Commentary on "The Sin of Moses and Aaron"

TERRY MIRRA

 

Day 5: Wednesday, November 25, 2009

 

Overview

This lesson is about the fiery serpents that came upon the Israelites after they spoke against Moses and God following their journey from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass Edom. Moses acted as an intercessor for the Israelites to God. God told Moses to erect a bronze snake on a pole so that whenever someone was bitten, they could look at it and they would recover, not die. The writer points us to John 3:14&15. The Son of Man must be “lifted up” as the snake in the wilderness was lifted up, so that all who believe will have eternal life.

 

Observations

The main problem I see is in the middle section of this lesson. The writer talks about how there are 35 different species of snakes in Palestine and how some are extremely poisonous. The lesson plainly says, “As the protecting hand of God was removed from Israel, great numbers of the people were attacked by these venomous creatures. In other words, it wasn’t that God sent them upon the Israelites; rather, the Lord took His protection away from them, and they then suffered the consequences” (emphasis mine). The Bible clearly states in Numbers 21:6 “Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary (Numbers 21, p. 164) backs this up by saying: “The righteous judgment which God brought upon them for their murmurings, v.6. He sent fiery serpents among them, which bit or stung many of them to death.”…”They in their pride had lifted themselves up against God and Moses, and now God humbled and mortified them, by making these despicable animals a plague to them.” These two statements are in direct contradiction with each other. It’s a dangerous thing to directly oppose what the Bible says.

The reference to John 3:14, 15 is the best part of this section. As it wasn’t enough to just have the snake on a pole (you had to look at it to be protected), it isn’t enough that Jesus died on the cross—you have to accept Him as your personal Lord and Savior to receive the gift of eternal life. The Son of Man must be lifted up, as Moses did with the bronze serpent, for we are all “bitten” and will die from our sins, unless we lift up Jesus and believe on Him for eternal life. We must be somewhat proactive to obtain “relief from venom”. God doesn’t always take away our problems, but will make provision, or a way to deal with them—we have to trust in Him.

The questions regarding what hurts we have and the healing power of Christ are good questions, but not terribly relevant to this lesson. It’s not about our emotional hurts, but about our salvation—redemption when we’re inarguably lost or dead. It’s about how we’re helpless and can do nothing for our condition except to acknowledge it and accept help from the One who can save us from certain death.

 

Summary

1. God did send the poisonous snakes (Num. 21:6), contrary to the writer’s opinion.
2. It’s a dangerous thing to directly oppose or alter what the Bible says.
3. John 3:14, 15 is the best part of this lesson, reminding us of our need to look to Christ for our redemption. We need to take a proactive role in “looking to” and receiving Christ to obtain eternal life.
4. Bringing our hurts to Christ is important, but not the point of this study. This is about salvation—redemption when we’re inarguably lost. If we don’t look to Jesus, we will surely die.

 

GO TO DAY 6

 

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