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The Fiery Serpents
v. 4. And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, southward, along the western border of Edom, through the Wilderness of Paran, to compass the land of Edom, whose dominion extended almost to the Elanitic Gulf, the eastern arm of the Red Sea; and the soul of the people was much discouraged, filled with impatience, because of the way. To turn back once more, after reaching the boundary of the Land of Promise, imposed too great a strain upon their trust in God.
v. 5. And the people spake against God and against Moses, not rebelling openly, but murmuring against the divine guidance and the leading of Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread, the manna. The Hebrew brings out the peevishness of the complaint: "For not is there bread, and not is there water, and our soul feels nausea over this miserable bread. " They saw before them only a hopeless existence, an endless desert journey, ending with a miserable death in the midst of the dreary wastes.
v. 6. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, whose bite filled the wound with a burning venom, very deadly, and they bit the people, who were unable to rid themselves of the plague; and much people of Israel died.
v. 7. Therefore the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against thee; the punishment which the Lord visited upon them worked a knowledge of their sins in them, brought them to repentance. Pray unto the Lord that He take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people, assumed the role of mediator, as he had done so often.
v. 8. And the Lord said unto Moses, in a command which was adapted to the situation and was of great typical significance, Make thee a fiery serpent, cast a figure which is an exact reproduction of one, and set it upon a pole, like a standard; and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. The reference is, of course, not to a casual glance, which even an unbelieving Israelite might cast upon the figure, but to the look of faith resting upon the divine promise. For such a look was an acknowledgment of sin, a longing for deliverance from its penalty, and a trusting in the means appointed by God for healing.
v. 9. And Moses made a serpent of brass, as much in form and appearance like the fiery serpents as possible, and put it upon a pole. And it came to pass that, if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, that is, if he looked at it with the faith which the occasion required, he lived. It was because the Israelites, with their sin, tempted Christ, that they were destroyed by the serpents, 1Co_10:9. And, on the other hand, because they had faith in the promises of God, they were healed. Note that the figure made by Moses was a type of Christ, Joh_3:15-16. God sent His Son in the form of our sinful flesh, but without sin. And Christ, the Holy One of God, was lifted up on the cross to expiate the sin of all mankind, which lay upon Him. No matter who it is among sinful men, if he but looks upon the crucified Christ in faith, he will not perish, but have everlasting life.