Moses brass serpent

Apokalupto: John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Apokalupto: The cross in the OT.

I have written on this topic before but I think I had slipped it into a much larger context so today I just want to focus on the brass serpent alone that Moses raised up.

Israel is come out of Egypt and they are trekking around in the desert with Moses. It is here in the book of Numbers in 6 verses that we find the story of the brass serpent in the OT.

Numbers 21:4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

Numbers 21:5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

Numbers 21:6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

Numbers 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. (Note: by asking for the serpents to be taken away they are essentially asking to be forgiven. The serpents represent their sin. Take away my sin, this is how we come to Jesus)

Numbers 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Jesus explained that His death on the cross was as this serpent that Moses raised up.

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Break it down.

The main points are:

1. Israel sinned against God.
2. As a result God sends fiery serpents to kill them.
3. Israel asks for their punishment to be taken away.
4. God commands Moses to make a brass serpent on a pole.
5. All who merely look at the serpent on the pole was immediately healed.

So why would Jesus let a serpent represent His death on the cross?

The serpent on the pole represented israels sin, why? Because when Israel sinned, the direct result was God sent serpents to kill them AND as a way out of death from being bitten, a serpent was represented on a pole. The very object of their very punishment (The serpents) was raised up and became a symbol for healing! This is acknowledging your sin and its acknowledging that it is being sacrificed or taken up/away just like a burnt offering.

Let’s look at this mystery which is revealed through Christ.

2Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Jesus who was sinless became the object of our own punishment, taking our sin onto Himself He took also our punishment on our behalf.

Peter explains it this way.

1Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. Peter quotes Isaiah 53 a couple times while on the subject of the cross and salvation.

In other words, when we look to Christ for salvation we believe that He has taken our sin in His body and raised it up on the cross and sacrificed it on our behalf which to them that believe is eternal life, the ultimate healing, just as the brass serpent represented Israels own sin which was raised up on a pole, all they had to do was look at the serpent and be healed. Look to Jesus and live.

By doing this Jesus is our “asham offering” found in the law and curiously in Isaiah 53:10

In verse 10 he was our offering for sin, those words “offering for sin” is the Hebrew word “asham.”

Asham (guilt), meaning you were guilty, you had sinned, and you brought your guilt as an offering in the in the law in the form of ram without blemish to be sacrificed for forgiveness.

In essence asham represented your own sin, when you brought your asham offering, you were bringing your sin to be sacrificed which was raised up on an alter. Moses did the same thing by raising up the brass serpent, this is why Jesus made them aware of this because He was going to take our sin onto Himself, raise it, and sacrifice it on on the cross on our behalf as though He were the guilty one, not us.

But Jesus forgives all sins. He is the ram offering, the lamb without blemish, the pigeons, the bread, the Passover lamb, He embodies them all. Jesus is salvation!

Apokalupto: .