Fiery Serpents

 FIVE

The Classic Pattern:

Fiery Serpents

A pattern is a representation of a reality. If that reality must be built, the pattern is a representation of something in the future. The classic pattern is that of the ‘fiery serpent’. Normally, we associate ‘serpent’ with the devil. Yet, our aspiration is to view the ‘bigger picture’. We deal with shadows. This is a pattern that represents Christ.

It is a physical healing that indicates a spiritual healing, and it is by no means chance that a snake on a pole is the physician’s symbol.

Numbers 21:6-9 begins thusly: “And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that He take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”

Now, of course, many things must be taken into account. First, however, let me forestall the conclusion that Christ and Satan are somehow one and the same. This serpent, in no wise, represented the enemy in its foreshadowing of Christ.

It represented the sins of the people.

The people had set themselves up for calamity; God delivered.

The brass snake on a pole was a pattern for sin crucified. The serpent does not represent Christ, but the sin He became on our behalf. The Hebrews had to look upon the serpent to live: they had to look upon their own sin. An interesting undertone to that scenario is that the thing they ran afoul of was the thing that saved them.

This may also be applied to our spiritual salvation. John 3:14-15 says, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

It is a step forward to go from recognition to belief. But, here we are. A man must do more than simply see Christ on the cross.

Man must learn not to downplay the communications God sends our way. Today, we are very much like the men in Christ’s day. We look at the Bible and say, oh, that’s just written by man. Our backs are turned on God. Should we, like the men of old, ever turn back around and look into the mirror, we would see God in man.

I have written that the image in a mirror reenacts our every posture. Christ communicated that His actions were the reflection of God’s actions. John 8:28 shows that. “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things.”

Christ pointed to connections between God and man. Man would not see. Likewise, modern Christians reject the deeper connections between Christ and Man. (“In the third day He will raise us up.”)

This study is not about simple directions a man may go in, but more aptly about transitions of the nature of man. We are the image and glory of God, but we have turned away. If we should turn back, the underlying formational transition implied in the word “unto” from the next scripture reference makes perfect sense. John 12:32 tells us, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

Just what if: this is not the directional up to heaven ‘unto’, but a spiritual upgrade in present man, so that each of us can be a Jesus. Check out Psalms 68:18, “Thou hast ascended on high (attained a spiritual state), thou hast led captivity captive (a dead end no more): thou hast received gifts (light) for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.”