380
Patriarchs and Prophets
who had been bitten were to look, and they would find relief. He did
so, and the joyful news was sounded throughout the encampment that
all who had been bitten might look upon the brazen serpent and live.
Many had already died, and when Moses raised the serpent upon the
pole, some would not believe that merely gazing upon that metallic
image would heal them; these perished in their unbelief. Yet there
were many who had faith in the provision which God had made. Fa-
thers, mothers, brothers, and sisters were anxiously engaged in helping
their suffering, dying friends to fix their languid eyes upon the ser-
pent. If these, though faint and dying, could only once look, they were
perfectly restored.
The people well knew that there was no power in the serpent of
brass to cause such a change in those who looked upon it. The healing
virtue was from God alone. In His wisdom He chose this way of
displaying His power. By this simple means the people were made to
realize that this affliction had been brought upon them by their sins.
They were also assured that while obeying God they had no reason to
fear, for He would preserve them.
The lifting up of the brazen serpent was to teach Israel an important
lesson. They could not save themselves from the fatal effect of the
poison in their wounds. God alone was able to heal them. Yet they
were required to show their faith in the provision which He had made.
They must look in order to live. It was their faith that was acceptable
with God, and by looking upon the serpent their faith was shown. They
knew that there was no virtue in the serpent itself, but it was a symbol
of Christ; and the necessity of faith in His merits was thus presented
to their minds. Heretofore many had brought their offerings to God,
and had felt that in so doing they made ample atonement for their
sins. They did not rely upon the Redeemer to come, of whom these
offerings were only a type. The Lord would now teach them that their
sacrifices, in themselves, had no more power or virtue than the serpent
of brass, but were, like that, to lead their minds to Christ, the great sin
offering.
[431]
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,” even so was
the Son of man “lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have eternal life.”
John 3:14, 15
. All who have ever lived
upon the earth have felt the deadly sting of “that old serpent, called
the devil, and Satan.”
Revelation 12:9
. The fatal effects of sin can be