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Numbers 21: Lifted Up to Live

After fiery serpents judge the grumbling people, God provides healing through a bronze serpent on a pole, and Israel defeats Sihon and Og.

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Numbers 21 (WEB)

1 The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the South, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharim. He fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.

2 Israel vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”

3 Yahweh listened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. The name of the place was called Hormah.

4 They traveled from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom The soul of the people was very discouraged because of the journey.

5 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 bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this light bread.”

6 Yahweh sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died.

7 The people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh, and against you. Pray to Yahweh, that he take away the serpents from us.” Moses prayed for the people.

8 Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole. It shall happen, that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

9 Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it on the pole. If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of brass, he lived.

10 The children of Israel traveled, and encamped in Oboth.

11 They traveled from Oboth, and encamped at Iyeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrise.

12 From there they traveled, and encamped in the valley of Zered.

13 From there they traveled, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, that comes out of the border of the Amorites: for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

14 Therefore it is said in the book of the Wars of Yahweh, “Vaheb in Suphah, the valleys of the Arnon,

15 the slope of the valleys that incline toward the dwelling of Ar, leans on the border of Moab.”

16 From there they traveled to Beer; that is the well of which Yahweh said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”

17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, well! Sing to it,

18 the well, which the princes dug, which the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter, and with their poles.” From the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah;

19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth;

20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looks down on the desert.

21 Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,

22 “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard. We will not drink of the water of the wells. We will go by the king’s highway, until we have passed your border.”

23 Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border, but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz. He fought against Israel.

24 Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, even to the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.

25 Israel took all these cities. Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its towns.

26 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, even to the Arnon.

27 Therefore those who speak in proverbs say, “Come to Heshbon. Let the city of Sihon be built and established;

28 for a fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon. It has devoured Ar of Moab, The lords of the high places of the Arnon.

29 Woe to you, Moab! You are undone, people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to Sihon king of the Amorites.

30 We have shot at them. Heshbon has perished even to Dibon. We have laid waste even to Nophah, Which reaches to Medeba.”

31 Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.

32 Moses sent to spy out Jazer. They took its towns, and drove out the Amorites who were there.

33 They turned and went up by the way of Bashan. Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.

34 Yahweh said to Moses, “Don’t fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people, and his land. You shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”

35 So they struck him, with his sons and all his people, until there were no survivors; and they possessed his land.

Summary

Israel defeats the Canaanite king of Arad after vowing to devote his cities to destruction. But as they journey around Edom, the people grow impatient and speak against God and Moses, despising the manna as worthless bread. In judgment Yahweh sends fiery serpents whose bites kill many, and the people confess their sin and beg Moses to pray. God's remedy is striking: Moses is to make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten will live by looking at it. Moses makes a bronze serpent, lifts it up, and all who look in faith are healed. Israel then journeys on, singing at the well God provides, and comes to the territory of the Amorites. When King Sihon refuses passage and attacks, Israel strikes him down and takes his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, occupying Heshbon and its towns. Turning toward Bashan, they meet Og the giant king, but God tells Moses not to fear, for he has handed Og over; Israel defeats him and his people and possesses their land as well. The chapter moves from grumbling and judgment to a picture of salvation by looking, and on to victory as God gives Israel the lands east of the Jordan.

Main Characters

  • The people of Israel — The congregation who grow impatient and speak against God and Moses, are judged by fiery serpents, and are healed by looking at the bronze serpent.
  • Moses — The leader who prays for the people, makes the bronze serpent at God's command and lifts it on a pole, and leads Israel to victory over Sihon and Og.
  • Sihon king of the Amorites — The king who refuses Israel passage and attacks, and is defeated, so that Israel possesses his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok.
  • Og king of Bashan — The powerful king whom Israel, assured by God not to fear, strikes down with all his people to possess his land.

Key Verse

Numbers 21:9 (WEB)

Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it on the pole. If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of brass, he lived.

Lessons Learned

  • Despising God's provision is a sin that brings real consequences.
  • God's remedy for our deadly condition is to look in faith to what he has provided.
  • Salvation comes not by our effort but by looking away from ourselves to God's appointed cure.
  • The lifted-up serpent points forward to Christ lifted up for our salvation.
  • When God hands the enemy over, his people need not fear the giants before them.
  • Ingratitude despises God's gifts. The people say, “our soul loathes this light bread” (Numbers 21:5, WEB); grumbling against God's provision treats his daily mercies with contempt.
  • God provides a way to live. “Everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live” (Numbers 21:8, WEB); the remedy is sheer grace, healing offered to all who will simply look.
  • Salvation comes by looking, not striving. “When he looked at the serpent of brass, he lived” (Numbers 21:9, WEB); the dying are healed not by works but by turning their gaze to God's appointed cure.
  • The bronze serpent foreshadows Christ. Jesus said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14, WEB); the lifted serpent points to the cross.
  1. What is the nature of the people's complaint, and why is it so serious?
  2. Why does God provide healing through a serpent lifted on a pole rather than simply removing the serpents?
  3. What does it mean that the bitten were healed simply by looking at the bronze serpent?
  4. How does Jesus connect the bronze serpent to himself in John 3:14-15?
  5. Where do you need to stop striving and simply look in faith to what God has provided in Christ?
  1. The people speak against God and Moses and despise the manna as worthless 'light bread' (21:5). Their complaint is not merely about food but a contempt for God's faithful provision, a recurring sin that brings judgment in the form of fiery serpents.
  2. God leaves the serpents but provides a remedy that requires faith: a serpent lifted up to be looked at (21:8). The cure calls the people to trust and act on God's word, turning their eyes to his provision rather than removing the consequence outright.
  3. The dying were healed not by anything they did but by looking in faith at the lifted serpent (21:9). It is a vivid picture of salvation by grace through faith, received by turning our gaze to God's appointed remedy rather than to ourselves.
  4. Jesus says that just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life (John 3:14-15). The bronze serpent becomes a direct foreshadowing of Christ lifted up on the cross for our healing.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name where they are striving to save or fix themselves instead of trusting Christ. As leader, gently turn eyes to the One lifted up, encouraging a simple look of faith rather than self-effort.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.