5 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

2 Kings 17-18
John 11:45-12:8

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

2 Kings 18:4 (CSB): “He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for until then the Israelites were burning incense to it. It was called Nehushtan.”

Reflecting on God’s Word

In Numbers 21:5-9, we are invited into a segment of Israel’s wilderness wandering where they have just left Mt. Hor. The people grew tired of relying upon the Lord for their food and water. So, they started to complain.

God didn’t like complaining then, and He doesn’t like it now. When we complain, we are demonstrating that we don’t like what God is doing, and we believe we could have done better. It’s about as far from submission to God and contentment in God’s providential care that you can go.

So, God sent poisonous snakes among the people. The snakes bit the people, and many of them began to die. They acknowledged their sin and pleaded with Moses to intercede with the Lord to get rid of the snakes.

We aren’t told that God took the snakes away. Maybe He did. Maybe He didn’t. But He did tell Moses to erect a pole for the people’s healing.

Numbers 21:8-9 (CSB): “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.”

About 1,400 years later, Jesus left His throne in Heaven and came to earth to walk among us. In John 3, we get to hear the conversation He had with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. In that conversation, Jesus referenced the bronze pole Moses had made. Essentially, He said that it was but a shadow that pointed to a greater reality. It was an Old Testament picture of a New Testament reality.

John 3:14-15 (CSB): “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

So, that bronze pole with the bronze serpent on it was a good thing. God used it to bring healing to all of the Israelites in Moses’ day who looked on it. And it ultimately pointed to Jesus, who would wear our sin and guilt on the cross, so that everyone who looks to Him in faith can be saved.

But that very good thing had become a very bad thing by the time we get to King Hezekiah’s reign over Judah. About 700 years after Moses constructed the bronze pole, the people of Hezekiah’s day had incorporated it into pagan worship. In all likelihood, they had been doing this long before Hezekiah became king. It was being used to pull people away from God, and the bronze pole had essentially become an idol that they worshipped. So, it needed to be destroyed.

2 Kings 18:4 (CSB): “He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for until then the Israelites were burning incense to it. It was called Nehushtan.”

You and I are quite capable of engaging in the same sort of “idol worship” that those Israelites engaged in some 3,400 years ago. “How?” you ask. By holding on to things that God may have blessed in the past but have long sense lost their purpose. Yet, we believe we must have them to worship.

I once pastored a church that had a stained glass window above the baptistry. It was a depiction of Jesus praying in the Garden. The picture would remain reasonably dark unless the upstairs hallway light was on. Then, the picture would beam.

There was nothing necessarily wrong with that window. But I was convinced that it had become a “Nehushtan” to some people. I needed evidence. So, one Sunday, I intentionally left the hallway light off, and the stained glass window was dark. One gentleman went back to turn on the light (nothing wrong yet) and told me he needed that to worship (you should see red flares in the sky right about now).

This principle could play out in so many different ways. Things that were once good (or at least benign) were turned into something that became an idol and took us away from worshipping the one true God. If you know of anything like this in your life, do what King Hezekiah did – destroy it! It is robbing God of the glory He is due from each of us.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God if there is anything in your life that has essentially become an idol, something you feel you need to worship Him.
  • If God brings something to mind, and if you are sure that it is serving as an idol in your life, do what you must to eradicate it.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into how the Israelite people misused the bronze serpent on a pole, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“What was Nehushtan?”

Sharing

If this post has been helpful to you or if you think it could help others, please consider tapping one of the social media buttons below to share it on your favorite platform.

____________________

Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com)