning.” “You should look I the mirror and remember that you are a great gift from God.”
All of this stuff might be good advice, but it does not save. Preaching is always about lifting up God’s salvation so that we can all trust in God. “I am the Lord your God…you shall have no other gods” the commandment reads.
What if God did not raise us “something,” but raised up “someone”? Would we trust in God’s salvation then?
This brings us to the Christian Scriptures, the New Testament, and some of the most beloved and memorized verses in all the Bible. I will just read it to you. Its meaning will be self-evident.
John 3:14-17 reads, “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.’ ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.’”
During the Protestant
Reformation, when pastors tore down all the statues and symbols in their
churches so that they would not distract from the Lord, there was one symbol
that was allowed.
The cross was allowed, of course. After-all, the image of Jesus, raised on the cross is a strong symbol of God’s salvation. The salvation of Jesus Christ on the cross; the revelation of the very heart of God; the reminder that God is a God of steadfast love and salvation, and not condemnation, is that to which we cling. It is what feeds us. God’s salvation is the root of our faith.
“So I’ll cling to the old rugged cross. Till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown.”
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