When it comes to medicine, what symbol do you picture? A caduceus? You may not know its name; you may be unaware of its symbolism, but when you see the familiar snakes intertwined around a pole, you know something with the medical profession is near. It is a sign of healing. The caduceus was the staff of the herald, symbolizing his status as a messenger. The caduceus, according to Greek mythology, was carried by Hermes, the messenger of the gods. His job was that of a mediator, to summon the assembly, separate combatants and carry messages to and from earth. The symbol of his office was a wand which bestowed prosperity and wealth. On the top were the wings which symbolized the speed of Hermes, or Mercury as the Romans called him. Twisted around the wand were two snakes, understood by the Greeks to impart wisdom. How did this magic wand come to symbolize medicine? Why does it adorn EMS vehicles, walls of doctor’s offices, physicians’ stationery and medical journals the world over? Mostly by mistake, for the caduceus really never had anything to do with medicine until seventy five years ago. It was all a mix up. The source of the confusion came about during the First World War when all medical ambulances bore a caduceus on their sides. This was a better known insignia than the Red Cross, for the caduceus was the symbol of truce, mediation and the need for speed. But historically, Hermes and his caduceus has never been associated with healing. The caduceus of Hermes is often confused with the proper medical symbol, that of the staff of Aesculapius (es ka lay pe us). That staff was that of a single serpent, entwined around the pole and absent the wings of Hermes. Aesculapius’s powers of healing were so great, the Greeks believed he incurred the wrath of Pluto, lord of the underworld, for going too far, in that he could not only heal the sick, but even raise the dead. Zeus struck him dead with a lightning bolt. But the symbol of his authority, the Staff of Aesculapius, was adopted by physicians for centuries, until our own time, as a symbol of the healing arts. A single snake wrapped around a pole. One side note, when your doctor misuses the caduceus for the staff of Aesculapius, remind your doctor that Hermes was also the god of thieves. While tracing the history of mythic stories is never easy, there is an uncanny resemblance between the staff of Aesculapius and the events of Numbers 21. Whether the story of Aesculapius was designed by our God to serve as a constant reminder of this story from Numbers, we can not determine this side of heaven. But what we do have is a constant reminder of the truth of the Gospel presented before our world. The universal symbol for healing is a reminder of the biblical story that promises healing of a much more deadly disease and the cure offered by a serpent on a pole. The events recorded for us in Numbers 21 speak of the ailment of sin as well as the affect that sin produces. But the story does not end on a hopeless note, that sin can not be cured, for we see here finally the antidote for sin.
THE AILMENT OF SIN - verses 4-5 The ailment of sin disregards God’s guidance This is the ninth and final series of complaints we've seen in Numbers. If you grow tired hearing so many sermons about complaining, one bit of advice…don’t complain. God included this story, as the others, to teach us a valuable lesson about how insidious our sin really is. As you recall the people have taken forty years to accomplish a two week trek. Forty years earlier they had the opportunity to enter the land, but were not permitted because they would not trust God. Instead they became fearful of the supposed giants in the land. For that reason the entire generation who refused to believe that God was both willing and able to give them the land had to die in the desert. Forty years have past, a new generation has come along. But they, like their ancestors, refused to find God trustworthy, despite all He had done for them. In the beginning of Numbers 21, they are confronted by the King of Arad. They asked God for help; He graciously aided them in their conquest and they won. But in the face of that victory they still had to travel in the opposite direction from Canaan, the promised land. They headed back toward the Red Sea, in order to go around the land of Edom. The Edomites refused to give them passage, so it was detour time. You know how frustrating detours can be. You’re off enjoying your summer’s vacation, the kids all packed in the car; they’re miraculously not fighting, but as you cruise down the highway, the ubiquitous signs of summer appear - plastic orange barrels. A detour has come. At the peak of your vacation, an alternate route is mandated. Don’t tell me you won’t gripe, complain and become a grouch! We never like when our plans fizzle. Discomforts and disappointments often dishearten us. They understandably eat away at our drive. Yet such a condition is as dangerous as it is common. Those interruptions bring to the surface our irritability. We become critical and complaining. The trouble is, as frustrating as orange barrels on a summer vacation may be, as maddening as obstacles God places in our life may be, we must never forget that they are here because He desired for them to be there. To complain is to disregard His guidance. When those complaining words come out of our mouths, the disease is present. The ailment of sin denies guilt - verses 4-5a Who was to blame for all this? The people knew: God and Moses, that’s who! Notice what they say once again: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert?" The God who just rescued them from the armies of Arad, who has cared for them for forty years, is out to get them? They are there because their ancestors refused to believe. But their heart is just as evil as their parents'. They refused to accept their own culpability, their own guilt. How readily do you accept guilt? How ready are you to see sin…in yourself, not others? We love to waltz around the idea of sin, speaking more of dysfunction, of mistakes. But to see sin affecting every aspect of our being is just another evidence of a serious ailment. The ailment of sin despises grace - verse 5b In the face of God’s constant provision, notice their complaint: "No bread and no water…by the way, we detest this miserable food!" Like kids moping about the house, complaining there’s nothing to do, all the while toys fill the basement, the Israelites despise all God had given them. What the NIV translates as "miserable" means worthless, light, without substance. But if bread from heaven would not satisfy, nothing would gratify. If God’s water from a rock would not quench their thirst, a bucket of Gatorade would leave them parched. The problem is they treat what God has to offer with contempt; it is not good enough. His grace is seen to be worthless, miserable. What a horrible picture of the disease which infects everyone of us. When we imagine that we can contribute something to our standing, that at least our obedience makes God more happy with us, then we consider His grace as worthless. THE EFFECT OF SIN - verse 6 Their venomous tongues would be repaid in kind... with more venom. And people began to die. The disease of their hearts was incarnated in the torment they would feel as they were repeatedly attacked the these snakes. Snakes were nothing new in the wilderness. Reports ancient and modern tell of a variety of venomous snakes in this region. These snakes are called venomous in the NIV or fiery in the KJV; the Hebrew saraph means burning with fire. The word "seraphim" is used of the angels in Isaiah 6. They are the burning ones, reflecting God’s holiness and unapproachability. These serpents are called fiery, referring either to their bright color, but more likely from the effects of their bite, in which the body would become inflamed with fever and an insatiable thirst. They had unjustly complained about a lack of water, so God punished them with a thirst, which no water would quench. The use of the serpent to bring God’s judgment was a symbol that would not have escaped the notice of God’s people. We are introduced to sin and deception in Genesis 3 as the serpent tempted Eve. That temptation too was one through the means of dissatisfaction with all God had given. Satan described as a serpent, is seen in Revelation 12 called a great red dragon and in chapter 20 he is the dragon, the ancient serpent, the devil and Satan. Sin is the biting of this fiery serpent; it is painful to the startled conscience, and poisonous to the seared conscience. The guilt of sin, like the throbbing pain of the serpents sting, moves through our system, infecting all aspects of our being. But it all starts so innocently, in such a small way. It leaves us never satisfied, never content. It begins with a complaint and grows to disappointment. What creatures are deadliest to humans? The answer was not lions or tigers, elephants or snakes, grizzly bears or bobcats. It’s the mosquito! The malarial parasite carried by mosquitoes probably kills a million children a year in Africa alone. Over the course of history, it may have killed more people than all the wars that were ever fought. Mosquitoes also carry yellow fever and at least 100 different viruses. Altogether, these diseases make at least 300 million people sick every year. The tiny mosquito, which we usually think of as just a pesky irritation that can be killed with a swat of the hand, is deadly. Sin is like that. We tend to think of the big sins (adultery, murder, robbery, etc.) as the most dangerous, but it is more often the "little" pesky sins, which are so hard to detect. In our passage it is nothing more than refusing to find one’s satisfaction in God, rejecting God’s goodness. We must recognize that sin is all-pervasive, leaving no aspect of our lives untouched. It is only when we see the severity of our disease that we will look for a cure. THE ANTIDOTE FOR SIN - verses 7-9 The simple statement - verse 7 While we, the readers, know why those snakes are there, to the people this was not as obvious. There was no sign that lit up in the sky to say, "Attention, people of Israel, the poisonous snakes that are infesting your camp are a direct punishment sent from God." Without that, we’d expect them to really start complaining now, to finally start running back to Egypt and away from God. But that wasn't their reaction this time. Rather than reacting by blaming God, or by accusing God of not caring, this time the people reacted by repenting. They acknowledge that God is indeed in control and that God is not to blame for their distress; this is why they realize that their speaking against the Lord earlier indeed constituted sin. Not only that, they recognize that God has not turned His back on them, but that He is still there and is very capable of helping and healing. That is why they ask Moses to offer prayer on their behalf. The model which Israel sets forth here would serve us well, too, whenever we feel, like the Israelites felt, that God has abandoned us, left us to suffer alone, left us without answers. When we encounter such a time, we would do well to do just what the people did in 21:7. We must acknowledge that God is still in control and that God is not to blame. This might well be the hardest part - but with the faith that God makes available to each of us by His grace, it is very possible. God IS in control! And not only that, God has NOT turned His back on us! The symbolic serpent - verse 8 The people admit their need for a cure. They were dying by the droves and could do nothing to heal themselves. But God’s cure seems a bit odd: Make a snake and put it on a pole. What before was killing them, they are commanded to look on an image of and be healed. The image of the serpent was probably cast using one of the adders that were prevalent throughout the camp. Since time was of the essence, carving or fashioning the serpent would be slow and difficult. A dead adder could be encased within compressed dirt, molten copper poured in, evaporating the carcass and resulting in a cast facsimile. With the aid of nails or rope, the bronze serpent is fastened to the standard and lifted high for all to look upon. All God demanded of them was to look at the copper snake and they would live. But the story of the serpent does not stop there. God’s people over time confused the means of God’s grace and the God of all grace. The events of those days made an impression on the young nation. The pole and serpent were kept as a reminder of God’s grace, but after the reign of David and Solomon, further dissatisfaction erupted against God. In 2 Kings 18, during the reign of Hezekiah, the good king took the ancient symbol of God's grace to a sin sick people and smashed it, destroying their reminder. The reason was simple. People ceased worshipping the God of the healing and worshipped the symbol of His miraculous power. It needs to be understood that the people of Israel were not saved by the image of the snake. The image did not have any magical or superstitious powers. The power of salvation rested not in the snake but in God. The snake was a means to point to God. The sinless Savior - verse 9 The importance of this event is made more clear in John 3. In that famous passage when Nicodemus comes to Jesus late one night, otherwise known today as "Nick at Nite," Jesus drew a correlation between what happened in the desert and His own life, but again the connection drives home how seriously God takes our sin and how we must as well.
How odd that such a comparison would be made? Jesus likens himself to the serpent, to evil incarnate. That is meant to shock. The serpent, a symbol of sin, insidious in its attack, crafty, cruel and deadly in its venom is equated with Jesus? But the serpent of brass was not a serpent. It was an image, just as Christ was made in the likeness of sinful flesh; He who knew no sin became sin for us. The serpent was a cursed creature; Christ was made a curse. Just as looking to the serpent was necessary for healing, so also one must look on Christ. If anyone tried to tend to their own wound, sought another cure, they would die. In the same way if we despise Christ’s righteousness, think we can benefit by our own works, the results will be eternally fatal. But whoever looked up to this healing sign, even if from a far distance and weak, that one was certainly healed; so whosoever believes in Christ, though as yet but weak in faith, shall not perish. But the connection made most clear by Jesus is that of being lifted up. Moses lifted up the snake on the pole so that all would see and be healed. But when Jesus applies this term to Himself there is a strange double meaning. To be lifted up also implies exaltation, a call to worship. This exaltation will be the means by which He will bring His people to Himself.
It is in this matrix of suffering and exaltation that God most clearly reveals Himself in the person of His Son. It is on the Cross that God the Son suffers as the serpent, despised, rejected, bearing our shame and guilt. But it is there, too, that His majesty and power is most clearly seen and understood. God’s glory in Christ is not seen in spite of His earthly humiliations, but precisely by means of those humiliations. Supremely is this the case with the Cross. To the world it is uttermost in degradation, the death of a felon. To those who believe it is the supreme glory. What stops us from this simple look? What keeps us from finding our hope, our life in the Cross? The Cross shames us; it is a mirror of our own sin. We want a quick glance of the Cross and then to move on. We think it is for those just coming to faith, but God commands that we stay at that spot. But like the Hebrews of old, as those chosen by God we can ill afford to try to discover some other cure for our fatal disease. Our only hope is in the exalted humiliation of God’s only Son. Nothing else will cure us. Dr. Felix Ruh knew the importance of finding a cure. His granddaughter had died of the dreaded black diphtheria and many more children lay sick and dying. Dr. Ruh and his partner, Louis Pasteur, were among the few who believed that these deaths were caused by what was then unseen germs. While the medical establishment forbid their experimentation, Pasteur and Ruh secretly carried out their clandestine research. They brought 20 healthy horses into the lab. Ruh then opened a steel vault and took out a large pail filled with black diphtheria germs, which he had cultured carefully for months. There were enough germs in that pail to kill everyone in France. The scientist went to each horse and swabbed its nostrils, tongue, throat, and eyes with the deadly germs. Every horse except one developed a terrific fever and died. For several more days this final horse lingered, lying pathetically on the ground. While Ruh and Pasteur slept on cots in the stables, the orderly on duty had been instructed to awaken the scientists should there be any change in the animal's temperature during the night. About 2 a.m. the temperature showed a half degree decrease, and the orderly wakened Dr. Ruh. By morning the thermometer had dropped two more degrees. By night the fever was entirely gone, and the horse was able to stand, eat, and drink. The horse was the only one who could withstand the disease. Then Dr. Ruh drew blood from the veins of this animal that had developed the black diphtheria but had overcome it. The scientists drove as fast as they could to the municipal hospital in Paris. They forced their way into the ward where three hundred babies lay, segregated to die from black diphtheria. With the blood of the horse, they forcibly inoculated every one of the babies. All but three lived and recovered completely. They were saved by the blood of one who overcame the disease. Christ’s death in our place - He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. He is the only cure for our fatal ailment. The effect of sin in us will always be more than we can handle. The good news of the Gospel is that God in human flesh handled it for us. How do you get healed? You don’t rub it three times; you don’t bow down in front of it, you don’t pray the sinner’s prayer. You look, just look. You don’t do anything. You don’t work up loyalty and love, you don’t jump hoops. Just look, admit He’s done everything for you, that He has saved you. |
