It comes from Numbers chapter 21 verses 4 through 9. I'd ask again that you rise as God's word is read in our hearing. Rise in honor of the God who speaks. Numbers 21 verses 4 through 9. Hear now the word of God which never changes and never fails. Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea. to go around the land of Edom. And the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses. Why have you brought us up out of Edom to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread. So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and many of the people of Israel died. Therefore, the people came to Moses and said, we have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that he may take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole. And it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. And so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. As we consider this message and this reading of God's word, let us Beloved brethren, as we have noted on several occasions, no doubt the most famous verse of our time and in our land is John 3.16. It is seen on billboards, it is seen on bumper stickers, on t-shirts, on eye black sometimes that football players wear. It is seen everywhere and is often referenced and recognized as a verse of the Bible. men understand exactly the content of that verse or not, they certainly recognize the citation as something from the Bible as a Christian verse. But that verse, as important as it is and as wonderful as it is, is prefaced by two verses that refer to our passage in Numbers 21. This is how John 3 verses 14 through 16 read. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I wonder how many people who are even familiar with the content of John 3.16 recognize the context of the bronze serpent, that this is the example that precedes this most famous of all verses. Why is it that the bronze serpent in Numbers 21 is not more famous than it is? And it ought to be. It ought to be a well-known passage because in its own right, it is very intriguing and interesting. It is something to puzzle over, to study, to consider how is it that a serpent in any way represents Christ? How is it that a serpent and the image of a serpent is what heals of a serpent's bite? And how is it that the serpent represents Christ? And in fact, more than that, throughout this passage, we are told from 1 Corinthians 10, 9, that the people were despising Christ. They were tempting Christ. Not just God, but Christ in particular they're tempting. And so we find that Christ is throughout this passage, and Christ is the subject of this passage. So then we should ask ourselves again, why is this passage as interesting and astonishing and wonderful and as often as it is cited in the New Testament and as full of Christ as it is, why is this passage not more famous, more prominent, more known? Well, it is certainly a passage for us to know well and to relish and delight in. In fact, we should remember the context in which we find this passage as well, which makes it even more important and more interesting. Remember that the first generation is dying out, and the second generation is finally going to the Promised Land. And previously, in this same chapter, we recognize their first victory, their initial victory, as they drew near to the Promised Land over the Canaanites. At first they were beaten and slaves were taken from their midst, their own brethren were taken to be slaves, but they made a vow to the Lord, they went forth, they utterly destroyed the Canaanites. And it was God's victory, it was a high, it was a joy. And then suddenly we find that there's a detour, and they're discouraged, and they complain, and they're bitten by serpents, and they're healed by God. So they fall back into the activity, into the complaining of their forefathers, and how ironic it is, as we will see in a minute. So in that context, in this importance or prominence of the passage in our minds, let us consider these verses under two headings. The first is Israel's shameful complaint, verses four through six. And the second is God's astonishing solution, verses seven through nine. First then, their shameful complaint. Remember that they could not go through Edom. The Edomites came out in force against them and refused them passage, even though it was a reasonable request, and they would not destroy anything or take anything without paying for it. Nonetheless, their brethren, the Edomites, strongly refused their request and persecuted them and would have come out with great violence against them if they tried to enter. And so they must take a detour around the land of Edom in order to get to a proper staging area to enter the promised land. Well, this was discouraging. It was a setback. And how did they respond to this setback? We're told that as they went around the land of Edom, as they went to this detour and took this setback, they became discouraged in their soul on the way. The word discouraged is an interesting word in the Hebrew. It literally means to be shortened. In other words, they were the opposite of long-suffering. The opposite of patience, they were short-tempered about this setback. They had no patience with what God was doing or His timing, which is very ironic. Think about this second generation. They grew up seeing their forefathers dying in the wilderness, and they were to remember why they were dying, why they're not allowed to enter the Promised Land. And it was because they too had a problem with God's timing. Do you remember how God said to the Israelites, enter into the promised land and take it? And they said, no. He said, okay, well, then you'll wander 40 years in the desert and you'll die off. They said, no, we'll go in now. And so at both points, they refused God's timing. They refused to go when he said go. And when he said, don't go, they decided to go. It's exactly the timing of God that they rebelled against. And here is the same thing with the next generation, with the second generation. They're short-tempered with God. They're impatient with God. They say, this is too long. This detour, this setback is too much. And they began to complain against God, just as their forefathers did. Here is their complaint. They spoke against God and against Moses. Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread." So there is food, actually, isn't there? Well, yes, but it's this worthless bread we despise, this manna described as food from heaven and food for angels, this manna which is described as sweet in taste, like a pastry, a honey pastry. Yes, we have that. And yes, we do have water that comes from the rock, but we loathe these things. They are old. They are boring. They are something we've become accustomed to, and we despise as nothing that is worthless. It is loathsome. We hate it. We despise it. We would be better off in Egypt. But that's exactly what their forefathers said, isn't it? Over and over again. Why have you brought us out of Egypt so that we die in the wilderness? Why have you brought us out of that wonderful paradise of Egypt? That's the same complaint, the same tired complaint that makes no sense. Why have you brought us out of the house of bondage where we are put to harsh labor and our sons were thrown into the river to die? That's the reality of their complaint. That's actually what they're saying. Why have you made us free to worship you, free to follow you, free to recognize you will bring us to paradise? Why have you done that? It would have been better if we died in the house of bondage. It's so foolish, and they're acting just as their fathers acted, and complaining in the same way as their fathers complained. But sometimes we do the same, don't we? When we look at Israel, we see often our own sinful remnant in ways that are very convicting. How often have we said the same complaints to God? How often have we taken setbacks not with patience and long suffering, not with good grace? especially when we go from a high point to a low point. As we said this morning, when we go to a high point where we have victory, we have God's grace, great things are happening, and then immediately to a low point, a detour, a dilemma, a problem, a setback, how easy it is to become discouraged and complain against God and against His ways. But we have no right to do so and no reason really to do so at all. This is how one commentator put it, Dr. Bush says this, trying as their situation was, their encouragements far exceeded their discouragements. And so it will ever be found for the faithful that in every condition of providence, they have more cause for thankfulness than for complaint, and that their mercies vastly surpass their judgment. Isn't that true? When you think about what you have as opposed to the trials and difficulties and things that you endure, how far exceeding they are. Yes, we have these problems, these pains, these difficulties, but aren't they temporary? And when we're in glory for a thousand years, will these things seem important? No, they'll be like a light and easy matter compared to the weight of glory we have. What about the struggles we have with sin? Yes, but our sins are forgiven and we're bound for heaven and perfection. What about the pains in our body? Yes, but you're going to be raised in a spiritual body and so forth and so on. No, the difficulties we face and the trials and setbacks we experience, they are nothing compared to things we should be thankful for. Remember how Paul puts it in Philippians 4, 6, when he says, make a request known to God with thankfulness, with thanksgiving. Yes, you have requests, you have things you need, things you desire. Make those known, but don't forget thankfulness and thanksgiving in the midst of need. Don't forget to think about the things God has given us. Israel is focusing entirely upon this one factor, this one thing, this one setback. And so they complain bitterly against God and against Moses, just as their fathers did. And now, notice what happens next. The Lord is angry with them, and so he sends these serpents amongst them. They bite them with their venomous, their fiery venomous bites, and they die. Now you might say to yourself, well, that seems rather extreme. But it's not extreme. Whenever we see something in the Bible that God does, and we think that is too much, that is extreme, or that is no reaction, the fault is not in God, the fault is in us for not seeing it properly. The question is not, why is he acting so extremely? The question is, why is this rightly the appropriate response to this complaint? And we could say a number of things, but the most important thing we can say is this, that when they despise the manna, they were despising Christ directly and clearly. In 1 Corinthians 10, 9, remember, we're told that they tempted Christ. They were tempting Christ. essentially challenging Christ and saying, you're worthless, you're despised, what good are you? They were tempting him to wrath, they were tempting him. And here, that's exactly what they do when they despise a manna, because as Christ says in John 6, he is the manna. John 6 verse 30, therefore they said to him, what sign will you perform then that we may see it and believe you? What work will you do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert, as it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said to them, most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Then they said to him, Lord, give us this bread always. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. The bread, the manna from heaven is Christ. When they despise a bread as worthless, when they despise a bread as loathsome, They're saying that of Christ, of the figure, of the sign, of the image of Christ, of the life-giving, sweet-tasting, life-sustaining and nourishing Christ that is miraculously provided for them. That is what they are doing. And so, when God responds with His anger, that is exactly why. He is responding with an anger that is suitable to the despising of his Son. Now think about this as well in our own day, in our own situation. It is easy for us too to grow weary and despise the means of grace that point to Christ. Think, for example, of the bread of the Lord's Supper. This is often an argument for not partaking of the Lord's Supper on a weekly basis as well. It would be easy to despise it, to count it as a common thing and worthless, and even, why do we have to do this? Why do we have to do this again? And the time is coming short and we want to be gone. but the bread represents Christ and his life and his nourishment that he gives to us. And if we despise it, if we treat it as worthless, as commonplace, as something that is even loathsome, let's get out of here, it's time to leave, then we are angering God because we are despising his son and the picture and image and symbol of his son. We ought not to do that. We shouldn't then say, well, let's not do it as often. That wasn't the way that the Israelites dealt with it, was it? That wasn't the way that God said to the Israelites, well, then I'll give you it only once in a while. No, he said, rather, I'll give you chastisement, serious, sober, stark chastisement to teach you not to despise Christ. And he does the same with the supper, doesn't he? He says that many of you are sick and many have fallen asleep because you've partaken of the supper in an unworthy manner. That is what he does with regard to the supper. That is what he does with regard to the manna that is despised as well. So he sends these fiery serpents rightly, justly, as a recompense, as a judgment, as a chastisement, as a curse against his people for despising Christ by despising the manna. And many of them die. Now, it's appropriate that he speaks of this as fiery. When you have venom coursing through your veins, it is fiery. It is like you're on fire and burning. And that is very much an appropriate image for the curse and for sin, isn't it? Often, fieriness is related to sin. Sin is a fire. As James puts it, the tongue is a fire that sets things on flame, hell is a fire, and so forth. Now you children, have you ever been burned with fire? That is what it is to play with sin, to be burned with fire, to be burned and in pain because you have touched this thing that is not to be touched, that is dangerous. And that is what the Israelites have done. They have played with fire and they are now getting burned by God's chastisement and by God's fiery judgment against them. But what then does this mean? How then do they respond and how does God respond? That brings us to our second point, God's astonishing solution in verses seven through nine. Here's how the people respond, first of all in verse seven. Therefore the people came to Moses and said, we have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that he may take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people. This is a wonderful response, a great change to the previous generation. They come immediately in repentance and confess their sins. They recognize what they've done. We've sinned against God, we've spoken against God, and we've spoken against you, Moses. We recognize we have sinned. Now please go and pray for us that we might be saved from these serpents. And that's the effect of chastisement. That's why God chastens, in order to bring us to humble repentance. No, it doesn't always affect that in us. We sometimes harden our hearts. We're like the stubborn child who's disciplined by her father, her mother, and resists that, and becomes bitter against that, and says, well, I may have been disciplined, but I'm still angry, and that's not right. And instead of being softened by that discipline, instead of being humbled, they're resistant and rebellious. Well, Israel's not like that. As soon as God chastens them, they are humbled and they recognize their need to turn to God in repentance. And that's exactly how they ought to respond. And when they respond in this way, they turn to Moses for help. Moses, whom they'd just spoken against, Moses to be their mediator. Matthew Henry puts it this way. They beg the prayers of Moses for them as conscious to themselves of their own unworthiness to be heard and convinced of the great interest which Moses had in heaven. How soon is their tone altered. Those who had just before quarreled with him as their worst enemy now make their court to him as their best friend and choose him for their advocate with God. Afflictions often change men's sentiments concerning God's people. and teach them to value those prayers, which at a former period they had scorned. Moses, to show that he had hardly forgiven them, blesses those who had cursed him, and prays for those who had despitefully used him. Herein, he was a type of Christ, who interceded for his persecutors, and a pattern to us to go and do likewise, and thus to show that we love our enemies. Moses, you see, intercedes because he's a type of Christ. He points to Christ, the intercessor. Even as Christ hung on the cross, he looked upon those who were killing him and said, Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do. And so Moses, when the people of Israel come to him and say, we have sinned, and ask him to pray and to intercede for them, he does so gladly, as the intercessor and mediator God has appointed, pointing us to Christ. And this then is a solution that God provides for them. The Lord said to Moses, verse eight, make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and it shall be that everyone who is bitten when looks at it shall live. Now, this is quite an interesting solution, isn't it? Make the very thing that is biting into an image, and this will heal those who are bitten. Now, notice what God does not do. First of all, he does not take away the serpents, does he? He does not say, yes, I will banish the serpents, they'll be gone. He says, no, people will still be bitten, and when they are bitten, they can look at the serpent and live. In other words, he's saying, I'm not going to save you out of the trial right now. I'm going to save you in the trial. As you are experiencing this affliction, this chastisement, I will give you the comfort and strength to heal you. And that is often what he does with us as well. He gives us a trial, doesn't take us out of it, doesn't take it away from us. But in the midst of it, he helps us and sustains us and heals us. That's often how he works. And so when we come to a trial, at times we may be asking God to take it away from us. And he says, no, but I'll help you in it. And that is something that strengthens a relationship, isn't it? Sometimes young people have these romances. They believe they're in love and everything is going great and they go and have fun together and so forth. But the very first time that something difficult comes up, it all comes crashing down. That's not a real relationship. That's a fake relationship. That's a facade of a romance. True relationships endure through trials and through difficulties. And through those trials and difficulties, they become deeper and greater. When they are faced together, when they are weathered together, then those relationships are deeper and better than ever before. And that is what God is saying to his people. He's saying, I will be there for you in this trial. We will weather it together, as it were, and then you will learn to trust me more and look to me more as a God who saves you. I won't take you out of it, but I'll help you in it. The other thing, of course, that is quite unusual about this is that a fiery serpent is the cure, but that's the problem. The serpents are biting them and killing them, and so he makes that very serpent into an image, and when they look at the serpent that's biting them, they'll be cured. Well, how could that possibly be? What does that mean? And throughout the Bible, often, sin and Satan is likened to serpents. When Eve was tempted, it was through a serpent that Satan acted. He's called that great serpent of old. The Pharisees are called the brood of vipers, and sin is often viewed as venomous. The poison of asps is under their lips, under their tongues, we are told in Romans 3, for example. Throughout the Bible, it would appear that this is an image of sin and of Satan in particular, and of those who are with him. So how then can this suddenly become their salvation? Remember that these fiery serpents don't represent sin or Satan. They represent here the curse of God against sin and against sinners. They represent that which kills and puts to death sinners, and that's God. God is the one who strikes sinners down. God is the one who curses sinners. God is the one who condemns sinners. And so this serpent and this fiery venomous bite represents God's curse against sin. And what could it be then when the curse against sin is raised up and people look at the cursed one and are saved? It is exactly as Galatians 3.13 puts it, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. As John 3, 14 puts it again, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Christ is the picture there, Christ as the one who is cursed, who became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. When Christ was raised up on the cross, he was bearing the full curse of the law against sin. He was bearing the fiery judgment and wrath of God. He was bearing the curse for us. He became, as Galatians says, he became the curse for us. We above all people as Christians have recognized when an image that is deadly and despised and horrific becomes the image of salvation. We above all people should understand this because we look at the cross as that which saves. But the cross is a place of death. The cross is where a criminal was put to death, where those who were despised and those who were hated were put to death in a brutal fashion. No wonder the world looks at us and thinks we're crazy for having the cross as a sign of salvation. It would be like having the guillotine. It would be like having the hangman's noose or the axe of the beheader and saying, this is our sign and our salvation. But that's exactly the point because we need a substitute to become the curse for us. And so these fiery serpents, the curse of God, That curse is then taken and it is Christ who becomes a curse for us. And when we look to Christ who is raised up on the cross, who is crucified in our place, who is cursed in our place, there's our salvation. And that is exactly what the people of God were to understand here in looking upon this bronze serpent as well. They're to look upon him in faith, trusting that this was the solution. Now think of this. It would take faith, wouldn't it? Imagine you were bit by this fiery serpent and you're dying. And then you're told to look at the image of that same fiery serpent and you'll be saved? Why should I do that? That is foolish. So many people say that about Christ, don't they? Look to one who is killed on a cross and be saved? That is foolish. But it is a power of God into salvation to those who believe. It is a power of God when we look with faith to the cursed Savior has died for us. And that is the point. Look by faith to the cross and be saved. Now, what is interesting and sad about this is later on we find this same bronze serpent coming up in the Scriptures. In the Book of Kings, 2 Kings 18, 4, they call this bronze serpent Nehushtan, and they worshipped it. They made it an idol. And isn't that ironic? In our passes, they're despising the image of Christ, they're despising the symbol of Christ, Samana, and then they take another symbol of Christ and they idolize it. These are the two extremes, of course. Despise the signs that Christ gives or idolize them. And again, that reminds us of how we should treat things like the Lord's Supper, which are signs of Christ and of his grace. We can despise them on the one hand, or we can idolize them on the other hand, neither of which are correct. We do not despise the bread and say, oh, this is weary, let's get out of here. And we do not idolize it and say, let's bow to it, or let's honor this bread as the image of Christ and worship it. And in fact, we can worship it. We don't need Christ, we have it. Those are both extremes of sin to be avoided. Rather, we take it as what it's meant to be, that which helps us to Christ, that which ministers Christ to us when we look to it by faith. And that's what these men were doing when they were bitten. They were looking at this serpent, trusting that through the serpent's image, through what was represented there, Christ who was raised up, through that, they'd be saved. And so too, we say, through this bread, Christ will minister to us salvation. And so it is that we look to these means as they ought to be looked to, as ways to draw near to Christ and for Christ to be ministered to us, but not as if they are Christ himself or to be despised as nothing to do with Christ. That is how we look at the means that God has provided. Let me end with this one lengthy quote from Dr. Bush again as he speaks about the experience that an Israelite would have after being bitten. He says this, an Israelite has been bitten. A darting pain shoots through his system, and a deadly sickness and faintness comes upon him, soon to be succeeded by a burning heat which seems to consume his very vitals. His whirling brain is wracked with ineffable torture, and as the poison approaches nearer and yet nearer to the fountain of life, he looks wildly around for aid that none can render. is just ready to yield to hopeless despair, when the voice of mercy is heard. Look and live. The eye of the poor sufferer, already glazed in death, is feebly turned to the blessed object. And how rich is the reward! One glimpse is life, The fever subsides. The inflammation leaves the blood. The convulsions cease. The action of the pulse returns. The pain dies away. The whole frame is conscious of renewal. It is the work of a few moments only. The cure is perfected. The sufferer is well. And that is how we, as sinners under the pain and mystery of sin, When we look to Christ, that is the relief and the joy and the peace that we find as well. Yes, sin is a fiery, dangerous, destroying element. And when we are in sin, and when our nature is full of sin, when we are apart from God, we are dying and hopeless and in despair. But if we but look to Christ by faith, then we are cured and made new and our hearts are changed and we are absolutely cured. We will not die apart from Christ in the misery and agony of the condemnation of God. We will pass away as if we go to sleep and go to be with Jesus. Yes, here is the image of Christ and Him crucified. Let's pray. Our fathers, we come to you. How grateful we are that you so loved us, that you would send Christ to become a serpent on our behalf, to become a cursed, despised sufferer who died for us under your fiery indignation and wrath. What do we do to deserve this? And we know the answer is nothing. We do not deserve this profound love. We do not deserve this love that can never end and last forever. We do not deserve this love that saves us from our sin-condemned condition. We do not deserve it in the least. It is all of grace, even the look into you in faith. That too is a gift of God. And so we come to you, Lord, thankful for your grace and pray that we would ever and always look upon Christ and him crucified as the author and finisher of our faith. Bless us, Lord, to look to him and to live. We ask in Christ's name. Amen.