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Just a bit of a reminder or announcement. Usually we take the last two 
Sunday or the last two Wednesdays off. We're actually going to 
take three off this time, so there'll be no Bible study next 
Wednesday and the following two. This is a natural break, provided 
we get through chapter 21 tonight. I'm going to need a bit of prep 
time for the Balaam narratives. The donkey part's the easy part, 
so let's just say that. The donkey's actually the chump 
change in that whole exchange. So yeah, I'm going to need some 
time to prepare for the Balaam narrative. So no Bible study 
next Wednesday night and the following two Wednesday nights. 
We'll recommence. in January. So I'll read Numbers 
21. It's a long chapter. We won't look at every detail, 
but just the main head. So beginning in verse 1, the 
king of Arad, the Canaanite who dwelt in the south, heard that 
Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against 
Israel and took some of them prisoners. So Israel made a vow 
to the Lord and said, if you will indeed deliver this people 
into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. And the 
Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, 
and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name 
of that place was called Hormah. Then they journeyed from Mount 
Hor by the way of the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. 
And the soul of the people became very discouraged 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 our soul loathes this worthless 
bread. So the Lord sent fiery serpents 
among the people, and they bit the people, and many of the people 
of Israel died. Therefore 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. 
Then the Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent, and set 
it on a pole, and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, 
when he looks at it, shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent, 
and put it on a pole. And so it was, if a serpent had 
bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. 
Now the children of Israel moved on and camped in Oboth, and they 
journeyed from Oboth and camped at Ej Abarim in the wilderness, 
which is east of Moab, toward the sunrise. From there they 
moved and camped in the valley of Zerah. From there they moved 
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 
and Suphah, the brooks of the Arnon and the slope of the brooks 
that reaches to the dwelling of Ar and lies on the border 
of Moab. From there they went to Bir, 
which is the well where the Lord said to Moses, Gather the people 
together, and I will give them water. Then Israel sang this 
song, Spring up, O well, all of you sing to it. The well the 
leaders sank, dug by the nation's nobles, by the lawgiver with 
their staves. And from the wilderness they 
went to Matanah, and from Matanah to Nahalil, from Nahalil to Behmoth, 
and from Behmoth, in the valley that is in the country of Moab, 
to the top of Pisgah, which looks down on the wasteland. Then Israel 
sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, Let 
me pass through your land. We will not turn aside from indah 
fields or vineyards. We will not drink water from 
wells. 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. So Sihon gathered all his people 
together and went out against Israel in the wilderness. And 
he came to Jehaz 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 the people of Ammon. For the 
border of the people of Ammon was fortified. So Israel took 
all these cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the 
Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages. For Heshbon was 
the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against 
the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his 
hand as far as the Arnon. Therefore those who speak in 
Proverbs say, come to Heshbon, let it be built, let the city 
of Sihon be repaired. For fire went out from Heshbon, 
a flame from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the lords 
of the heights of the Arnon. Woe to you, Moab! You have perished, 
O people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, 
and his daughters into captivity, to Sihon king of the Amorites. 
But we have shot at them. Heshbon has perished as far as 
Dibon. Then we laid waste as far as 
Nofah, which reaches to Medaboth. Thus Israel dwelt in the land 
of the Amorites. Then Moses sent to spy out Jazar, 
and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were 
there. And they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. So Og, 
king of Bashan, went out against them, he and all his people, 
to battle at Edre. Then the Lord said to Moses, 
do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all 
his people and his land, and you shall do to him as you did 
to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon. So they 
defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no 
survivor left him, and they took possession of his land. Amen. Well, I mentioned Balaam and 
his donkey. That's probably one of the more 
familiar stories in the book of Numbers, but I think in this 
chapter we have the most familiar, specifically the bronze serpent. 
Obviously, this is the passage that Jesus alludes to or cites 
in John 3, specifically at verse 14. A very famous and wonderful 
typology with reference to the gospel of our salvation. So we'll 
spend the bulk of our time there, but just to give you an outline 
of the chapter, we will work our way all the way through it, 
but the bulk will be on the bronze serpent. So we'll look first 
at the defeat of the Canaanites, in verses 1 to 3. Secondly, the 
grace of God in verses 4 to 9. And then finally, the wars of 
the Lord in verses 10 to 35. Now this is about 38 years into 
their journey. It does connect with chapter 
20. which we saw was that time frame in Numbers 33, 36 to 39. It tells us that the death of 
Aaron the high priest happened 38 years after they had been 
out in the wilderness. So that's the time frame. Probably 
the connection here is also thematic. that we find in terms of what 
goes on in chapter 20. So as we look first at the defeat 
of the Canaanites in verses 1 to 3, note first the attack. The 
king of Arad, the Canaanite who dwelt in the south, heard that 
Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. then he fought against 
Israel and took some of them prisoners. Now there's likely 
a connection here to chapter 14. You can turn back there to 
verses 39 to 45. So again, this would have been 
38 years previously in Numbers chapter 14, but there was a similar 
attempt in the same region or area. Remember, after the false 
report given by the bad spies, the antiprophets, the children 
of Israel side with the ten antiprophets and they reject the good counsel 
of Joshua and Caleb. So then Moses intercedes on behalf 
of the children of Israel because God wanted to wipe them out. 
And, of course, God stays His hand of judgment and wrath at 
that particular time, but He does promise that the first generation 
will die in the wilderness. It won't be those people that 
enter into the land of promise. And that's what precedes verse 
39. But in verses 39 to 45, they 
launch a futile attempt against the better counsel of Moses. Moses discourages them for going 
into that portion or into that region, and of course, they lose. 
The hand of the Lord is against them, and so they lose. So we 
go now to chapter 21, and we have a similar situation in a 
similar region, again, 38 years later, and the king of Arad, 
the Canaanite, hears that Israel is coming, and so he mounts an 
invasion, or rather an attack, against them. And then note the 
response in verses 2 and 3. The first thing is that Israel 
prayed, which is a good sign. And we're going to see a lot 
of the same sins in this particular chapter. So we conclude that 
the same sins of the first generation are carried along in the second 
generation. But there are a few encouraging 
things in this particular section. And as we look at it, at times, 
their motives aren't altogether pure, but God nevertheless answers. In fact, they are praying to 
God to intervene later, such that they will not be killed, 
such that they will not receive or incur judgment. Again, that's 
a normal way to pray, to be sure, but maintaining communion with 
God and not whining against God and not complaining against God 
will make it so that he doesn't send fiery serpents. And there 
is this motif that you see here. You see it in the cycle in the 
book, the cycles in the book of Judges, and then you see it 
in Exodus chapter 2. where the children of Israel 
cry out, not because they want the nearness of God, but because 
they want deliverance from their particular burden. And again, 
that's a sort of a native response when we are burdened to cry out 
for the removal of the burden, but it's best to pray for more 
of the presence of God, more of the power of God, and genuine 
repentance when it comes to our own sin that lands us into those 
consequences imposed by God. In fact, in the cycles in Judges, 
they always cry out, but it's never in repentance. It's never 
to forsake their sin. I think the amazing thing is 
that even in spite of that, in Exodus 2, in the cycles in Judges, 
and as well with reference to the bronze serpent, God answers. Even though their motivation 
wasn't pure and altogether right, God nevertheless is infinite 
in grace and God nevertheless answers those particular prayers. 
So here we see their specific prayer in terms of safety and 
in terms of fulfilling what God had purposed for the Canaanites. So notice in verse 2, Israel 
made a vow to the Lord and said, if you will indeed deliver this 
people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 
We call that the harem principle, the idea of harem. is not a bunch 
of women, but rather it means devoted to destruction. And we 
know this is God's plan for the Canaanites according to Exodus 
chapter 23. It will be repeated in Deuteronomy 
chapter 7 when God commands holy war as the people of Israel go 
into the land of Canaan. So if you will indeed deliver 
this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their 
cities. And then note the Lord's answer. 
His goodness is obviously on display. First, in verse 3, the 
Lord listened to the voice of Israel. Now, their track record 
hadn't been that good. Their track record, as we have 
seen, has been pretty repetitive in terms of complaint and whining 
and this yearning to go back to Egypt. They wanted all the 
benefits associated with slavery versus the challenge of being 
a free man en route to a blessed destination wherein there was 
a land flowing with milk and honey. So that God even listens 
to the voice of Israel is a very encouraging thing. How much more 
does the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avail much? 
If God is going to listen to these Israelites on their way 
to Moab, then certainly He's going to listen to the blood-bought 
children of God. So we ought to be a prayerful 
people. So God then answers by not only listening, but by delivering 
up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities, 
so the name of that place was called Hormah. Now, with reference to this, 
you see God's answer, you see God's blessing, but you see now 
the down payment on the defeat of God's enemies. Remember, the 
design by God was that Israel inherit that land. That land 
is presently, at the time of the writing of Numbers by Moses, 
at the time was inhabited by wicked people. And we ought to 
make sure that we never conclude that God is capricious or arbitrary. There's a bunch of hapless, innocent 
souls just inhabiting Canaan, and now these horrible Israelites 
are going to come in and destroy that. Now, when the Israelites 
act like horrible Canaanites, they end up getting destroyed 
too, but prior to that, we ought to remember Leviticus chapter 
18. You can turn there, Leviticus chapter 18, various laws concerning 
sexual morality, and there's a passage at verse 24 where God 
describes one of the purposes behind this conquest of Canaan. Notice in Leviticus 18, 24, "...do 
not defile yourselves with any of these things, for by all these 
the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you." 
Davis says the conquest is not a bunch of land-hungry marauders 
wiping out at the behest of their vicious God hundreds of innocent 
God-fearing folks. In the biblical view, the God 
of the Bible uses none too righteous Israel as the instrument of his 
just judgment on a people who persistently reveled in their 
iniquity. So God raises up Israel. He's 
given this promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He sends Israel 
upon this mission to conquer the promised land, to dispossess 
the promised land of the Canaanites because they reveled in their 
wickedness. They were lawless. They were 
wretched. They were vile. But as pointed 
out, once Israel goes into that land, as we've seen in our readings 
to the book of Joshua on Sunday night, Joshua portrays a very 
favorable aspect or vision, rather, of the conquest. But when you 
get to Judges, it's downhill. It is not a good scene. And so 
in Judges, you see the beginning of the nation of Israel becoming 
like the Canaanites they were supposed to dispossess. And that 
ultimately leads to their downfall vis-a-vis the conquest by the 
Assyrians, the northern kingdom, in the 8th century B.C., and 
then the southern kingdom falls to Babylon in the 6th century 
B.C. So God's not capricious. God's 
not arbitrary. Israel, none too righteous, goes 
in to judge less than righteous people called the Canaanites. 
But then Israel devolves or degenerates even into more unrighteousness. So God raises up Assyria. God 
raises up Babylon to cast them out of the land. And then the 
final thing that we ought to notice here in terms of God's 
response to the people, His answer, His blessing, the defeat of their 
enemies, and the down payment on future victories over the 
Canaanites. Remember, they weren't in a military 
training camp when they were in Egypt. They were slave laborers 
for Pharaoh and the godless there. They didn't have skills for wilderness 
wandering. They didn't have skills for military 
readiness. So throughout the wilderness, 
they are learning, and God is preparing them, and God is leading 
them. Because when they go into the 
land of promise, there is going to be a great deal of bloodshed. 
When we're reading that section about the division of the land, 
remember the Canaanites didn't just say, go ahead and take the 
land. They conquered them. They killed 
them. They broke things. They engaged 
in warfare under Joshua and the military campaigns launched by 
him. Well, this is the beginning of 
them learning how to combat their enemies under God and His power. And so this is a down payment, 
not only judgment upon the Canaanites, but blessing upon the Israelites, 
such that when they get to the promised land, they're going 
to take care of business. They're going to be able to do 
it because they did it with the king of Arad, the Canaanite, 
in this instance, and then Sihon, and then Og in chapter 21. That's 
why the wars of the Lord are one of the primary emphases in 
the chapter, because we see God's blessing upon the children of 
Israel. Then that brings us to the grace of God in verses 4 
to 9. And basically you've got a problem 
stated in verses 4 and 5, a punishment inflicted in verses 6 and 7, 
and then a prescription given in verses 8 and 9. The problem 
shouldn't surprise us. It's been the problem ever since 
we got into the wilderness. These people are a one-note Johnny. 
They continue to do the same thing. So note, the people are 
discouraged according to verse 4. Remember, they attempted diplomacy 
with the king of Edom so they could pass through Edom according 
to chapter 20, verses 14 to 21. Of course, the king of Edom refused 
that. So it put a significant amount 
of miles on their journey. So the discouragement is normal. Imagine going somewhere, getting 
far in your journey, and then having to take a detour however 
many miles around. That would be naturally discouraging. So verse 4 says, Then they journeyed 
from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to go around the 
land of Edom, and the soul of the people became very discouraged 
on the way. So discouragement is not lacking 
in the life of God's people. It's how we deal with that discouragement 
that is absolutely crucial. And here in verse 5 is a picture 
on how not to deal with discouragement, as we have seen repetitively. We've seen it in chapters 11, 
chapter 13, chapter 14, chapter 16, and then again in chapter 
20, this recurring theme of complaint. And that's precisely what they 
do again. So notice in verse 5, and the people spoke against 
God and against Moses. Bit of a twist there. The first 
generation would always target Moses and they would target Aaron. Now God knew that he was the 
ultimate target. He says so repetitively throughout 
the various sections. Chapter 11, chapter 14. Several 
times he knows that a complaint against Moses and Aaron is ultimately 
a complaint against him because in his providence he ordained 
Moses and Aaron to function as the God-ordained leadership in 
that particular community. Here the second generation seems 
to be a bit more brazen. They specifically named God. It says, and the people spoke 
against God and against Moses. They're not hiding the nature 
of their complaint in some pietistic way. Well, it's just Moses and 
Aaron. No, it's God and it's Moses. And so they are going 
right through the front door of heaven, as it were, to make 
known their complaints. As well, when we kind of work 
through this section, look at how prone they are to amnesia. Look at verse 3, they just gained 
victory. They pray to the Lord, according 
to verse 2, the Lord hears their prayer, the Lord delivers up 
the Canaanites, the children of Israel utterly destroy them 
and their cities, and they name that place Hormah, which is basically 
destruction. And so on the heels of that, 
once again, bit of a difficulty, longer journey, more time in 
the wilderness, and yet they resort to the same sort of complaint 
against the God who just delivered them from their enemies. As Ashley says, the section shows 
that even in the face of victories as that in 21, 1 to 3, the Israelites' 
basic character has not changed. They're still whiners, they're 
still complainers, they're still grumblers. So note again then 
the nature of their complaint. The people spoke against God 
and against Moses. Why have you brought us up out 
of Egypt to die in the wilderness? A recurring theme. Difficulty, 
they conclude, God's going to kill us. Difficulty, they conclude, 
Moses is going to kill us. Difficulty, they conclude, we're 
going to die out in this wilderness. And it's a very indicting question. Why have you brought us up out 
of Egypt to die in the wilderness? So not only do they complain 
about the purpose of God, the purpose of God was to bring them 
out of Egypt into the promised land as their destination wherein 
milk and honey would flow, but also they complain about the 
provision of God. Notice at the latter part of 
verse 5, For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes 
this worthless bread. Well, there is food. You just 
don't like it. That's a completely different 
scenario. They're complaining against the 
provision of God. Remember, the promise was that 
the land of promise would flow with milk and honey, not the 
wilderness en route there. Always there's going to be difficulty. Always there's going to be hardship 
along the way. Always in the Christian life, 
for instance, the cross precedes the crown. There's a crown coming, 
to be sure, but there's going to be crosses aplenty in this 
life that we have to bear. Not have to, because we're grudging 
slaves, but have to because God has purpose to conform us to 
the image of His Son. And if his son learned obedience 
through suffering, then that's how we're going to learn obedience 
oftentimes as well. So they complain about the provision 
of God. There is no food, no water, and 
our soul loathes this worthless bread. And while it's not stated 
here, I think it's certainly implied that one of their big 
problems is idolatry. They longed to return to Egypt. They longed to return to slavery. Because at least as slaves we 
got three hots and a cot. At least as slaves we were taken 
care of. At least as slaves we got to 
eat pomegranates. We got to eat garlic. We got 
to eat leeks. We got to eat melons. So they 
would rather die, or rather have a bit of hardship as free men, 
or they'd rather sacrifice freedom and a bit of hardship for slavery 
and all the things that the Egyptian state would give them. So the 
problem is recurring in the context of numbers. Now note the punishment. 
This isn't common. I mean, we've seen some interesting 
ways of God wiping out his complaining people, vis-a-vis fire from heaven, 
the earth opening up. The fiery serpents are consistent 
with that sort of a grand theme of the execution of God's judgment 
and God's wrath. So note for verse six, so the 
Lord sent fiery serpents. Now there's probably lots of 
pages written on the significance of a fiery serpent. I'm not sure 
we're supposed to think of snakes on fire, probably some sort of 
the effect of the serpent, some sort of a burning inflammation, 
some sort of a venom or poison that would really hurt and bring 
death to the person that was bitten. So in verse 6, the Lord 
sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, 
and many of the people of Israel died. Now this isn't all second-generation 
people. There are still some from the 
first generation. They're going to die on the way 
to the wilderness. That was the promise, or through the wilderness. 
That was the promise. So most likely there's still 
some first-generationers here that are being taken out in accordance 
with that greater statement of God's execution. But there are 
first or second generation people as well. So note the response 
of the people in verse 7. Again, some good signs. Therefore 
the people came to Moses. They just complained about him. 
They just said, you brought us out here to kill him. If we don't 
see again the goodness and the humility of Moses as we work 
through numbers, we're missing something. I'm not sure... Well, 
I probably am pretty sure that I'm nowhere near like Moses. 
What do you mean? You just said I tried to kill 
you, and now you want me to pray to God for you? I'd like to think 
I would, but I don't know. I know myself well. But Moses 
is just a dear brother. So note they confess their sin. 
Verse seven, we have sinned, for we have spoken against the 
Lord and against you. That's good. They own it, and 
they express it specifically. We have spoken against the Lord 
and against you. Pray to the Lord that he take 
away the serpents from us. Again, that's the whole thing 
there. It's kind of a utilitarian approach 
to religion. Confession of sin is good, but 
it seems to be the case that they just want The end. They just want the blessing. 
Turn to 2 Kings chapter 24. You see a glimpse of this there, 
I think, very vividly as well. Actually 17. 2 Kings 17, the 
fall of the North. So basically, this is the 8th 
century BC. As I mentioned, the northern 
kingdom is fallen to Assyria. And Assyria, when they conquered 
peoples, had a very interesting way. They'd take mountain peoples 
and put them by the sea. They'd take sea peoples and put 
them by the mountains. Destabilize your opponents or 
your enemies such that they can't organize and fight back. You'll read at times in the Old 
Testament about fishhooks and noses. Well, that's how the Assyrians 
would transport their captives. They would put fishhooks in your 
nose and line you up and take you wherever they wanted you 
to go. And then they'd repopulate conquered places with other people 
groups. So that's the scene here in 2 
Kings chapter 17. And so note, I don't want to 
read too much of it, but just to get the sense of what utilitarian 
religion looks like. Notice in verse 27. Then the 
king, actually let's pick up at verse 24, then the king of 
Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avah, Hamoth, and from 
Sepharvim and placed them in the cities of Samaria, northern 
kingdom, instead of the children of Israel. And they took possession 
of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. And it was so at the beginning 
of their dwelling there that they did not fear the Lord. Therefore 
the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. So 
they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations whom you 
have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know 
the rituals of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions 
among them, and indeed they are killing them, because they do 
not know the rituals of the god of the land. Then the king of 
Assyria commanded, saying, Send there one of the priests whom 
you brought from there. Let him go and dwell there, and 
let him teach them the rituals of the god of the land. Then 
one of the priests, whom they had carried away from Samaria, 
came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear 
the Lord." See, they weren't really interested in courting 
the favor of the god of the land. They just didn't want lions. 
Again, a sentiment that I would share, but this is utilitarian 
religion. And it seems to be the case here. 
Again, if I'm getting bit by a fiery serpent, I'm going right 
to the throne and saying, please, God, deliver us. But there's 
some subtleties that we shouldn't miss. We have sinned, for we 
have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the 
Lord to forgive us. to cleanse us, to wash us, to 
purify us, to sanctify us, to fill us with the Spirit so that 
we don't continue to whine, so that our hearts don't continue 
to yearn back for Egypt? No, that's not it. Pray to the 
Lord that He take away the serpents from us. The only reason I exacerbate 
this, well, two reasons. One, I think utilitarian religion 
is horrible. But two, I think God is gracious 
and good. That God answers prayer, even 
when it's offered up like this, when the motivation isn't sound, 
when the motivation isn't valid, when the motivation isn't righteous 
and holy and pious, that God answers is most glorious. It bespeaks the goodness and 
the mercy of God. And here specifically we've got 
the goodness of Moses according to the end of verse 7. So Moses 
prayed for the people. He's got a pattern of interceding 
on their behalf. Chapters 11, 14, 16. He's an 
intercessor. He loves the people. He cares 
for the people. He's kind to the people. And 
so he prays to God for the people. And then note the prescription 
in verses 8 and 9. Then the Lord said to Moses, 
make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and it shall be 
that everyone who is bitten when he looks at it shall live. So 
basically construct this bronze serpent, set it up on a pole, 
and everyone who looks at it will live. It's a very simple 
prescription, isn't it? It's a very, you know, direct 
and to the point and you just got to do what God says. The 
remedy is to look and live and then note the compliance on the 
part of Moses according to verse 9. So Moses made a bronze serpent 
and put it on a pole and so it was if a serpent had bitten anyone 
when he looked at the bronze serpent he lived. So he constructs 
the serpent and the people of Israel are basically called upon 
to believe. I mean, visibly looking. supposes or presupposes the faith 
in the remedy prescribed by God Almighty. So that look was ultimately 
a look of faith. Now, turn to John's Gospel, where 
Jesus appeals to this to speak of his own departure, to speak 
of his own ministry on behalf of all those whom the Father 
had given him. In John 3, 14, and as Moses lifted up the serpent 
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. 
Now, when you read sections like Numbers 21 about fiery serpents 
biting, you know, faithless Israelites and the prescribed remedy being 
a bronze serpent constructed and built and put up on a pole 
and all those looking to it will live or be saved from those fiery 
serpent bites, a lot of people just absolutely discount that 
as fanciful. In fact, some suggest that that 
was put in by a later editor to explain 2 Kings 18, verse 
4, when the people during Hezekiah's time were worshipping this bronze 
serpent. Because the reader in 2 Kings 
18, verse 4 might be inclined to say, well, where did this 
bronze serpent come from? Well, that's why the editor put 
it in Numbers 21, so we've got a bit of an origin story. Notice 
that Jesus is not a higher critical sort of person when it comes 
to the Old Testament. He assumes it as historical reality. He assumes it as the God-breathed 
Word. He assumes it as the historical 
events that occurred in the nation of Israel in their wanderings 
in the wilderness to get to their final destination. And as Moses 
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the 
Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should 
not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that 
He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him 
should not perish but have everlasting life. So we have a typology here. Now, it's obviously history. 
It's a real event. It took place. Which types are? 
Persons, place, things, times, events. Those are types rooted 
in history, things that we're actually engaged in, that prefigure 
or foreshadow things to come. And certainly what we have here 
in terms of the healing of these fiery serpent-bitten Israelites 
was real. They looked. They lived. But 
there's a type here, and Jesus picks up on that type. And Jesus, 
as the anti-type, applies Numbers 21, 4 to 9, specifically to himself. And in terms of the parallel, 
the bronze serpent had the form of a real serpent. yet without 
poison. Christ has the form of a servant, 
yet without sin. Romans 8, 3. The bronze serpent 
is lifted up for the people to see. Jesus says, so must the 
Son of Man be lifted up. The bronze serpent was the only 
remedy for the problem. Look again at verse 7. 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." Another 
good sign, remember one of the problems of the children of Israel, 
and I think verse 5 expresses this, is they see themselves 
as victims of circumstance rather than subjects of God's providence. 
Here in verse 7, they're making the lawful connection or the 
legitimate connection to God's providence. It's God alone that 
can take away these serpents. It's God alone who sent these 
serpents, so therefore it's God alone who can take away these 
serpents. So pray to the Lord that he take away the serpents 
from us. So with reference to the bronze 
serpent, it was the only remedy in terms of a healing for the 
bite of these fiery serpents. Just like Jesus is the way, the 
truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through 
him. As well, the bronze serpent and the command to look to it 
and live was not first preceded by things done on their part. 
Okay, suck the venom out of the wound where the fiery serpent 
bit you. drag yourself close to the pole, 
grab it and kiss it, and then look. There's no works, there's 
no preceding activity, there's no doing on the part of the Israelite 
to remedy the situation. Acknowledged rightly, it's God 
alone, verse 7, who can take away these fiery serpents. Well, 
the means and manner by which he does that is by looking and 
living, not fixing your life, not doing a self-inventory, not 
making amends to everybody around you, but rather look and live. 
In other words, justification by faith alone. The bronze serpent 
was to be looked at in faith. When you look at this section, 
verses 8 and 9, and numbers 21, and you look at John 3, 14 to 
16, and the rest of the Bible, you will see that the recurring 
emphasis is on divine initiative. If poisoned people are going 
to be remedied, it must come from God. If a bitten person 
is going to be healed, it is going to come from God. If a 
sin-infected sinner is going to be healed, it must come from 
God. So the divine initiative is obvious here. As well, the 
efficacy of the work of the Lord Jesus. Just like that bronze 
serpent. The bronze serpent did what it 
was supposed to do. When the sinner or the infected 
person looked to that bronze serpent by faith, it did what 
it was supposed to do. The efficacy of the Savior connects 
with the efficacy here, or rather fulfills what we see in the efficacy 
of this bronze serpent. And then we see instrumentally 
its faith. It's faith, that looking is living. Why? Because they're trusting 
God in terms of His promise. And that's how the Gospel of 
John ends. And truly, Jesus did many other 
signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written 
in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus 
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have 
life in His name. And I think, too, at least we 
can use the New Testament in terms of our musings here. When 
you are bitten, I can only imagine, and you're swelling with inflammation, 
and you've got fire running through your veins, it's probably a weak 
look, but it's still a look. Right? If you can gaze at that 
serpent, you've got life. I always love this quote. You've 
heard it from me before if you've been here for any time. It's 
about weak faith by J. Gressom Machen. He says, Our salvation does not depend 
upon the strength of our faith. Saving faith is a channel, not 
a force. If you are once really committed 
to Christ, then despite your subsequent doubts and fears, 
you are His forever. Remember, I preached on the Exodus 
some, I don't know, six months ago? Whom would know? Or within 
that ballpark. Probably longer. Anyways, from 
Exodus 12. And I cited a quote from D.A. Carson, where he talks 
about two guys that lived in Old Covenant Israel on the couple 
days or night before the Passover. Remember the command? Take the 
blood, splash it on your doorpost, and the angel of death will pass 
over. You've got Brown and you've got Smith. And Brown asks Smith, 
what are you thinking about tonight? And Smith says, I don't know. 
I don't know about this. This seems a bit odd, taking 
blood and throwing it up on the threshold of the house and trusting 
that this angel is going to pass by. I'm just really struggling. 
I mean, we've seen the plagues. We've seen the destruction. We've 
seen the devastation. I've got to say, I've got some 
hesitance. And Smith says to Brown, what about you? And Brown 
says, oh, I'm ready to go. So when that angel passes by, 
what happens? He passes by both men. It's not 
Smith's hesitation or Brown's firmness. It's the blood on the 
doorpost that the angel sees and passes over. It's the object 
of our faith, even weak faith. Now, weak faith should be fanned. We should grow, we should read, 
we should pray, we should attend diligently the means of grace, 
we should seek by God's grace to obey 2 Peter 3.18, grow in 
the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus 
Christ. We live in a town where there's many churches, where 
there's a struggle with assurance. Struggle's assurance here. Again, 
weak faith is not optimum, but it's saving. And so that look 
means live. And I think that's a great encouragement 
here. So the guy that was almost dead 
with fire in his veins, if he was able to gaze at that pole, 
by God's grace he lived. Well, in the next section, they 
journey to Moab, according to verses 10 to 20, and we're not 
going to do an itinerary there, just a couple of things to note. 
Notice this reference to the Book of the Wars of the Lord 
in verse 14. Therefore, it is said in the 
Book of the Wars of the Lord, and then it quotes favorably 
this Book of the Wars of the Lord. Now, nobody really knows 
what the Book of the Wars of the Lord is, there are some suppositions, 
there are some conjectures, but it seems to be an extra-biblical 
document, something outside of the Bible. So, extra-biblical 
simply means outside of the Bible, that was nevertheless true, and 
therefore incorporated by Moses under inspiration of the Holy 
Spirit, to be codified in the Word of God. You see a similar 
instance of this at the Areopagus in Acts chapter 17. The Apostle 
Paul quotes a pagan philosopher. He does the same thing in the 
Book of Titus in Titus chapter 1. And so what you see is that 
there is an appeal to things outside of the Bible that are 
true and then incorporated into the Bible. Now that doesn't mean 
that everything that that pagan poet that Paul I was looking 
for another P there, just to sort of end the alliteration. 
That doesn't mean everything that Aretas, or is it Epimenides, 
wrote was inspired by God. It doesn't mean that at all. But it means that all truth is 
God's. In fact, Augustine says every 
good and true Christian should understand that wherever he may 
find truth, it is his Lord's. So we shouldn't say, well, what's 
Paul doing quoting a pagan poet there in Acts chapter 17? Is it true or not? If it's true, 
that truth is from the Lord God of truth. And so there are things 
that even outside the Bible can help us know things that are 
true within the Bible. And here we have an appeal to 
the Book of the Wars of the Lord. Honestly, I wish I had that book. 
I'd love that on the front spot in my library. That's a great 
name, the Book of the Wars of the Lord. But as well, note this 
song of praise with reference to the water that they receive. 
Verses 17 and 18, then Israel sang this song. Spring up, O 
well, all of you sing to it. The well the leaders sang, dug 
by the nation's nobles, by the lawgiver, with their staves. 
It is good to rejoice in the Lord, the God who conquers enemies, 
the God who governs nations, the God who gives us water. This 
is a good thing. And then note the defeat of Sihon 
in verses 21 to 32. And then Og in verses 33 to 35. 
Both Amorite kings, excuse me, both Amorite kings that the children 
of Israel dealt similarly to with the Edomites. So note in 
verse 21, then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, 
saying, Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside 
into fields or vineyards. We will not drink water from 
wells. We will go by the king's highway until we have passed 
through your territory. Same diplomatic approach they 
took with the Edomites. We just want to pass through, 
we're not going to take your stuff, we just want to pass through, 
shave off some miles from our journey. So they do the same 
thing with Sihon here, but of course Sihon says no. So Sihon 
resists, and then Israel wins. Another down payment on the victory 
of God over the enemies of God, and over the blessing of God 
upon his people, in terms of victory militarily. So notice 
in verse 24, then Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword 
and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok 
as far as the people of Ammon. For the border of the people 
of Ammon was fortified. So Israel took all these cities 
and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites and Heshbon and 
in all its villages. See, God in providence governs 
all his creatures and all their actions. He has purpose to bring 
them to the land of promise. But God uses means. These people 
are going to need some military savvy as they enter into the 
promised land. When Joshua leads them on these 
campaigns to dispossess the land of the Canaanites, they're going 
to need a few skills. And so along the way, God is 
giving them these skills. First here with Sihon, and then 
later with Og. And as well, we see God's sovereign 
power. If you turn to a parallel, or 
rather a report concerning this in Deuteronomy chapter 2. Deuteronomy 
chapter 2 expands on this a little bit in some ways. And we observe 
an interesting point. We've got God's promise in Deuteronomy 
2, 24. So it's going to be the case 
that God is going to deliver him up. Verse 25, This day I 
will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations 
under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall 
tremble and be in anguish because of you. God's preparing the way 
for them to enter into the promised land. Remember what Rahab says 
on that reconnaissance mission in Joshua chapter 2? We've heard. The report's gone out. We know 
that your God is not to be messed with. Rahab understood all too 
well what the deal was, and Rahab sought refuge in the God of Israel, 
and the God of Israel let her in, brought her in open arms. 
But then notice as well the sovereignty of God, specifically in verse 
30. But Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not let us pass through, 
for the Lord your God hardened his heart and made his heart 
obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as it is 
this day." Now for an Arminian, that's a real troubling statement. 
But for anybody who's read through the book of Exodus, they'll realize 
that's exactly what God does with Pharaoh. God raises Pharaoh 
up so that God can demonstrate his power and glory. Not Pharaoh's 
power and glory, but God's power and glory in the decimation of 
Pharaoh and his armies. So Sihon was hardened by the 
Lord. And this isn't like, oh, poor 
Sihon, he was just an innocent little guy doing his own thing, 
minding his own business, administrating his own kingdom. No, he was a 
wretch. He was a vicious, vile sinner. 
He was a counter, a contra God. And so for God to harden his 
heart, it's an act of justice, and that's precisely what happens. 
And then one final observation before we leave Sihon. Notice 
in verse 29, Woe to you, Moab. You have perished, O people of 
Chemosh. He has given his sons as fugitives 
and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites. 
Good God that is, right? Chemosh failed. He has given 
his sons as fugitives and his daughters into captivity to Sihon 
king of the Amorites. We've got the people of Chemosh 
that are decimated, which shows the futility of Chemosh the god. And then the final one is Og. 
Og attacks, there's no diplomacy here, he just gets right to it, 
and then God delivers. Now, turn back to Deuteronomy 
3, because Og descended from the Rephaim, which were connected 
to the giants. Og was a big boy, and I'm sure 
that his presence on the battlefield was formidable. Notice in 311, 
for only Og, king of Bashan, remained of the remnant of the 
giants. Indeed, his bedstead was an iron bedstead. Is it not 
a rabba of the people of Ammon? Nine cubits is its length and 
four cubits is its width, according to the standard cubit. So, of 
course, God, in His grace, gives victory to Israel, and that's 
how the chapter ends. So they defeated Him, verse 35, 
chapter 21, His sons and all His people, until there was no 
survivor, left Him, and they took possession of His land. 
So in chapter 22, verse 1, we get to the Plains of Moab. The 
book ends in 3613 in the Plains of Moab. And then, of course, 
Deuteronomy takes place in the Plains of Moab as the final preparation, 
the final exhortation by Moses to that second generation just 
prior to their entrance into the Promised Land. So Moses dies 
in Deuteronomy 34, and of course Joshua 1. And following takes 
us on that path of the conquest of the land of promise. Well, 
in conclusion, we see the sin of the people, the persistence 
of sin, and the persistence of the same kinds of sin. They're 
not imaginative. They don't think up new things. 
They do the same sorts of things. And the same sorts of things 
that we find correctives concerning in the New Testament. Philippians 
2, 14 to 16. mitigates, or should mitigate, us whining and complaining. 
We're told not to, in all things, to not complain about things. The lack of faith in the providence 
of God. They complained about things 
generally. They complained about the provision specifically. And 
then the sin of idolatry. And John ends, 1 John 5, rather, 
ends on, my little children, keep yourselves from idols. So 
the same sorts of things that you see in the first generation 
are carried on through the second generation, not by DNA. It's not some generational curse. It is rather the sin nature, 
and sinners learn from other sinners, and they sin in the 
same way. And those kinds of sins that you see in Old Covenant 
Israel can infect New Covenant Israel, the church, and we need 
to be on guard against that. as well in terms of the wars 
of the Lord, the defeat of the Canaanites and the Amorites with 
Sihon and Og. It's a demonstration of God's 
faithfulness to His promise. He's going to bring them to the 
land. The demonstration of God's sovereignty over His enemies. 
He's going to harden Sihon and cause Sihon to fall. He's going 
to take giant Og and have him decimated by the children of 
Israel, again, who weren't in a military camp preparing for 
battle. This is their preparation for battle and the wars that 
are going to follow. The demonstration of God's goodness 
to his people and the demonstration of God's graciousness to his 
people in the typology of the bronze serpent as it points forward 
to the Son of Man that would be lifted up and looked on and 
would save people from their sins. Well, I'll close in prayer, 
and if there's any questions, we can deal with that. Father 
in heaven, thank you for your word. Thank you for the glory 
of God that we see so clearly displayed in passages like these. 
Thank you as well for that grace of God, the look and live principle 
here. Out in the wilderness is certainly 
that New Covenant theme in terms of salvation by grace through 
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice in your lovingkindness 
and in your mercy and in the provision of the anti-type, even 
the Lord Jesus. And we pray in his name. Amen. Well, any questions or comments 
on... I almost said any of the material, but there's some of 
the material that I missed out. The names, the itinerary, the various 
places, and all of that. Were the Yavanites, Moabites, 
and Canaanites Canaanites? Yes. They would be classified 
generally as Canaanites. Even though they said it would 
be sovereign law. Yeah. Yeah. I think there were 
various ites that they would, at times, different contexts, 
different texts. They all sort of lumped together 
as Canaanites. But there is particularity amongst 
the Canaanites. It can be used, canine, as far 
as I can tell, can be used specifically for people groups, and generally 
to include more people groups. But they were not included in 
the nations that they were always commanded to drive out. What's 
that? They were not included in the 
nations. The Amorites and the Ammonites? No, there is a bit of a different 
relationship there. Yeah, there were seven specific 
nations that they were commanded to drive out, and those two were 
accepted. All right, so do not, if you 
show up here next Wednesday night, make sure there's no leaks.