Lent 4: Old Testament, Numbers 21:4-9        

Numbers 21:4-9

“But you promised.” I wonder how often those words have been spoken in human history. They are spoken with disappointment and sometimes even in anger when a promise made is not kept. Think of children waiting on the promise from a much-loved parent, who because of any number of factors, has had to waylay the fulfillment of a promise given. It happens. And oh there is a sting to the one waiting.

Now there is not an intended pun here, but our account does include a very definite sting. In Numbers 21 Moses records the ongoing complaints of the Israelites as they journey toward a different kind of promise. And God, as a good parent is allowing and even leading His children through challenge and difficulty to “train them up in the way they should go.” It's a good strategy.

Complaints about lack of food and water lead our Lord to allow and even “send” fiery serpents to bite and sting the people in their complaining. What’s the lesson? Simple. Stop complaining and trust. God hasn’t forgotten His wanderers to this point and has no plans to. But like us, their trust quotient rises and falls so often with our comfort levels rather than finding stability in God’s capabilities. So God sends serpents. It is serious. Many are bitten and many fall never to rise again. God’s discipline (judgment) can be a very ugly thing.

But all the while there is a plan in place. And when God’s people repent and ask Moses to call out to God on their behalf, God shows his faithful care in providing escape. Notice the plan was already in place, and Moses was “let in on it,” much as we are along the way of learning about Jesus. Lots of discussion through history about the serpent on the pole and how it relates (or doesn’t) to Jesus. But enough here to say that God says look to the one raised on a pole. Look to the remedy I have provided and promised and find your deliverance. “And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live” (Numbers 21:9).

The parallels to and contrasts with Jesus are fascinating. Trust in the remedy, but learn also that there is no time when God is not near His people. In times of obedience or rebellion, God is near. To discipline, to hear, to act and ultimately to deliver. Listen. Trust. Look and live.