Saturday, March 18, 2017
Fiery Serpents
Bible Questions Answered:
“God sent fiery serpents to kill his
people?...”
Cally/ Oceanside, California U.S.A.
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
Numbers 21:4-9 NLT (The Bronze
Snake)
4 Then the people of Israel set out
from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land
of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey,
5 and they began to speak against
God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in
the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here
and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”
6 So The Lord sent poisonous snakes
("fiery serpents" KJV) among the people, and many were
bitten and died.
7 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.” So Moses prayed for the
people.
8 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!”
9 So Moses made a snake out of
bronze (Brass speaks of judgment) and attached it to a pole. Then
anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and
be healed!
It was God's
intentions that His people march into the promised land through
Kadesh-barnea, but the people rebelled against The Lord, and refused.
Now marching
through the Sinai dessert, in their rebellion, they became
discouraged, and began to complain.
It would do all
well to understand, God is not simply a God of blessing, but of
judgment as well!
Deuteronomy 28:
Blessings 1-14
Cursing 15-47
Isaiah 30:18 KJV
And therefore will The Lord wait,
that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted,
that He may have mercy upon you: for The Lord is A God Of
Judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him.
Malachi 2:17 KJV
Ye have wearied The Lord with your
words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied Him? When ye say, Every
one that doeth evil is good in the sight of The Lord, and He
delighteth in them; or, Where is
The God Of judgment?
Numbers 21:6,7
NLT
6 So The Lord sent poisonous snakes
("fiery serpents" KJV) among the people, and many were
bitten and died.
7 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.” So Moses prayed for the
people.
Why were the people turning to Moses
and The Lord? They were, because of the fiery serpents!
Psalm 119:67 KJV
Before I was afflicted I went
astray: but now have I kept thy Word.
Jonah 2:5-7,10 KJV
5 The waters compassed me about,
even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were
wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the
mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast
thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
7 When my soul fainted within me I
remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy
temple.
10 And The Lord spake unto the fish,
and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
Is God, unkind in
His judgment?
Hebrews 12:5-13
NLT
5 And have you forgotten the
encouraging words God spoke to you as His children? He said,
“My child, don’t make light of
The Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects
you.
6 For The Lord disciplines those He
loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.”
7 As you endure this divine
discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children.
Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?
8 If God doesn’t discipline you as
He does all of His children, it means that you are illegitimate and
are not really His children at all.
9 Since we respected our earthly
fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the
discipline of The Father of our spirits, and live forever?
10 For our earthly fathers
disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But
God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in
His holiness.
11 No discipline is enjoyable while
it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a
peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this
way.
12 So take a new grip with your
tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.
13 Mark out a straight path for your
feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become
strong.
Is God, unkind in
His judgments, no, for it is because of His great love, that He tries
to stop wayward man, and turn him to the right, the way of blessing
and life!
I Corinthians
10:9-13 KJV
9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as
some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur ye, as some of
them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened
unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon
whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no temptation taken
you but such as is common to man: but God is Faithful, who will not
suffer (allow) you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to
bear it.
Numbers 21:8,9
NLT
8 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!”
9 So Moses made a snake out of
bronze (Brass speaks of judgment) and attached it to a pole. Then
anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and
be healed!
Looking at the
fiery serpent, awakened the lethargic consciences of the people, for
looking at the serpent, no doubt reminded them of the poisonous
biting criticism they had given Moses, and The Lord, who so lovingly
had provided for them.
James 3:2-18 NLT
2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes.
For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could
also control ourselves in every other way.
3 We can make a large horse go
wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.
4 And a small rudder makes a huge
ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are
strong.
5 In the same way, the tongue is a
small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great
forest on fire.
6 And among all the parts of the
body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of
wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life
on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
7 People can tame all kinds of
animals, birds, reptiles, and fish,
8 but no one can tame the tongue. It
is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and
Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image
of God.
10 And so blessing and cursing come
pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this
is not right!
11 Does a spring of water bubble out
with both fresh water and bitter water?
12 Does a fig tree produce olives,
or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water
from a salty spring.
True Wisdom Comes from God
13 If you are wise and understand
God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works
with the humility that comes from wisdom.
14 But if you are bitterly jealous
and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up The
Truth with boasting and lying.
15 For jealousy and selfishness are
not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and
demonic.
16 For wherever there is jealousy
and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every
kind.
17 But the wisdom from above is
first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and
willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good
deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
18 And those who are peacemakers
will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
LOOK
AND LIVE
I’ve a message
from The Lord, hallelujah!
This message unto
you I’ll give,
’Tis recorded in
His Word, hallelujah!
It is only that you
“look and live.”
Chorus
“Look and live,”
my brother, live,
Look to Jesus now,
and live;
’Tis recorded in
His word, hallelujah!
It is only that you
“look and live.”
I’ve a message
full of love, hallelujah!
A message, O my
friend, for you,
’Tis a message
from above, hallelujah!
Jesus said it, and
I know ’tis true.
Life is offered
unto you, hallelujah!
Eternal life thy
soul shall have,
If you’ll only
look to Him, hallelujah!
Look to Jesus who
alone can save.
I will tell you how
I came, hallelujah!
To Jesus when He
made me whole—
’Twas believing
on His name, hallelujah!
I trusted and He
saved my soul.
Author: William
A. Ogden, 1887
Public Domain
Hear the music,
copy and paste the following URL into your web browser, and hit
enter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vudmSE2yZQ
Prayer:
Matthew
10:32 KJV
Everyone
who acknowledges Me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge
before My Father in heaven.
John
6:37,47 KJV
37
“...him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.”
47
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath
everlasting life.