Fiery Serpents!

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

In Numbers 21 Israel sins against the LORD and fiery serpents were released among them. These fiery serpents inflicted pain, suffering, and death. Notice that once the serpents were released, they were released on all. It does not say that the serpents only bit those who were actively sinning. The serpents were released because Israel sinned, but the biting was not directed just at those who were in sin. This is an illustration of the fall.

In Genesis 3 the serpent comes to the woman and deceives her. Eve eats the fruit and gives some to Adam. Adam then sins against the LORD and death is released upon the earth. In Romans 5:12-14 it says, “As by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men… Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression…”

So we see that because of Adam’s sin, death was released upon the earth, and had dominion over the sons of men. In similar fashion, Israel’s sin released fiery serpents, which had dominion over them. Dominion, in that, they could not prevent the serpents from killing them.

Notice God’s solution to this problem. God did not remove the serpents from Israel’s camp. He commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up in the mist of them. He did this with the intent, that whenever a person was bitten, they could look at the bronze serpent and not die. Death was still in the midst of them, but it had no power over them.

Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Jesus came as the atonement for our sin. Not just as covering for sin, but to release us from the power of the effects of sin (a.k.a. death). When death comes knocking at our door we have a solution. Jesus!

Death is not just passing from this physical realm, it is decaying, both spiritual and physical decay. Sickness and disease are forms of physical decay. A cold is not meant to make us sick, it is meant to kill us. The only reason we do not automatically die from a cold is because God has given us an immune system, but if we did not have that, the cold would kill us.

Death is not a respecter of persons either; meaning, we don’t have to be actively in sin for it to bite us. James 5:14-15 says, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and IF he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

James says if he has committed sins, not when! He is saying that sickness is a result of the fall. God has supplied an answer for our need, healing through His Son Jesus! Oh death, where is your sting? Oh grave, where is you victory?… thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (From 1Cor. 15:55-57).

Be blessed brothers and sisters! We have the victory over sickness and death through our Lord Jesus Christ!