THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #38 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #20

Pastor Christopher Choo

Lesson 3720

THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #38

THE LIFE OF MOSES #20

GOD'S MOST HOLY NAME: YHVH #13

3 REVELATIONS OF YHVH'S NAME GIVEN TO MOSES #8

YHVH NISSI ( Part 4 )

There is another parallel incident to the raising of the Rod of Moses at the Battle of Rephidim that is easily overlooked - the Raising of the Bronze Serpent.

The former event speaks of battling enemies like the Amalekites.

The latter event is like a parable that teaches us that our greatest enemy is our own self-life.

The incident of the Bronze Serpent is recorded in Numbers 21:4-9.

"Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. (5) The people spoke against God and Moses, "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 miserable food." (6) The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people so that many people of Israel died. (7) So the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us." And Moses interceded for the people. (8) Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten when he looks at it, he will live." (9) And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; it came about, that if a serpent bit any man when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived."

The Bronze Serpent - and the Rod of Moses - are not meant to be mere objects of idolatry as if they possessed intrinsic magical powers of their own. They are merely symbolic representations of God's unfettered power of restoration - to heal those suffering illness and disease and to cleanse sin as well. Thus God's approach to healing is holistic: He heals, restores, and revives us in body, soul, and spirit.

To heal the people of the serpent's bite, a standard or pole had to be lifted up which itself had a snake on it. 

This becomes a rallying point for the people for as they came and looked at the snake on the pole, they were healed of the snakes' venomous poison! 

But this pole or standard (the word Nissi) had to be lifted up first.

Our true physician is the Lord Jesus! And Jesus spoke specifically about this event back in Numbers because this story was simply a pointer to Him!

Let's read John 3:14-15 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, must the Son of Man be lifted up; (15) so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life."

 

Jesus says that just as the serpent was lifted up, so He also would be lifted up and all that look in faith to Him and His work on the Cross would be healed of the venomous bite of the serpent that we have all received.

What a wonderful picture of the Cross this story is and what a wonderful promise of the Lord this is for all who accept and believe!

So we see here that the Cross is our rallying point, our personal Nissi. 

It is here that the sinner must come to experience the victory over both the power and penalty of sin.

YHVH Nissi - the Lord our banner -is our rallying point. It is at the Cross.