Numbers 21:4-9

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea,¹ to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses,² “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?³ For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.”

Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died.⁴ The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you;⁵ pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.”⁶ So Moses prayed for the people.⁷

And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’”⁸

So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole;⁹ and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.¹⁰

1 They continue to move around a lot, with nowhere to go.

2 Emphasizes that speaking against Moses is also sin.

3 This is getting really repetitive.

4 God answers by giving death, by making their lives even worse. The means of death-dealing has changed often.

5 They are convicted of their sin.

6 They need Moses to intercede with God – they can't do it themselves.

7 Moses does intercede.

8 God chooses an extremely strange means, idol-reminiscent, to bring about their healing. Indeed, in 2 Kings 18:4 the people do start to worship it as an idol.

9 Moses obeys.

10 The people live, as God had said.

Take-home: God continues to show that he is both the one who gives life and the one who takes it away. Complaining about God's provision is once again shown to be sin.