Most of us tend to think of snakes as evil, gross and frightening.
When I was growing up, my family did a lot of camping. I’ll never forget the
day a rattlesnake ventured into our campsite. My dad sprang into action
and took care of it, but the hissing and rattling was bone-chilling to me as a
10-year-old!
There’s a situation in the Bible, however, where God used snakes for
a good purpose. The story is found in Numbers 21. The Israelites began
complaining against Moses, their leader. Had they already forgotten that
the Red Sea had become the red carpet?
Had they become used to God’s room service of daily manna? Had
they already forgotten their deliverance from the cruel rule of Pharaoh?
So God sent them a lesson for the ages. He unleashed venom into
their campsite. Scaled snakes slid through their tents. Toxic fangs
everywhere.
“Many were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and
cried out, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against
you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.’ “
It’s surprising how quickly our complaints turn into cries when snakes
are involved, isn’t it!
“So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord told him, ‘Make
a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are
bitten will live if they simply look at it!’
“So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole.
Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze
snake and be healed!” (Numbers 21:6-9 NLT)
What’s the answer? Look up! Lift up your eyes. See what God has
done. Behold the dead snake on the pole! The snake is defeated. The Son
of God has come to deliver us!
You have a Savior—forgiving sin.
You have triumph over death!
You have a victory that no one else can take!
We serve a God who can use anything for His good purposes.
He can even use a snake to remind us that He has conquered evil with good.
Have you noticed that even today the snake on the pole is still used as a
medical symbol for healing?
Take a moment—right now—to thank God for His purposes.
Even though we don’t understand His ways, we can trust Him. And we can
be grateful that He can make something good out of the snakes in our
lives.
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Thoughts?
—– —— ——
May I ask you to continue praying for me as I wait for churches
around the nation to open back up to capacity? When that happens, I
can start traveling again and speaking in churches. I really miss opening
God’s Word to groups of people. But God is in charge, and I trust Him.
Meanwhile, I’m considering doing a FB Live posting. Watch my FB
page for details. Thank you so very much for your precious prayers
during this stressful time! I love and appreciate you more than you know.
