ICS Daily Devotions
Don’t Lose Focus on God
Numbers 21:4-9 (NKJV) 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.
We live in the 21st century and technology has developed tremendously. Unfortunately, people have not changed much, we are still self-centered and sin dominates our lives. We still need to deal with our flesh to ensure that we do not succumb to temptation though we are born again and a new creation. There is also a tendency for us to complain and murmur against God and leadership regardless whether it concerns secular matters or clergy. We read in this passage regarding how the Israelites spoke against God and Moses. It was their sin that caused them to be attacked by the fiery serpents. They brought it upon themselves.
We do live in a very complex world today. While not all sicknesses and illnesses are the result of sin in the lives of the people, sin does play a part in many sicknesses. Nobody knows what is hidden in the heart of men except the actual person and the omniscience God.
Psalm 107:20 (NKJV) He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
God gave the rebellious Israelites a way out when Moses prayed for them. God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and have it on a pole so that whoever looked at it would be healed. The bronze serpent was not meant to be worshipped; it was a reminder to the people of their rebelliousness and sinfulness. It was a type of Christ in the New Testament and Jesus spoke about it.
The faith of the Israelites for the forgiveness and healing had to be based on what God had instructed Moses to do. They had to learn to receive the word from Moses regarding God’s requirement. They had to look at the bronze serpent by faith after repentance. We as Christians can also face numerous obstacles in our lives caused by the sin in the world. The worst thing that we can do is to lose focus on God and start complaining. Instead, we need to look at the founder and perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ, and God will deliver us from any spiritual trouble we may face.
Sermon series: Meditating on the Names of God
