NEHUSHTAN
Most of you probably remember the story of the fiery serpents which came among the Israelites as they were wandering in the wilderness. They had been grumbling and complaining (as usual) and God sent the serpents to bite them. Many of the people died from the snakebites. That made the people think and they repented and asked Moses to beg God for help.
Now fast forward hundreds of years. The Israelites have lived in the land for a long time. The kingdom has been divided and Israel has gone into captivity because of their faithlessness and disobedience. Judah is still in the land but they have had their ups and downs.
Currently the king is Hezekiah. He was zealous for God and strove to bring the people back to faithfulness. The people had been worshipping many false gods for many years. Even since the time of Solomon. The land was filled with idols. Hezekiah destroyed them all.
This is the part I want you to notice: He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). 2 Kings 18:4 (ESV)
The bronze serpent that Moses had made at God's command so many years before had been kept and had become a snare. The people were worshipping the means God provided, instead of the God who saved them. Hezekiah destroyed it.
As I was thinking about this earlier today I thought of Jesus who was lifted up on the cross. Just like the bronze serpent, those who are bitten by the lies of Satan can look to the one on the cross and be saved. But unlike the bronze serpent, the one on that cross was God himself and we are to worship Him.
Scripture tells us that a lot of people died from those snake bites. I don't know if any died because they refused to look at the bronze serpent, but many die now because they refuse to look to the man who was God and who died on that cross.
No comments:
Post a Comment