The Essential JesusSample

The Snakes

PRAY: "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law" (Psalm 119:18).

READ: Numbers 21:4-9

REFLECT: Alfred Hitchcock would have loved this passage. Like his classic movie The Birds, where an ominous overpopulation of blackbirds overruns humans, the Israelites are overrun by an even scarier creature: snakes! It was God's judgment for the sin of his people. We should be careful not to misapply this passage. The main offense wasn't that the Israelites "went negative"; they were challenging God (v. 5). That's the heart of all sin.

This episode raises a tough question: does God cause natural disasters? The answer has two parts. First, because God created the world (Genesis 1:1), he has the power to cause or allow everything to happen. The Bible has many examples of this reality (Exodus 14:19-22; Matthew 8:27). Second, we must ask, what is a disaster? Often God uses bad things for good purposes; in this case, an infestation of snakes stopped the sinful behavior of his people. We may not be able to explain why some things happen in our world today, nor should we try to force a happy ending on every tragedy. Even so, we can be confident that nothing is outside God's loving purpose (Romans 8:28).

His main purpose is to provide a way for people to be saved. When the Israelites looked at the bronze replica, they were saved from the effects of the poison (vv. 8-9). Note that God didn't make the snakes go away (and he doesn't always make our problems go away). His miracle was to provide a way to overcome them.

Jesus referred to this episode early in his ministry to explain his mission to a religious leader (John 3:14-15). Just as the bronze snake became the vehicle of the Israelites' salvation, so Jesus' death on the cross would be the vehicle for the salvation of all people who believe in him. How amazing that God used a complaining band of desert wanders to highlight his plan of salvation for the world.

APPLY: What do you complain about most? How can you tell the difference between "just complaining" and being angry at God?

PRAY: Lord, I don't understand some things that happen in my life. But I believe you are in control, so I ask you to open my eyes to what you are trying to teach me.