Theology Thursday
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
John 3:14-15
We are doing a series on Biblical Theology. Tracing Biblical themes as they are revealed throughout the Bible and reach their ultimate expression in the person, work and effects of Jesus.
By Numbers 21 (in the Bible), Israel had been wandering the desert for nearly forty years. God had rescued them from slavery in Egypt. He had provided food, water and meat in the desert. He had guided them night and day. He had given them His good law to live by. He had promised them a land beyond that would be theirs - flowing with good things.
But Israel grumbled. In fact they had been grumbling for a long time.
God is long suffering and patient. But He isn’t a punching bag. He is a God of compassion but also of justice. And Israel had a habit of pushing it too far. Of breaking the boundaries so badly that it demanded a response.
So it was in Numbers 21. They grumbled again against God. And this time it demanded a response. God judges them for their sin in a form that points back to the very beginning of creation. He sends serpents among them whose poison leads to death. Many are bitten and die.
But God’s justice does not end His compassion. In His grace and in response to the prayer of Moses, He offers a cure to the poisonous serpents. He tells Moses to make a bronze snake and to put it up on a pole so that all who see this symbol might be saved from death. This Moses does and many Israelites are saved from death.
Why is a bronze snake lifted up on a pole? Seems a bit random doesn’t it? Why does God save people this way?
Well - Jesus tells us in John 3. Numbers 21 points forward to what will occur with God’s ultimate Saviour. Jesus will be placed on a pole and become a symbol that whoever looks to Him in faith can be saved from sin, death and God’s judgement. In this way the crucifixion was foreshadowed thousands of years before its ultimate fulfilment.
Keep looking to Jesus on the cross today and you need not fear sin or serpent, death or destruction.
For Today:
Pray: Praise the Father than He is merciful and compassionate to sinners. Give thanks for Jesus who was nailed to the cross for our sins. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others look to Jesus for salvation.
John 3:14-15
We are doing a series on Biblical Theology. Tracing Biblical themes as they are revealed throughout the Bible and reach their ultimate expression in the person, work and effects of Jesus.
By Numbers 21 (in the Bible), Israel had been wandering the desert for nearly forty years. God had rescued them from slavery in Egypt. He had provided food, water and meat in the desert. He had guided them night and day. He had given them His good law to live by. He had promised them a land beyond that would be theirs - flowing with good things.
But Israel grumbled. In fact they had been grumbling for a long time.
God is long suffering and patient. But He isn’t a punching bag. He is a God of compassion but also of justice. And Israel had a habit of pushing it too far. Of breaking the boundaries so badly that it demanded a response.
So it was in Numbers 21. They grumbled again against God. And this time it demanded a response. God judges them for their sin in a form that points back to the very beginning of creation. He sends serpents among them whose poison leads to death. Many are bitten and die.
But God’s justice does not end His compassion. In His grace and in response to the prayer of Moses, He offers a cure to the poisonous serpents. He tells Moses to make a bronze snake and to put it up on a pole so that all who see this symbol might be saved from death. This Moses does and many Israelites are saved from death.
Why is a bronze snake lifted up on a pole? Seems a bit random doesn’t it? Why does God save people this way?
Well - Jesus tells us in John 3. Numbers 21 points forward to what will occur with God’s ultimate Saviour. Jesus will be placed on a pole and become a symbol that whoever looks to Him in faith can be saved from sin, death and God’s judgement. In this way the crucifixion was foreshadowed thousands of years before its ultimate fulfilment.
Keep looking to Jesus on the cross today and you need not fear sin or serpent, death or destruction.
For Today:
- Have you ever read Numbers before?
- Can you think of anywhere else in the Old Testament that points to Jesus’ crucifixion?
- Pray for someone/s to look to Jesus for salvation.
Pray: Praise the Father than He is merciful and compassionate to sinners. Give thanks for Jesus who was nailed to the cross for our sins. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others look to Jesus for salvation.
Posted in Theology Thursday
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