Read Numbers 21
Arad Destroyed
21 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. 2 Then Israel made this vow to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.” 3 The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.
The Bronze Snake
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against Godand against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinnedwhen 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.
8 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.” 9 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, they lived.
The Journey to Moab
10 The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth. 11 Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that faces Moab toward the sunrise. 12 From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley.13 They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon, which is in the wilderness extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 That is why the Book of the Warsof the Lord says:
“. . . Zahab in Suphah and the ravines,
the Arnon 15 and the slopes of the ravines
that lead to the settlement of Ar
and lie along the border of Moab.”
16 From there they continued on to Beer, the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together and I will give them water.”
17 Then Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well!
Sing about it,
18 about the well that the princes dug,
that the nobles of the people sank—
the nobles with scepters and staffs.”
Then they went from the wilderness to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.
Defeat of Sihon and Og
21 Israel sent messengers to say to Sihon king of the Amorites:
22 “Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.”
23 But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. He mustered his entire army and marched out into the wilderness against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought with Israel. 24 Israel, however, put him to the swordand took over his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only as far as the Ammonites, because their border was fortified. 25 Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its surrounding settlements. 26 Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.
27 That is why the poets say:
“Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt;
let Sihon’s city be restored.
28 “Fire went out from Heshbon,
a blaze from the city of Sihon.
It consumed Ar of Moab,
the citizens of Arnon’s heights.
29 Woe to you, Moab!
You are destroyed, people of Chemosh!
He has given up his sons as fugitives
and his daughters as captives
to Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 “But we have overthrown them;
Heshbon’s dominion has been destroyed all the way to Dibon.
We have demolished them as far as Nophah,
which extends to Medeba.”
31 So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.
32 After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there.33 Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”
35 So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors. And they took possession of his land.
Go Deeper
Sin has consequences. That is a theme we have seen in the book of Numbers (and really the entirety of Scripture). In the previous chapter, Moses struck the rock rather than speaking to it as God had commanded him to do, and as a result faces the same consequence as the rest of the old generation. Moses is unable to enter into the Promised Land. He is not above sin, and God doesn’t need him to accomplish His purposes. Joshua will be the one to lead the people into the land of milk and honey (Numbers 27).
In Numbers 21, the people return to their discontentment and complaining. The people spoke against God and Moses saying, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” (v. 5). This was a big mistake! Their sin does not go unpunished and as a result, the Lord “sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died” (v. 6). However, the people repent and seek Moses as their intercessor to plead for God’s mercy towards them. We see the themes of sin, supplication, and salvation. The people disobey God, God displays righteous anger towards their disobedience, they seek a mediator, and God responds.
The Lord, in His great patience, provides the Israelites a way out. He tells 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, they lived” (v. 8-9). The serpents used to discipline the people were fiery, representing the anger the Lord had for their rebellion. Those bitten by the living snakes were healed by a dead, reddish-colored snake. Looking at the snake required obedience and faith on the people’s part. It was not logical. It required a trust in God’s provision for their salvation and healing.
This story is referenced again in the book of John. In John 3, Jesus is having a conversation with a man named Nicodemus where he asks how someone can be born again. Jesus responds saying, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14-16). In the same way that the Israelites looked to the bronze serpent to find physical healing from their sin, we look to the cross of Christ to find spiritual healing from our sin. God provides a way for those who believe in faith.
Questions
- Like the Israelites, when are you tempted to complain in your own life?
- Where do you see God’s justice and mercy displayed in the chapter?
- How does the bronze serpent point to Christ?
Did You Know?
The snake-entwined staff from this chapter in Numbers is known as the “Rod of Asclepius,” and it is the medical symbol we use today!
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5 thoughts on “Numbers 21”
Left to my sinful nature, I can easily fall into many of the same traps as the Israelites—impatience, grumbling and entitlement. About 10 years ago I began a gratitude journal where I record what I’m grateful for each day. I recognize that my brain is hardwired for negativity but through practicing gratitude it can be rewired. Ultimately, it’s looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith that defines my life.
❤️
8 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.”
Yes, it was just recently that I learned that the snake on stick symbol for medicine emanated from this passage in Numbers! Kind of an odd way to attain healing, but if God tells me to look at a bronze snake, I had better do it!
1. Believe in God and all He can do for us. He is almighty.
2. Trust in God that He can. He is all powerful.
3. We must take the steps He is showing us. “He is a lamp unto our feet and alight unto our path” Psalm 119:105
I have no right to complain about anything because everything comes from the hand of God and honestly, I’m super blessed living in a first world country with food and shelter and a job soon on the way. The lord provides.
I love the parallel and it makes so much more sense now with what Jesus was referring to in John three