Feb 5 (Num 21-22)

Numbers 21

This is a fascinating chapter, and one I take some time explaining to my kids.

The Jews are murmuring and complaining again, and God has serpents (snakes) enter the camp and kill many people from their poisonous bites. They realize their sin, and they ask Moses to ask God to stop the serpents.

I wish I could have seen Moses' face when God told him to erect a pole, and put a snake on it. If we don't know our Old Testament and the culture of Israel, we will miss the significance of this event.

Brass/Bronze ~ this metal was symbolic for judgment. It was the only metal of that time that could withstand fire and extreme heat.

Serpent/Snake ~ It was the serpent who tricked Adam and Eve, and it was always connected to sin and the devil.

So why did God have Moses erect a bronze pole with a snake on it, and if a Jew was bitten by one of the poisonous snakes, where they to just look up at the snake on the pole in order to be saved?

Up until this point, and for the rest of the Old Testament, there is no explanation for this event. But Jesus tells us the reason for God's work here in the Wilderness:

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." ~ John 3:14

I love to see my kids' faces light up when they see the typology here, mirroring what Jesus did for us on the cross!

The snake on the pole typifies the judgment of sin, and those who believed it would heal them were healed. Jesus was lifted up on a pole to take on ALL OUR SINS and those who look up to Him and believe in Him are saved as well.

Numbers 22

My kids laugh when I act out this event with Baalam and his donkey. They picture the donkey in Shrek talking to Baalam, and he talks back to the donkey!!!

I make sure to point out that the "Angel of the Lord" is really Jesus in another theophany, and that we see God working in this whole drama.

As we'll see in the next chapter, Baalam goes from righteousness for refusing to curse Israel (see Genesis 12) to letting his desire for money and fame to show the pagans how to bring the Jews down by having God remove His protective Hand from them.