Broadcast
Lifting Up the Serpent - Part 2
Numbers 21:6
05/07/2024
6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the
people, and they bit the people, so that many
people of Israel died. (ESV)
The children of Israel were tired of their nomadic life in
the wilderness. When their travels took them once again away
from the land once promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they
began to grumble and complain about God and Moses. ``Then the
LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the
people, so that many people of Israel died.''
How does God call us to account for our sins? In this case,
the children of Israel saw a direct link between their discontent
and the venomous snakes. More often, however, the call to
repentance is not as readily apparent. Yes, when tragedy
strikes, we are swift to call upon the name of the Lord, to
implore the help and mercy of the almighty God. But even in
normal times, the law accuses us of sin.
Throughout the Bible we learn that we are to love the Lord
our God above all things, and our neighbors as ourselves. This
was written by Moses, and spoken again by Jesus, Himself. Yet we
turn our back on God, and we ignore the needs of our neighbors as
we focus on our own selfish desires.
That wake up call to repent may come in the form of a
personal tragedy, or through the proclamation of God's Word. No
matter, we confess that we deserve God's temporal and eternal
punishment, for we have sinned against God and neighbor by our
thoughts, words, and deeds. Jesus, in talking with Nicodemus as
recorded in the third chapter of John's Gospel, compares the
salvation of the world to the forgiveness offered to the children
of Israel as they endured the serpents. May our hearts ever be
turned to the love of God, that we repent of our sin and receive
the gift of forgiveness. Amen.