Look to the Pole and Live

Text: ESV Numbers 21:9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set in on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Goal: That we point to the cross of Christ so that others might live as well.

ESV 1 Timothy 1:2 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Grumbling and complaining. Complaining and grumbling. The Israelites had been set free from slavery in Egypt through an incredible miracle. God had led them across the Red Sea on dry ground and then caused the water to crash down on the Egyptians. God was leading them through the wilderness. He was providing them with food and water. Life in the wilderness was not a picnic, but God was leading them toward the Promised Land. But the Israelites weren’t content. They felt like they deserved better. They grew impatient along the way. “And the people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of the land of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food’” (Numbers 21:5).

It almost seems impossible that the Israelites were grumbling against God and against Moses after all that God and Moses had done for them. Think of the situation from the perspective of Moses. God had come to him in a burning bush and told him to go to Egypt to free the Israelites. Moses did not feel equipped for the task. He even dared to argue against God’s will for his life, but eventually he went. He did what God asked him to do. He followed God’s orders and adhered to God’s plan, but what did he receive from the people? Grumbling and complaining. Complaining and grumbling. And what about the situation from God’s perspective? God wanted the best for His people. He wanted to rescue them. He desired to take them to a great land with wonderful foods. He wanted them to live by His commands and to trust Him for their daily needs. But the people rebelled. They lashed out at God Himself. Grumbling and complaining. Complaining and grumbling.

God answered their rebellion with fiery serpents. Poisonous snakes bit the people and many of them died. God’s righteous judgment against their rebellion. God’s punishment for their lack of faith. But even through the judgment, even through the punishment, God was working. His desire was for the people to repent, for them to acknowledge their sin against Moses and more importantly to acknowledge their sin against God. As the people suffered, they also turned away from their sins. As the people felt the bite of the serpents, they cried out for salvation. And God provided a means for them to become well again. “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live’” (Numbers 21:9).

Think about God’s love and mercy as He provided a way for the people to be healed from the bite of the serpents. Think about Moses who continued to humbly serve the people who had cried out against him. Think about the people who knew they should die for their sins, but who also knew that if they looked to the pole, they would live. Think about the reminder of their sin as they looked to the snake on the pole. Think about God’s love and mercy as He provided a way for all people to be healed from the sting of death. Think about Jesus Christ who continued to humbly serve the people who cried out against Him. Think about us. We know that we should die for our sins, but we also know that if we look to the pole, we will live for eternity. “And 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” (John 3:14&15).

We have been set free from our slavery to sin. St. Paul described it with these words: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved-and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:1-7).

God has rescued us from certain death. He has saved us from the bite of our sins. As we look to the pole we see Jesus Christ who willingly died despite our grumbling and complaining. As we look to the pole we’re reminded that He gave His life as a payment for our rebellion. We still struggle as we wander through the wilderness of our lives, but God is at work. He provides for all our needs. We live at a time when our economy is crumbling around us, but we know that God will give us food and water. He will take care of our needs, both physical and spiritual. We live at a time when people do not want to acknowledge God’s justice and His mercy, but God continues to reach out. He places the pole of Jesus Christ where everyone can look and find healing.

Sadly some people refuse to look to the pole and live. I imagine that some of the Israelites died from the snake bites because they thought it was foolish to look to the pole and live. I would guess that some of the Israelites were simply too stubborn to look to the pole and live. I wonder what it was like for the ones who had looked to the pole and received healing. Here’s how I imagine the situation. Scripture doesn’t tell us what it was like, but maybe it was like this: A child had been bitten by a serpent and was about to die. He heard Moses shouting from a distance, “Look to the pole and live.” The child gazed up, already dazed and confused as the poison moved quickly through his body. He saw the pole and the serpent and he felt ashamed because he had been grumbling and complaining with his parents about the lack of food and water. As his eyes fixed on the pole, his vision cleared. The pain instantly left his body and he felt his strength return. He started to praise God and give thanks for his forgiveness. His life was returning and he felt good again.

And then he looked down at his mother and father and sister writhing in pain on the ground. They could hear Moses shouting, but they refused to look to the pole. The boy pleaded with his family to look to the pole. He told them that God had healed his body and forgiven his sins. He shared with them how wonderful it felt to be healed. He encouraged them to look to the pole and live. He knew that if they waited too long, if they died from the bite of the serpent, they would suffer for eternity. I firmly believe that that boy would never stop telling the truth. He would never stop pointing to the pole. He would continue until they looked to the pole, or until they died. May the LORD keep our eyes fixed on the pole of Christ Jesus. May He keep our fingers pointing others to the pole of Christ Jesus. May He keep our ears attentive to the cries of those suffering around us. May He keep our mouths telling others to look to the pole of Christ Jesus. Look to the pole and live!

ESV Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.