They asked Moses to pray to the LORD and have Him remove these serpents. They must have been very prevalent and not just a few here and there. I would say they were overrun by the serpents, just as sin overruns those who are careless towards God. Perhaps the serpents just dropped out of the sky, since elsewhere in Scripture they are described as flying fiery serpents, (dragons)
Moses prayed and God instructed Moses to create a bonze serpent and place in on a pole. Those who followed his instructions to look upon the snake on the pole would be healed of their bite, but those who refused to look upon the snake would die from their bite. Interesting in that the serpents were sent upon them due to their sin. And the image on the pole was the object God used to punish them for their sin. They had to look upon the object that brought their punishment to be healed.
Jesus said compared Himself to the serpent on the pole in this chapter and that any who look to Him and believe on Him will not perish, but have eternal life. ( John 3:14-15) He became sin on the cross, he took our sin upon Himself, and took the punishment for our sin from the Father, and nailed our sin to the cross, so that we could have eternal life in Him.
After this episode with the serpents and God removing the serpents, the Israelites set out and camped in Oboth, then Ije-abarim, in the wilderness of Moab, east of Jordan. Then move on to the valley of Zared. From there they camped on the other side of the Arnon River, in the Amorite territory where it borders Moab. Verse 14-15 mentions a book of wars that tell of what the LORD did in these areas for the Israelites. This must have been a book scribed by another Israelite and was not preserved or discovered yet.
From the brooks of the Arnon River (Ar) they went to Beer, were there was a well without water. God promises to bring forth water from the well after the princes and nobles dug up the well at God's direction.
Continued...
They asked Moses to pray to the LORD and have Him remove these serpents. They must have been very prevalent and not just a few here and there. I would say they were overrun by the serpents, just as sin overruns those who are careless towards God. Perhaps the serpents just dropped out of the sky, since elsewhere in Scripture they are described as flying fiery serpents, (dragons)
Moses prayed and God instructed Moses to create a bonze serpent and place in on a pole. Those who followed his instructions to look upon the snake on the pole would be healed of their bite, but those who refused to look upon the snake would die from their bite. Interesting in that the serpents were sent upon them due to their sin. And the image on the pole was the object God used to punish them for their sin. They had to look upon the object that brought their punishment to be healed.
Jesus said compared Himself to the serpent on the pole in this chapter and that any who look to Him and believe on Him will not perish, but have eternal life. ( John 3:14-15) He became sin on the cross, he took our sin upon Himself, and took the punishment for our sin from the Father, and nailed our sin to the cross, so that we could have eternal life in Him.
After this episode with the serpents and God removing the serpents, the Israelites set out and camped in Oboth, then Ije-abarim, in the wilderness of Moab, east of Jordan. Then move on to the valley of Zared. From there they camped on the other side of the Arnon River, in the Amorite territory where it borders Moab. Verse 14-15 mentions a book of wars that tell of what the LORD did in these areas for the Israelites. This must have been a book scribed by another Israelite and was not preserved or discovered yet.
From the brooks of the Arnon River (Ar) they went to Beer, were there was a well without water. God promises to bring forth water from the well after the princes and nobles dug up the well at God's direction.
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