What does "look at it and live" teach about obedience and trust in God? Text Under Consideration “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ ” (Numbers 21:8) Backdrop of the Snake-Bit Wilderness • Israel’s grumbling (Numbers 21:4-5) brings God’s judgment through venomous serpents (v. 6). • Moses intercedes; God provides a surprising remedy—a bronze serpent lifted on a pole (vv. 7-9). • The cure demands a single, specific response: look and live. What “Look at it and live” Reveals about Obedience • Obedience is defined by God, not by us – God does not ask for medicine or rituals; He commands a look. • Obedience is immediate and uncomplicated – No stages, fees, or pilgrimage—just an instant gaze (v. 9). • Obedience requires submission to God’s revealed method—even when it seems illogical – A metal snake saving snake-bitten people defies human reasoning, yet works because God said so (Isaiah 55:8-9). • Partial obedience is disobedience – Looking anywhere else (own wounds, neighbors, ground) brings death; only the prescribed look brings life (James 2:10). • Obedience brings tangible blessing – “Each one who looked at the bronze serpent lived” (Numbers 21:9). What It Reveals about Trust in God • Trust rests on God’s promise, not on visible power in the object – The bronze form had no life; faith rested in God who spoke (Hebrews 11:6). • Trust must replace self-reliance – Bitten victims could not neutralize the venom; they had to rely wholly on God’s remedy (Ephesians 2:8-9). • Trust looks up, away from the problem, toward God’s provision – The raised pole lifted eyes from swelling limbs to saving grace (Psalm 121:1-2). • Trust precedes understanding – No biomedical explanation was offered; faith accepted before comprehension (Proverbs 3:5-6). • Trust in this episode foreshadows trusting Christ – “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Lessons for Today’s Disciples • Salvation is by a look of faith to the crucified and risen Christ, God’s appointed “pole” (John 12:32). • God’s Word, taken literally, still outlines the only path to life (2 Timothy 3:16). • Quick, simple obedience keeps spiritual venom from spreading—delay is deadly (Hebrews 3:15). • Even when God’s directives seem unconventional, trusting and obeying bring deliverance (1 Corinthians 1:25). • The wilderness episode calls believers to keep eyes fixed on Jesus, “the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). |
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