Church Sermon - March 26, 2006

LOOK TO CHRIST

Rev. Bernt P. Tweit

Epistle Lesson; Ephesians 2:4-10
Gospel Lesson; John 3:14-21
Old Testament Lesson; Numbers 21:4-9
Sermon Text; Numbers 21:4-9

One of the greatest occurrences in the Old Testament, (in my opinion), was the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. To think that you have two million-plus people leaving captivity in Egypt, going to a land that God had promised to them. Just think about some of the things that the Israelites witnessed! First of all, they witnessed God parting the waters of the Red Sea, and then they safely passing through on dry ground. They saw the Egyptian army completely eliminated, as those waters came crashing down upon them, drowning all of them. They saw God providing food for them in the desert. They saw God providing water for them in the desert. They saw God providing protection for them in the desert, as well.

Well, the journey that was only supposed to take a couple of months, turned into a journey that lasted for 40 years, because the Israelites complained against God. What that meant was that only those who were 20 years old and younger when the first census was taken, was able to enter into the land that God had promised. Just doing some quick math, if it were in fact two million people leaving Egypt, that means 137 people needed to die every day, in the desert, before they came to the land God had promised. The only two exceptions of people who were older than 20, at the first census, were Joshua and Caleb. They trusted in the promises of God and therefore were able to enter the land.

Right before the Israelites entered into the land of Canaan, (near the end of this 40 year period) they had asked for passage through Edom. (Now, the Edomites were descendants of Esau. And remember the Israelites are descendants of Jacob. So, here we have descendants of Esau and Jacob, the twin brothers.) But the Edomites would not allow the Israelites to pass through their land. The Edomites even mustered up their forces and their army and stood on the border of their country so the Israelites had to go around.

At the same time, the Canaanite king of Arad heard that the Israelites were coming and he attacked them, bringing some of them into captivity.

This was the mindset of the people, as we get to our text for today.

Now, we have already heard the words of our text read, but let’s read through those words together from Numbers 21:4-9, because these words serve as a pattern for the life of the Israelites and also for our lives, as well.

"They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"

Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived."

This is God’s Word.

The reason I wanted us to read through that section of scripture again, was to see the pattern that was established by the Israelites and continued throughout their whole existence. The Israelites were complainers. (That is why they needed to spend forty years traveling through the desert.) As soon as the Egyptian army was eliminated, the people complained to God that they didn’t have any food. That is when God provided manna and quail for them. Their journey continued and they complained that they didn’t have any water. And so, God provided water out of the rock. He made water that was bitter, sweet. The people had had enough, though. They were tired, as they traveled along the way. Our text tells us they grew impatient. The Hebrew word here really says, "The soul of the people grew short."

They couldn’t go through Edom. They had to go around. They were being attacked by that Canaanite king of Arad and they had had enough. And so they came to Moses and they said, "There is no bread!" That was not true.

"There is no water." That was not true.

"We detest this miserable food." Now granted, they had been eating manna and quail for forty years J , but God was providing food for them to eat. But, here the Israelites grew impatient and they complained against God and against Moses. And, they sinned.

Well, that’s when God chastised His people and He disciplined them. He sent venomous snakes among them. Those venomous snakes had always been there. In the book of Deuteronomy not only does it say that God provided food and water, but it also says they traveled through a land with venomous snakes and scorpions. Up to this time, those snakes had been there, but God had protected them that they would not be bitten. Those venomous snakes came among the people and the venomous snakes began to bite the people. And our text tells us that many Israelites died. That was the discipline and that was the chastising that God was using against His people.

That chastising and that discipline had the desired effect, because the Israelites came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us."

Notice that God did not answer the prayer the way the people wanted the prayer to be answered. But God did answer their prayer. He did forgive them of their sin. And, He provided a way out for them to be restored and for them to be delivered. He didn’t remove those snakes. But, He asked Moses to fashion a snake out of bronze, to take the very thing that was putting the people to death, and to raise it up on a pole and to have that bronze snake placed right in the middle of the camp, so that anyone who was bitten by a venomous snake, could look to that bronze snake and have life.

The words of our text leave open the possibility that there were those people who were bitten by a snake who didn’t look at the bronze snake, and therefore they would have perished. But, God’s promise and His answer to those venomous snakes were to look to the bronze snake and live.

(An interesting side note to the history of the bronze snake is that even after the Children of Israel came into the land that God had given to them, they began to worship that bronze snake. As a matter of a fact, Hezekiah, who was the thirteenth king of Judah, had to take that bronze snake that Moses had made and he broke it into pieces, because the people were burning incense to it.)

Now, why is it that I go through this pattern of the Israelites, in such great detail this morning, (the pattern of the Israelites sinning, of God chastising or disciplining His people, of the people repenting of their sin, and then God providing a way out and restoring them)? The reason is this. The book of Romans tells us for everything that was written in the past, was written to teach us. So that through endurance and encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. That very pattern that is established here was written to teach us. It is written to teach us that we fall into this very same pattern.

Have you, or have you ever heard your children say, "We’ve got nothing to eat!" Yet the cupboards are full of food.

Have you, or have you ever heard your kids say, "We’ve got nothing to drink!" Maybe there is no pop or soda in the frig., but there is plenty of water from the tap.

Have you, or have you heard your kids say, "I’ve got nothing to wear!" When there is a closet full of clothes.

Ok, when that happens, we fall right into the pattern of the Israelites, don’t we? We have no food, we have no water, and we detest this miserable life. We fall into that pattern of complaining, just like the Israelites.

Last night, as I was reading through the Meditations, (that devotional booklet that we have, which is distributed here at Holy Cross), it was interesting that it got right into this very point. It said we complain about our looks, our clothes, our health, our schools, our jobs, or golf games, our yards, and our homes. Things just aren’t the way we want them to be. We complain about that person who is always nipping at our heels. We complain about our husbands, our wives, our children, and our parents.

We say in our anger and our impatience, "There is no help. No one cares. I am all alone. I am thirsty. I am hungry. And I detest this miserable life."

That is when God intervenes. He chastises us. And He disciplines us, for our good. Maybe it is a health problem that God sends into our life, to give us a wake up call. Maybe it is financial problems that God sends into our life, to give us a wake up call. Maybe marital problems, problems at school, or at work, or at home. God uses those things to chastise us and to discipline us. Now all along, along with that chastising and that discipline, God is using that for our very good.

As Jesus was giving the Sermon on the Mount, He was talking about this very thing. Jesus said, "Don’t worry, saying what shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? Unbelievers run after these things. (He knows we need them.) But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you, as well."

While we are going through that time of discipline, also, God is using that discipline for our good. In the book of Hebrews it says, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace by those who have been trained by it."

When we come to our senses, and we look to God and say, "I have sinned. God, I have complained against you and I should not. You have always provided for us. You have always taken care of us. I am sorry, once again, that I have complained against you. Please forgive me. Remove this problem from my life."

We always need to remember that God may not answer the prayer the way we want it to be answered, but that God will answer our prayer the way that He wants it to be answered.

Jesus today then ties everything together as He said, "Just as Moses raised up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life."

You see, just as the Children of Israel were asked to look to that bronze snake and live, God has asked us to look to the cross, to look to Christ and there, through the eyes of faith, to see what it is that Christ has done for us. And we will have eternal life.

Today we have that promise in scripture. The Old Testament Children of God had that promise that if they looked to that bronze snake they would live. We have that promise that no matter what it is that is happening in our life, instead of complaining against God, look to Christ. When we look to Christ, we have a perfect life, because we have the forgiveness of our sins. We have a perfect body. We have perfect health. We have a perfect home. We have a perfect everything in Heaven, through looking to Christ.

Amen.

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