Myth - "We Only Worship What We Can See"
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Make a seraph figure and mount it on a standard. And if anyone who is bitten looks at it, he shall recover.'" (Numbers 21:8)
In Numbers 21:4-9, the people of Israel mutiny against God and Moses believing they were brought out of Egypt into the wilderness to die. As punishment, God sends poisonous snakes, fiery serpents, as a curse among the people who wanted to rebel against Him. The people in their anguish and torment from the serpents implore Moses to intercede on their behalf with God to remove their suffering.
What is a fiery serpent and what would it feel like to be bitten by one?
Among the world’s deadliest snakes (Serpentes) you will discover that there are some snakes far more deadly than the one we will discuss subsequently. However, in this case, we want to know what the most painful snake bite/venom is if you were to bitten by one, not necessarily the most deadly. In this case, the venomous snake revered as the most painful of all snakebites in the world comes from the Viper.
More specifically the Saw-scaled Viper, (genus Echis), any of eight species of small venomous snakes (family Viperidae) that inhabit arid regions and dry savannas north of the Equator across Africa, Arabia, and southwestern Asia to India and Sri Lanka. They are characterized by a stout body with a pear-shaped head that is distinct from the neck, vertically elliptical pupils, rough and strongly keeled scales, and a short thin tail.
In regions where snake bites from Saw-scaled Vipers occur, it is believed that these snakes are responsible for more human deaths than all other snake species combined.
To get a clearer understanding of the pain of their bite let’s turn to our scientist, Dr. Van Wallach, Ph.D., who is currently working as Curatorial Assistant at Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology. He has completed his Ph.D. in Biology from Northeastern University, Massachusetts. He is having 15 years of teaching experience and 45 years of research experience.
Dr. Wallach describes his worst encounter with a viper as follows:
"It felt like somebody had a blowtorch and was burning the inside your arm. It went on for three straight days before I had any relief."
After the Israelites spent days or weeks being bitten and tormented by Serpents probably not much unlike these Saw-scaled Vipers, Moses finally makes his case to God's in support of the people even though they were plotting a cue, God gives Moses the plan to end the plague of snakes.
The story itself does not seem unusual until one considers what the staff with the bronze serpent might have looked like. Following its original use, the staff found a home in the Tabernacle and was later mounted in the Temple.
The icon of a serpent entwined around a staff is still familiar to us. The staff of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, is the symbol of the American Medical Association and appears in medical offices and documents we see regularly.
The healing powers associated with the Staff of Asclepius and the Israelite bronze serpent, Nehushtan, may imply a relationship between the two symbols. The ancient Greeks may have borrowed from the ancient Israelites or vice versa. We may never know how or why both symbols were appropriated similarly from one another culture.
In the latter part of the 8th century BCE, King Hezekiah had the serpent destroyed, because it had become an object of idolatry (II Kings 18:4). This is in accordance with what the rabbis later expressed as the true meaning of the serpent. They teach:
"Does a snake kill or bring to life? Rather, when the people looked up and gave their hearts to their Heavenly Father they were healed (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 3:8)."
One possible message from these passages is the bronze serpent could be understood as a symbol for the one true God and a way for the individual to be redirected toward God; the source of healing.
The symbol becomes a reminder of where the true power lies. The Greeks, who had many gods, may have considered this message appropriate too.
This is a passage that I continually seek God’s wisdom and understanding because it has puzzled me for many years. How could God torment his own people and they give them a molten image of bronze as a symbol of their healing knowing they would worship it and not Him because they worshipped false God’s all the time.
I believe some of the answers lie somewhere between these three points:
Sometimes, the message of turning ourselves to God in times of difficulty can be lost on us.
More often, it is a reminder that God himself regardless of times of trial or consequence, always gives us a way out of our pain
We must understand that God is the one providing the redemptive power, not the person, place or thing in-and-of-itself.
We see doctors and medicine today as a science over which we have power. The rabbit’s foot does not bring us luck. The person who prays over you if you are healed is not a healer. The place in which we are saved is not what saved us. The pastor, priest or rabbi did not make you a believer in Jesus. These things mentioned are not what is to be worshipped for their redemptive power. The triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are what we are to worship. Do not be like the Israelites and fall victim to Satan’s deception.
Many times in our life, we will forget God stands behind it all but remind yourself to come back to the truth; looking for God's role in all aspects of our lives and be reminded of that dictate by this week's story of the bronze serpent in the desert.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil.
For yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever and ever. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, The King of Glory, Yahweh.
Amen.