Numbers Twenty One
The Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Ammonites into the hands of Israel but they journeyed around Edom. The people did what they had been doing since the exodus from Egypt. They complained against God and Moses. They were never satisfied with the manna that God provided from heaven and were never satisfied with the leadership that Moses gave to them. The Lord God would cause a problem for them, so they would repent and turn to him through Moses. During one of these times, the Lord sent serpents into the camp that bit the people. When they repented of their complaining and asked Moses to intercede on their behalf before the Lord, the Lord commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and raise it up, so that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it will live. During his conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus, Jesus related this to his crucifixion on a Roman cross.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. ~John 3:14-15
It was the grace of God that the Lord provided a way for the sons of Israel to be healed from the bite of the serpent. It is the grace of God that the Lord provided a way for us to be healed from the sting of sin.
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ~1 Corinthians 15:56-57
When the sons of Israel followed the Lord, through the leadership of Moses, the Lord gave them victory over their enemies. Death is the enemy of mankind. “The last enemy that will be abolished is death.” (1 Cor 15:26) Jesus is the first to rise from the dead and all will rise at his coming. ( 1 Cor 15:20, 23) God will give us victory over death, if we follow his only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ.
