Look Up and Live
Well, now, ring my dinner bell an’ watch me come runnin’, friend! You git to easin’ on in right over here beside this lil’ potted ivy plant and git yourself real comfortable on this here front porch ‘cause Numbers 21:9 is ‘bout to shine with the kind of truth that lands deep down in your soul the way a long‑awaited rain lands on dry Texas soil, soft at first, then, sho’-nuff life‑givin’. This verse is tellin’ us, “So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed.” That there lands with the weight of a big ol’ beaver belly floppin’ right into the creek. It tells us something mighty important. When God provides a way, even the all the lil’ ol’ critters know better than to argue ‘bout it.
Now, friend, the Israelites were wanderin’ through the wilderness with Moses, They was all fussin’ and complainin’ like an ol’ rooster that just discovered his reflection in the water trough and decided that he needed to fight an’ whip it with all his might. God had parted the Red Sea for them. He had poured water out of a rock like it was a divine drinking fountain. He had sprinkled manna from heaven and sent quail waddlin’ right into their camp. Yet, they still grumbled. They even said they hated the manna. Imagine actually tellin’ God you hate His cookin’. That there takes a real special kind of nerve, don’t it?
So, the Lord sent snakes slitherin’ through the camp. Not the cute little green garden kind either if you can actually call any ol’ snake “cute”. These were the sort that make you climb a fence faster than an ol’ raccoon runnin’ from a hound dog. Folks got bit. Folks got real scared. Folks repented real quick. They begged Moses to pray, and Moses did just that. And God, in His mercy, told Moses to make a bronze snake and lift it up on a pole. Anyone who looked at it would live.
But, friend, that there wasn’t just any ol’ snake story. That was a preview. Jesus said in John 3:14-15, “As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.” And in John 12:32, He added, “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” He was talkin’ ‘bout the cross. He was talkin’ ‘bout salvation. He was talkin’ ‘bout you an’ me.
We’ve all been snake bit by sin. Every doggone one of us. An’ the only cure is to be lookin’ to Jesus. Not to our goodness. Not to our efforts. Not to our excuses. Just Jesus alone.
And, friend, if you ever wonder why God would bother with you, remember what Job 7:17 says, “What are people, that you should make so much of us?” The answer is real simple. He purely loves you an’ me with an everlasting love.
Father, thank You for lifting Jesus up, so I could live. Help me look to Him every day, trust Him fully, and remember that Your love is greater than my sin. Draw my heart to You again and again. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
By golly, friend, as you start to wanderin’ right on back into your day, you’ve got to let this real truth settle into your heart the way a wise old barn owl settles onto a sturdy branch just waitin’ for a lil’ ol’ mouse meal to scamper out so he can swoop in. You’ve got to be reminded that God’s tender mercy is much quicker than a lil’ ol’ scared chipmunk dartin’ up a tree to escape from bein’ a meal for the wolf. Let it steady you like a tall pine that has stood through dozens storms over many years. And git to walkin’ forward with real joy in knowin’ that every time you look to Jesus, you’re gonna find real life, real hope, and real healing that no kind o’ snake bite of sin can ever be stealin’ away from you. Our God has provided a way! Are you listenin’?
With joy,
Gwen
