NUMBERS 21:4-9

THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2007

WHY DON’T WE GET THE ANSWER WE WANT?
 

Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the 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 you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” Numbers 21:4-9 (NKJV)

We are like the Children of Israel as they followed Moses as he was led by God traveling through the wilderness. They complained about the lack of food and water and were unhappy with the manna that God had supplied. As they continued to complain, their focus was no longer on God, but it was upon themselves. They did not recognize that God was providing them with everything that they needed. They complained and turned against God. Then the Lord sent fiery serpents. The serpents bit the people and those who were bitten died. Faced with this disaster, the people returned to God, confessed their sin of rebelling against Him, and God heard their pleas. He told them to make a fiery serpent, place it on a pole, and those who were bitten and looked at it would not die. The people did it and it worked, those bitten looked and lived.

This should be a very familiar occurrence for us. Wherever God’s people have been, there have always been complaints. We pray, Give us this day our daily bread, and we are disappointed and complain if we do not receive steak and lobster. We pray for the needs of others and we complain when we have to give through our time, taxes or donations to meet those needs. We pray for peace and we continue to turn away from easing conflict in our own setting. We ask why weather related deaths are so many, and we ignore God’s will that we take care of the world of nature that He has given to us. Some might say that we need to build a serpent and put it on a pole that when we would look at it we would be cured of the ills that befall us.

We pray, but we don’t get the answer that we want. The Children of Israel prayed that God would take away the deadly serpents. God did not take the serpents away, but He did take away the death that came from their bite. All they had to do was look at the serpent on the pole. We pray that God would take away the ills of the world. We also have a pole to look at, We don’t call it a pole, we call it a Cross. On that Cross is not a serpent but the Crucified Christ. Looking at the serpent did not take away the serpent, just the death that came from the serpent’s bite. Looking at the Crucified Cross does not take away the sin in the world that causes all of our sorrow, just the eternal death that comes from that sin. The answer that we want is the one that makes us feel good right now. The answer that we need and that God gives is the one that gives us Eternal Life.

As we near Palm Sunday and prepare to enter Holy Week, let us ever look to the Cross for the answers we need.

WE PRAY:

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadows o’er me. AMEN

“Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross,” from cyberhymnal.org

A SUGGESTION FOR LIVING THE DEVOTION
 

Except where it is prohibited by work safety rules, wear a Cross wherever you go.