Numbers 20-21
Chapter 20 may be one of the saddest chapters in the Old Testament. The transition from the 'wilderness wanderer' generation to the next generation continues:
1. Death of Miriam (20:1)
2. Punishment of Moses/Aaron (20:2-13)
3. Edom denies Israel passage (20:14-21)
4. Death of Aaron (20:22-29)
The punishment of Moses & Aaron is due to their actions in the 'water from a rock' story. I want to take a closer look at what it was, exactly, that they did to merit such a severe penalty (banned from entering the Promised Land after 40 years of faithful service).
What did Moses do wrong? Here are some possibilities:
1. Pride (He used the term 'we' (v. 10) instead of giving credit to God)
2. Anger (He called the people 'rebels' (v. 10) when he wasn't told to speak to them at all
3. Disobedience (He struck the rock (v. 11) instead of speaking to it (see v. 24)
4. Symbolism (The rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4) and so striking it a 2nd & 3rd time was wrong
5. Sovereignty (God wanted Joshua, not Moses, to lead the people into Promised Land)
So which of these possibilities is correct? Perhaps more than 1. Perhaps all in varying degrees. It seems to me that disobedience was the major sin involved. But why was THIS disobedience punished so severely? I think that has a lot to do with the symbolism mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:4. Moses had earlier been commanded to strike the rock (Exodus 17). This may have represented the crucifixion (since the Rock was Christ). Here, a request was to be made of Christ but He was struck twice instead. Though Moses may not have fully understood what the rock represented, he did understand the metaphorical value of a 'Rock' (Deut. 32:4, 15, 18).
The Edomite story is part of a much larger Old Testament narrative dating back to Jacob & Esau and continuing on, especially highlighted in the 1 chapter book of Obadiah.
In Chapter 21 the Israelites experience some military battles. The neighbors of the Promised Land are nervous about Israel's presence and attack Israel. But God is on Israel's side. Arad is destroyed along with Sihon & Og (who was a giant). We are also told the story of the bronze snake. The people complained (as per usual) and so God punished them with bites from venomous snakes. The people repented and asked Moses to pray for them. Moses was told, by the Lord, to make a snake and put it on a banner pole (perhaps cross shaped). Anyone who was bitten would be able to look up to the snake and would then live.
Why would God allow a snake, usually a negative symbol in Scripture, to represent Christ on the cross. We know that it did represent that based on John 3:14-15. It is possible that this snake did still represent Satan while the cross it was placed on represented the cross of Christ. In other words, the symbolism is declaring that by the cross of Christ, Satan will be defeated. Just like the Israelites were healed from the physical poison by looking to the banner poll, we are healed from our spiritual sins by looking to the cross. The snakes in that story were defeated. Satan, in our story, is defeated. This falls in line with Hebrews 2:14. It's also possible to connect this story to 2 Corinthians 5:21 where it says that Jesus 'became sin' for us. In that sense, the snake actually represents, in a somewhat obscure way, what Christ became on our behalf.
1. Death of Miriam (20:1)
2. Punishment of Moses/Aaron (20:2-13)
3. Edom denies Israel passage (20:14-21)
4. Death of Aaron (20:22-29)
The punishment of Moses & Aaron is due to their actions in the 'water from a rock' story. I want to take a closer look at what it was, exactly, that they did to merit such a severe penalty (banned from entering the Promised Land after 40 years of faithful service).
What did Moses do wrong? Here are some possibilities:
1. Pride (He used the term 'we' (v. 10) instead of giving credit to God)
2. Anger (He called the people 'rebels' (v. 10) when he wasn't told to speak to them at all
3. Disobedience (He struck the rock (v. 11) instead of speaking to it (see v. 24)
4. Symbolism (The rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4) and so striking it a 2nd & 3rd time was wrong
5. Sovereignty (God wanted Joshua, not Moses, to lead the people into Promised Land)
So which of these possibilities is correct? Perhaps more than 1. Perhaps all in varying degrees. It seems to me that disobedience was the major sin involved. But why was THIS disobedience punished so severely? I think that has a lot to do with the symbolism mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:4. Moses had earlier been commanded to strike the rock (Exodus 17). This may have represented the crucifixion (since the Rock was Christ). Here, a request was to be made of Christ but He was struck twice instead. Though Moses may not have fully understood what the rock represented, he did understand the metaphorical value of a 'Rock' (Deut. 32:4, 15, 18).
The Edomite story is part of a much larger Old Testament narrative dating back to Jacob & Esau and continuing on, especially highlighted in the 1 chapter book of Obadiah.
In Chapter 21 the Israelites experience some military battles. The neighbors of the Promised Land are nervous about Israel's presence and attack Israel. But God is on Israel's side. Arad is destroyed along with Sihon & Og (who was a giant). We are also told the story of the bronze snake. The people complained (as per usual) and so God punished them with bites from venomous snakes. The people repented and asked Moses to pray for them. Moses was told, by the Lord, to make a snake and put it on a banner pole (perhaps cross shaped). Anyone who was bitten would be able to look up to the snake and would then live.
Why would God allow a snake, usually a negative symbol in Scripture, to represent Christ on the cross. We know that it did represent that based on John 3:14-15. It is possible that this snake did still represent Satan while the cross it was placed on represented the cross of Christ. In other words, the symbolism is declaring that by the cross of Christ, Satan will be defeated. Just like the Israelites were healed from the physical poison by looking to the banner poll, we are healed from our spiritual sins by looking to the cross. The snakes in that story were defeated. Satan, in our story, is defeated. This falls in line with Hebrews 2:14. It's also possible to connect this story to 2 Corinthians 5:21 where it says that Jesus 'became sin' for us. In that sense, the snake actually represents, in a somewhat obscure way, what Christ became on our behalf.
posted by matthew at 1:22 PM
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