Morning Light – Numbers 21

[Numbers 21] Brazen Serpents and Singing Fountains. In chapter Moses and the people continue their wanderings. Neighboring tribes molest them, yet God defends them. They complain again about the Manna and are plagued by deadly serpents. Moses makes a brass serpent, and those that look on it are healed. Jesus later says that He is this serpent. This is a very controversial metaphor. Is Jesus a snake? Then the people gather in thirst, and instead of striking or speaking to the rock, they sing to the rock, and waters come forth.

[Num 21:1-35 KJV] 1 And [when] king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took [some] of them prisoners. 2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 3 And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah. 4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for [there is] no bread, neither [is there any] water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. 10 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth. 11 And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which [is] before Moab, toward the sunrising. 12 From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared. 13 From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which [is] in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon [is] the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, 15 And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab. 16 And from thence [they went] to Beer: that [is] the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. 17 Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it: 18 The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by [the direction of] the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness [they went] to Mattanah: 19 And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth: 20 And from Bamoth [in] the valley, that [is] in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon. 21 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink [of] the waters of the well: [but] we will go along by the king’s [high] way, until we be past thy borders. 23 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 24 And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon [was] strong. 25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. 26 For Heshbon [was] the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon. 27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared: 28 For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, [and] the lords of the high places of Arnon. 29 Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites. 30 We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which [reacheth] unto Medeba. 31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that [were] there. 33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei. 34 And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. 35 So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.

In v. 1 of our chapter, we see that the king of Canaan comes out and takes many prisoners of the people of Israel. As a result, they make a vow asking God to defend them and give them victory in retrieving these captives. This shows they didn’t understand why God refused permission for them to go to battle against Edom in the previous chapter. They thought they could appease God in some way and coerce Him to do their bidding or at least allow them to do what He previously forbid them to do. Ask yourself a question – is it appropriate to vow in hopes of getting God to do something? We often make vows and other such prayers when God was already disposed to act on our behalf. We say, “God, if you will do THIS, then I will do THAT.” Well, “that” thing you promise to do you probably should already have been doing. If God gave His only son when you were born in sin, there is NO NEED to incentivize Him to answer your particular prayer. God would have given Israel victory over king Arad in any case. The Israelites were descendants of Shem – Noah’s oldest son. Arad was a descendent of Ham, who had disrespected Noah, his father. Noah had therefore prophesied that Shem would rule over Ham’s son Canaan – king Arad’s ancestor. We see then that there was a centuries-old prophesy that assured Israel victory over Arad.

In the previous chapter, Moses and the people were threatened by Esau’s descendants, and they chose by the leading of the Lord to turn aside and not enter into battle with the Edomites. Now, on the other hand, there is no attempt to avoid conflict. Are they inconsistent in their policies? In Mark 6:8, Jesus told His followers to go out, taking nothing with them. In Luke 22:38, however He told them to take two swords with them when they went out. Is this inconsistency? We have to learn not to be led by intellect or rationale. John 5:19 says that Jesus did only what He saw the Father do. You cannot allow your reason to be the gatekeeper of obedience to God.

In vs. 4-5, the people complain once again about the Manna. In the previous chapter, Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it to bring forth water. As a result, he will be denied entry into the land of promise. In this chapter, the people complain about the Manna AGAIN and are punished. Why does God care so much about such things? Because they are types and shadows of Jesus, who is to come. 1 Co. 10:4 says that Jesus was the rock that followed them in the wilderness bringing forth water. In John 6:51, Jesus identifies Himself as the bread that comes down from heaven. Murmuring never works out well. Sometimes we don’t need to “let it all out.” The cost can be more significant than we are willing to pay.

Why doesn’t God overlook these complaints? To a modern mind, it seems extreme to judge people so harshly. Remember, Gal. 3:24 that the law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. When Adam fell, it was to the temptation to be like God independent of God. The law was given to prove the futility of this ambition. In the wilderness, there is no mediator to stand between the people and their disobedience. God is a holy God. If we sin and go unpunished, it isn’t because He isn’t offended. 1 Tim. 2:5 says that Jesus is our mediator. He stands between us and the consequences of our transgressions. He bore our sins for us. This is why we must not sin presumptuously as though it doesn’t matter – God is still a holy God, but Jesus is God and also is a loving savior. We should consider that fact in the fear of God and not take His forbearance as a license to transgress.

In vs. 7-9, we see introduced one of the most controversial metaphors of Christ in the bible. The people are attacked by fiery serpents and cry out to Moses. He makes a brazen serpent and holds it up for the people to see. Those that look upon it live. Those who fail to look die. What does this tell us about who Jesus is to us? Jesus Himself makes the comparison:

[Jhn 3:14 KJV] 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up:

Jesus is the Rock. He is the Manna. He is also the serpent on the pole that Moses lifted up. This speaks to the nature of sin that Jesus took upon Himself. Brass represents judgment. Jesus took on the nature of judgment. The apostle Paul put it this way:

[2Co 5:21 KJV] 21 For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

When it says Jesus became sin, we are not suggesting some cosmic head game on God’s part. Jesus became sin with our sin. Thus, we become the righteousness of God. God is not pretending – these are eternal realities far more real than any other fact of life on earth.

In vs. 10-18, we see a progression of places the people journey to. Notice here in this progression of encampments how God provides the water:

In Exodus 17:6, God instructs Moses to strike the rock, and water comes forth.
In Numbers 20:8, Moses was instructed to SPEAK to the rock to bring forth water.
Now in v. 17, all the people simply gather and sing to the rock, and water comes forth.

This all speaks to us about who Jesus is for us. Jesus said to the woman at the well:

[Jhn 4:14 KJV] 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Jesus was smitten to establish our salvation. As believers, we then do not have to be smitten but only to speak to the rock of our salvation to find refreshing. Now in the corporate setting, we SING to the rock and receive the healing waters. What a beautiful picture of Christ with us, in us, and in the midst of us.

In vs. 18-34, the people continue in their sojourn. These are the ongoing journeys of Israel after they disobeyed and were refused entrance to Canaan. These are the events that took place during forty years in the wilderness. Their prayers were answered. They drank water from the rock. They ate Manna every morning. Their enemies were defeated before their face. They were led by the cloud by day and the fire by night. God was with them. He didn’t forsake them, and He will not leave you. Even under the law of sin and death, God was caring for them and meeting their needs. They didn’t have faith to enter Canaan, but they had enough faith not to disband and return to Egypt, although no doubt many did just that. When you don’t receive from God, it isn’t because He is mad at you or denying you in any way. God loves you. He will never say no to what the cross says yes to. Trust Him. Rely on Him. Even when you are working out the consequences of disobedience or failure, He will still be with you through all those challenges.