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Arad Destroyed
21 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. And Israel vowed a vow to the LORD and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.” And the LORD heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah.
The Bronze Serpent
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
The Song of the Well
And the people of Israel set out and camped in Oboth. And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD,
“Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,
and the slope of the valleys
that extends to the seat of Ar,
and leans to the border of Moab.”
And from there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” Then Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—
the well that the princes made,
that the nobles of the people dug,
with the scepter and with their staffs.”
And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that looks down on the desert.
King Sihon Defeated
Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. Therefore the ballad singers say,
“Come to Heshbon, let it be built;
let the city of Sihon be established.
For fire came out from Heshbon,
flame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured Ar of Moab,
and swallowed the heights of the Arnon.
Woe to you, O Moab!
You are undone, O people of Chemosh!
He has made his sons fugitives,
and his daughters captives,
to an Amorite king, Sihon.
So we overthrew them;
Heshbon, as far as Dibon, perished;
and we laid waste as far as Nophah;
fire spread as far as Medeba.”
King Og Defeated
Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.
(ESV)
Numbers 21 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Take a moment and think about the times in your life that you’ve been sorry about something. What was it that ultimately brought you to that moment of humility? Was it just because you got caught, or did the destruction of your choices lead you to a deeper sorrow? Now consider, did you only say you were sorry or did you also repent. You see, they are not the same thing.
As new parents of a smart, funny, creative, (and stubborn) 5-year-old, we have changed our parenting philosophy many times. One such change involved encouraging our daughter to not only admit that she’s sorry but to also ask for forgiveness. Of course, all of us have witnessed children who very quickly muddle through their “being sorry” so that they can move on and not face any more consequences. Consequences… ugh! It’s interesting to consider the relationship between repentance and consequences.
It would be those very consequences that finally drove the people to repentance. That’s how it usually goes, right? I would agree that getting gnawed on by a bunch of snakes would definitely cause me to rethink my current attitude and behavior. God sent snakes to bring pain. Some people may take offense to such a move. But few can argue that pain and struggle lead to humility which can often lead to true repentance. And no, I’m not talking about just saying you are sorry. The text tells us that the people literally begged Moses to intervene for them.
His intervention would lead to an obscure solution from God.
Then the LORD told Moses to make a metal snake and put it on a pole, so that anyone who was bitten could look at it and be healed. 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Anyone who had been bitten would look at the bronze snake and be healed.
Numbers 21:8-9 GNB
A bronze snake on a pole? Isn’t that an idol?!? The significance of this decision stretches into the future as Jesus would use this event as a word picture when speaking to Nicodemus.
As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
John 3:14-15 GNB
So why would God compare a snake to Jesus? Well, from the Jewish perspective, it was quite humiliating to have to look up to such a creation in order to receive healing. The real snakes that God sent came with consequences and the only way to rid themselves of the pain was to humbly ask Moses to intervene. In this way, the very same animal that caused their pain would be the one to heal it. It would have been easy to look up at something pleasurable for healing, but God forced them to look upon a repulsive image in order to be saved.
Likewise, when God sent Jesus, He “bit” the Jews with the bitter truth about their sin. They rejected and executed Him, which lifted Jesus the Savior high up on the cross. Anyone who looked upon Him and trusted Him by faith would be saved. However, just like the image of the bronze snake was repulsive to the people of Israel, the death of Jesus by crucifixion was considered a horrible curse. And so it happened that God used the shameful behavior of the Israelites to explain the significance of Jesus’ death.
The question that lingers in my mind deals with true sorrow and repentance. Will you humble yourself to the ways of Jesus or continue to harden your heart? In what ways are you learning and growing in your humility?