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.
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.”
So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. - Numbers 21:7-9
I've often wondered why the medical profession uses the symbol of a serpent. One theory is that it's a reference to the bronze serpent of Numbers. Even knowing that it still seems strange to see the serpent as a symbol of healing but not as strange as seeing the bronze serpent as symbol of Christ.
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. - Galatians 3:13-14
Suffering and dying, anyone who looks at Christ through the eyes of faith can be saved.
2 comments:
This story has always struck me as so weird. Looked at another way, it's a direct contradiction of the commandment against idolatry. "Make an image, hold it up high, and those who look at it will be healed." Wouldn't you think it a short step from that, to worshipping the serpent and giving it the credit for healing you?
Agreed, it's pretty weird. I'm not sure why they didn't end up worshipping the serpent, they didn't seem to need much encouragement to make a calf into an idol.
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