Numbers 21 - Steve Wiggins Daily Devotional

“The people then came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the L_rd and against you. Intercede with the L_rd so that He will take the snakes away from us.’ And Moses interceded for the people. Then the L_rd said to Moses, ‘Make a snake image and mount it to a pole. When anyone looks at it, he will recover.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it to a pole. Whenever someone was bitten and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.” Num 21: 7-9

I recently flew home from a five-day ministry event. I was travelling across the entire nation, literally coast-to-coast, with two other musicians when we received news that there were weather delays in Dallas. We had already experienced two delayed connections, so it was frustrating to hear our final flight would not depart on time.

When faced with difficulty, people generally have a choice as to how they will respond. Furthermore, our personal responses can set the tone for a whole group of people. I turned to those traveling with me and said, “Our job is to bring the joy to this airport.”

Remembering our overriding mission as believers helped us determine our response to the situation. We set the emotional and spiritual tones for ourselves, and then we went about the task of ministering to those around us…flight personnel, shop workers, fellow passengers. We even pulled out our guitars and sang a few songs for whomever would listen.

Israel did not have a very good history when it came to controlling their responses to adverse circumstances. Whenever you are around someone who is negative, almost every comment is like a snake’s bite, full of venom. Have you ever considered a negative attitude to be a sin? G_d does.

In this chapter, the L_rd directed Moses to fashion Israel’s sin as He sees it. It is as if G_d were saying, “If you want to be venomous with your comments, your judgment will be literal venomous snakebites.” Not until you see your sin, as G_d sees it, will you recognize your need for healing/salvation.

Yeshua said to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to him at night, during the Passover season, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” John 3:14-15

Picture Yeshua, bloody, beaten and crucified…that’s what we allow sin to do to us. Only when we see our sin as G_d sees it, do we appreciate His method of salvation and the great necessary value of Yeshua’s atonement.

Blessings,
~Steve Wiggins, Associate Leader, Worship Leader
Shuvah Yisrael
Daily Devotional, Wednesday, May 28, 2014