Lift Up the Suffering Symbol

 

I’m Duane Matz and welcome to Today’s Living Word.

 

Nu 21:6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.  7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."

 

 

I don’t remember the year, but I’ll never forget the concert. I was honored to emcee the appearance of Michael Card at Appleton West High school. Michael is a gifted song writer and teacher and on this night, one of the things he taught on and sang about was this incident found in the Book of Numbers. The song was entitled, “Lift Up the Suffering Symbol,” You can google it if you like! Michael Card - Lift Up the Suffering Symbol (Lyric Video) (youtube.com)

 

I was always puzzled why God would use a snake on top of the pole rather than a lamb (as in the Lamb of God) to heal the people from the deadly bite of sin. Michael reminded us that the snake symbolized sin and foreshadowed what Jesus did on the cross where “He became sin for us,” (2 Cor 5:21) In His sacrificial death, Jesus removed the sting of sin and makes all whole who look to Him in faith for their salvation.

 

In the song, Michael calls the plague of snakes, “God’s pen of pain,” and “writing in the sand, the fiery serpents came to call, with a holy message and a bite that burned.”

 

Sometimes God uses pain to get our attention and turn to Him  in faith for relief.

 

And don’t forget Michaels warning of using the cross as a painless piece of idolized jewelry. “In time the brazen serpent became an idol in the land,…when they forgot their suffering soon true faith had disappeared, so some idolize a cross today.”

 

Do you wear a cross? Good, Just don’t look as an amulet or a mere symbol, rather look o who is symbolized. Look to Jesus.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word