Articles
Crosses and a Snake on a Pole
by Gordon Enger
Israel had spent nearly forty years in the wilderness. They
had been eating the same food, wearing the same clothes, and
walking in the same shoes all this time. I’m sure the
monotony of it all was causing their patience to wear thin.
The children kept asking, “Are we there yet?” Over
and over the same things. “Mom, Nathan is touching me.
Make him stop!”
“Okay kids, that’s enough. Find something else
to occupy your time!”
Today the whole assembly heard the news that Aaron had died
and his son Eleazar had become the high priest.
After thirty days of mourning, Israel started moving once
again. As they approached the land of Canaan, the king of Arad
attacked Israel and captured some of them. Israel made a vow
to YHVH saying, “If you will deliver these people into
our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.” YHVH
listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites over
to them. Israel completely destroyed them and their towns so
they named the place Hormah which means “devoted to destruction.”
From there, they traveled along the route to the Red Sea
to go around Edom. The Bible then tells us that they “grew
impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses,
and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to
die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And
we detest this miserable food!’”
As a result of their rebellious attitude, YHVH sent venomous
snakes which bit some of the people causing many to die.
The people went to Moses and admitted they had “sinned
when we spoke against YHVH and against Moses.”
So Moses prayed that YHVH would take the snakes away. As
a result of his prayer, he was instructed to “Make a
snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look
at it and live.” Moses made a bronze snake and put it
up on a pole and when anyone who had been bitten looked up
at the snake, he lived.
More than a thousand years later, the Messiah was having
a discussion with Nicodemus in which he equated his being lifted
up to that day long ago when Moses lifted up the snake in the
desert. And just as anyone who looked upon the snake was healed,
so anyone who lifts up the Son of Man and believes will be
healed from the death penalty.
It should be obvious that the snake on a pole is a picture
of Christ on the crucifixion stake. Both bring healing and
both are important to the believer.
We see crosses everywhere we go. On churches, in churches,
around peoples necks, on books, and on works of art. It has
become a thing of great veneration and something held in high
esteem. Some folks kiss it to show their respect. It is used
to cast out “evil.” It has become a symbol of one’s
belief.
But there is more to the story of the snake on a pole. Going
back to the book of II Kings to chapter 18 and verse 4, we
can pick up the details of the end of the snake on a pole incident.
Hezekiah began his reign over Judah at the age of twenty-five.
The Bible tells us he did what was right in God’s eyes,
just as his father David had done. He removed the high places,
smashed the sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles.
Then we are told, “He broke into pieces the bronze snake
Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been
burning incense to it.”
Are you guilty of venerating an object as Israel had done
rather than worshipping the one to whom these objects point?
Maybe you should break your crosses as Hezekiah broke the snake
on a pole.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or
any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that
is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth.
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