He Is the Cure

Verse of the day: Numbers 21:8-9 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.” 9 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.

Jesus, in speaking to Nicodemus, and trying to help him understand what it means to be born again, compared what He would ultimately do, to what happened here in Numbers. John 3:14-15 tells us, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” The events that took place in the wilderness are a clear picture of the battle that existed from the moment sin and death entered into the perfect world God had created. The devil, that old serpent, beguiled Eve, and because Adam was disobedient in not stopping her from eating the forbidden fruit, all of creation from that point forward has felt the burning sting of that old serpent’s bite. In the wilderness, God gave Moses the cure for what would stop the poison of the fiery serpent’s bite. The cure would be one that involved faith, and complete trust and reliance on God. There was nothing they could do, humanly speaking, to avoid the results of the serpents’ deadly poison. So it is today, that the only cure for the sting of sin and death is faith. I noted something interesting in this account. The Israelites wandered the wilderness surrounded by these fiery serpents and scorpions (Deuteronomy 8:15), and after the LORD provided them with a cure for their deadly bites, He did not take them immediately out of the wilderness. Instead, they continued to walk in the wilderness among these creatures, without ever being bothered by them again while they continue their journey to the Promise Land. Note that the cure entailed making a fiery serpent of bronze and putting it on a pole for all to look upon and trust that this would be enough to cure them. The serpent that was on that pole was a picture of judgement, as bronze in Scripture is used in that manner. However, it did not contain the poison of the fiery serpent that bit the Israelites. This was a picture of our Savior who came in the likeness of man (Philippians 2:7), not born of the seed of man, but the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15). He was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18), and therefore not being stained by a sin nature, He is the only One who could redeem us. Just as death came to the Israelites by the first serpents, the cure came by the second serpent that did not contain the deadly poison. Romans 5:18-19 tells us, “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” The cure for sin and death is only found in the One, Jesus Christ, who was lifted up on the cross, and gave His life, that in Him we would have life eternal. How do we make this applicable to us today? Let us first reflect on the fact that God sent them a cure, but did not remove them from the wilderness where the fiery serpents still made their home. We are saved from eternal condemnation, if we are in Christ (Romans 8:1), but we are still in a world where devils still dwell. Jesus prayed in John 17:15 & 20, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word”. He prayed for His disciples, and for us, that we would all be protected from the evil one, Satan. When we accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, God did not translate us out of the world. Instead, we were left here to continue the work of the Gospel (Mark 16:15) amongst people who will reject us, persecute us, and seek to harm us because of who we are in Christ. We will be involved in spiritual battles with Satan and his demons, and have to resist our own fleshly desires. Nonetheless, God has not left us without a defense. He has given us spiritual armor to put on (Ephesians 6). We are to put on Christ and make no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:11-17). As we walk through this wilderness, He will guide us, keep us, and give us victories when we put Him before us, as He takes us home. We must allow Jesus to exalt Himself in our lives, so that others may have the same opportunity to receive the cure for sin and death that only He can freely provide. As John the Baptist said in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).