Numbers

Numbers 21: God gives life to the dying

Begin in prayer

Before we hear how dying people looked at the serpent and lived, let us ask God for eyes of faith. Please pray that we will take sin seriously and look to Jesus for rescue.

He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves.

Psalm 107:20

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us the danger of our sin, and teach us to look to Jesus, who was lifted up to save His people. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

After Arad’s king takes captives, Israel asks God for victory, and He gives them the Canaanites to destroy with their cities. On the journey around Edom, the people complain against God, and He sends venomous snakes that kill many. They confess their sin, and God tells Moses to make a serpent on a pole, so those bitten may look and live. Israel then travels onward, and God gives water at a well where the people sing. Sihon refuses passage and attacks, and Israel defeats him and takes his land. God also gives Og and all his people into Israel’s hand, and none survive the battle.

As you read Numbers 21, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God judges sin and gives life through the rescue He provides.

Israel has seen God give victory, yet the long journey around Edom brings fresh complaints. They speak against God and Moses and despise the bread God has given them. The venomous snakes are His judgment, and the dying people confess that their words have been sinful. God answers Moses’ prayer with a rescue the bitten person must receive by looking. The brass serpent has no power of its own, for life comes through God’s promise. The same Lord gives water and brings His people onward against kings who fight them. His mercy carries them forward, while His judgment teaches them to take sin seriously.

How does Numbers 21 show us that God judges sin and gives life through the rescue He provides?

God judges the sin of speaking against His care.

The people say they loathe the bread God has been giving them. The Lord sends venomous snakes, and many die. Israel confesses that speaking against Him and Moses was sin, and asks Moses to pray.

God gives life when the dying look to His appointed rescue.

Moses lifts the brass serpent on a pole as God commands. A bitten person who looks at it lives because God has promised life. Jesus names this as a picture of His cross in John 3 verse 14.

God carries His people onward through water and victory.

God promises water at Beer, and the people sing at the well. Sihon attacks after refusing passage, and Israel takes his land. God then gives Og and all his people into Israel’s hand, until no survivors remain.

Memorise

If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of brass, he lived.

Numbers 21:9

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what do I look to for rescue instead of trusting Jesus?

God promises that the bitten person, “when he sees it, shall live.” The people are dying because of their sin, and God gives a way to live. They must look where His promise directs them.

We face the death our sin deserves, and we cannot heal our guilty hearts. Jesus was lifted up on the cross for His people, bearing their sin and punishment. He rose from the dead, having paid for their sins in full. His completed sacrifice is enough to give eternal life to those who trust Him.

So turn from sin and look to Jesus in faith. He grants forgiveness to those who rely on His saving death. Please bring Him your guilt without trying to make yourself well first. The Savior who was lifted up is alive, and His promise of life can be trusted.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the brass serpent had no healing power of its own, and Jesus calls them to trust Him. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for giving life through the rescue He provides, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:10

Father, thank You for hearing the cry of guilty people and giving a way to live. Please turn each of us from sin and teach us to trust Jesus, who was lifted up for His people. Keep our eyes on Him, and make us thankful for Your care along the way. Amen.