https://esv.literalword.com/?q=numbers+21
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Monday, 7 April 2025:
Listen to this message by Bob Davis on Numbers 21 — https://www.blueletterbible.org/audio_video/popPlayer.cfm?id=10415&rel=davis_bob/Num
Numbers 21:2 – And Israel vowed a vow to the LORD and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.”
God is the only one who can defeat your enemies.
God’s people vowed not to profit in any way from God’s victory.
Numbers 21:4-5 – From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people 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 we loathe this worthless food.”
Constant unbelief and complaining angers God.
The Israelites honored the Lord during obviously successful times but spoke against God in their discouragement when things weren’t going their way. The Israelites were discouraged in part because to go around Edom (who refused their passage in Numbers 20:14-21), they had to go far out of their way, actually turning back towards the wilderness and away from the Promised Land. This felt like massive failure. Though they had a reason to be discouraged, they had no excuse for their discouragement. Though things weren’t going the way they had hoped, they had no excuse for not trusting in God, and for not looking for His perfect provision through it all. Again, sin starts with a mischaracterization of God Himself, assuming that God is either not Sovereign, or not perfectly loving, or both. Faith not only trusts God with and through all circumstances but actually thanks God for all circumstances, knowing though we don’t understand what is going on, we know who is allowing it to happen and that He has promised to work all things out for good while conforming us to His character as we increasingly become united with Him into eternity.
Numbers 21:7 – And 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 take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
God wants leaders who pray for a troubled people.
Numbers 21:8-9 – And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
In these verses, we encounter a striking and unusual moment in Israel’s journey. Once again, the people rebel against God, and as a consequence, He sends venomous snakes—“fiery serpents”—among them. Many are bitten, and many die. It’s a sobering picture of judgment.
But then God, in His mercy, provides an unexpected means of healing. He instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. Anyone who looks at it after being bitten will live.
Now, imagine being one of the Israelites. You’ve just been bitten by a venomous snake, your body burning with pain, death approaching—and the solution is to look at the image of the very thing that’s killing you? It seems counterintuitive. And yet, that’s exactly where healing is found.
The image of judgment becomes the instrument of grace.
This sets the stage for one of the most profound moments in the New Testament. In John 3:14–15, Jesus says, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Jesus directly links Himself to this scene in Numbers. Just as the Israelites were saved by looking in faith at the bronze serpent, we are saved by looking in faith to Jesus—lifted up not on a pole, but on a cross.
And again, we are called to look at a symbol of death to find life. The cross, a Roman execution device, becomes the very place where God offers eternal healing and hope. It’s not through our strength, wisdom, or religious performance, but by fixing our eyes on the crucified Savior that we are rescued.
This is the Gospel in the wilderness—life through looking to the one who was lifted up. Not just a historical reference, but a present invitation.
All of Scripture, as Jesus explained in Luke 24, points to Him. From the wilderness wanderings to Calvary’s hill, the story is consistent: God provides a way for sinners to be saved—and that way is Jesus.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 7 April 2025: Today, just as the Israelites had to look at the bronze serpent to live, fix your eyes on Christ—especially on His cross and what He accomplished for us. Just as the Israelites had to look at the bronze serpent to live, we are called to fix our eyes on Christ—especially on His cross and what He accomplished for us.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 