In the wilderness, most likely Western Arabia, the Hebrews are heading towards the promised land. Avoiding the land of Edom, the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s (Israel’s) brother, they travel West towards the Red Sea. Along the way, we hear a common refrain: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” (Exodus 21:5b) The people constantly grumble against Moses and Aaron, but chiefly against the Lord, who sent them.
In response to their First Commandment sin, God sends fiery serpents among them. The snakes bite and kill people. The people repent and ask that Moses pray that the serpents be removed. God does not take them away. He commands Moses to set up a bronze serpent on a pole (a carved, formed, or graven image). If anyone sees it, he will live.
Two very important details stand out here. First, the serpents remain, presumably biting and even killing. The temporal consequence of sin can and often does remain with us. Jail sentences remain, even in the face of forgiveness before God. The physical damage from chemical abuse doesn’t easily go away.
Second, seeing is not the same as looking. The “seeing” here is a passive reception of God’s forgiveness and setting aside the punishment. The Hebrews were given a gift to see and from which to receive. Jesus recalls this too, prefiguring His crucifixion in one of the least well-known passages of Scripture. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)
The Bronze Serpent God commanded Moses to form and place for the Hebrews to see is the image of the punishment for sin. Our sin against God, like theirs, demands a price. For the Hebrews, their deliverance came from seeing the serpent. The image God gave them of their punishment, taking away their punishment, prefigures Jesus being raised up in punishment for our sin.
By faith, we see a dead thing on a tree. The death of Jesus is the moment of our salvation. It was finished when sin’s price was paid for you. In the same way, the congregation of Israel saw that serpent’s image, we should also revel in the image of the crucifix, Jesus on a pole for our salvation.
Let us never recoil at the image of our salvation,
Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog
The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX
©2026 Jason M. Kaspar. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com
