Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged 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 our soul loathes this worthless bread.” (vv.4-5)
Here we see that the children of Israel had to go far out of their way because the Edomites refused them passage (Numbers 20:14-21). In fact, to go around the Edomites, they had to turn back towards the wilderness and away from Canaan. This was obviously discouraging. Sadly we also see here that the new generation sounded a lot like the old. If they continued in the steps of their fathers, this new generation would be no more able to enter the Promised Land than the previous generation was.
So, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people (v.6). How were the serpents fiery? Some think they were a red color, like the color of fire. Others believe their bite caused an intense burning sensation, so they were called fiery serpents. Regardless, the Lord sent these fiery serpents to get the nation’s attention at this critical place in their journey to the Promised Land. If they kept going in the direction they showed in the previous verses, they would never enter in. Those that did die were mostly of the older generation of unbelief, and this was God’s final way of fulfilling His promise that they would perish in the wilderness, and not enter the Promised Land.
Then, 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" (v.7). So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live” (v.8). So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived (v.9).
Jesus referred to this remarkable event in John 3:14-15: "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." Jesus clearly said there is a similarity between what Moses did here, and what He did on the cross. In both cases believing (the action of looking) brought the effect of salvation. Scripture tells us in Isaiah 45:22: "Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other."
We might be willing to do a hundred things to earn our salvation, but God commands us to simply trust in Him – to look to Him. It's that simple.
The Truth: "Look to Me and be saved, All you ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other." (Isaiah 45:22)
