Title:
Look and Live
Text:
Numbers 21: 4-9
Date:
February 23, 2014
Place:
SGBC, New Jersey
Numbers 21: 4: And they journeyed from mount
Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the
people was much discouraged because of the way. 5: And the people spake against
God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in
the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any
water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6: And the LORD sent fiery serpents
among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7:
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have
spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take
away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8: And the LORD
said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it
shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it,
shall live. 9: And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and
it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the
serpent of brass, he lived.
The
people were bitten by serpents. They were dying. They were without hope.
The
LORD told Moses to make a serpent out of brass—the likeness of the cause of
their death. A serpent was biting them so the Lord said make serpent of brass and
lift it up before all.
The
LORD said, “it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he
looketh upon it, shall live.” Those who looked in faith believing God lived!
Proposition:
Christ Jesus was made what was killing his people and when his people look to
him they have eternal life.
I. THE PEOPLE WERE BITTEN BY SERPENTS AND
DYING WITHOUT HOPE
How did
this begin? Numbers 21: 5:…the people spake against God, and
against Moses. Moses represents the law; God gave the law through Moses; he
represents the law.
Sin Against God
In the
garden—in the beginning—in Adam—we sinned against God, we sinned against his
law
What
was the result when they spake against God and his law? Numbers 21: 6: the LORD
sent fiery serpents among the people, [these serpents represent sin, they
represent the curse pronounced by the LORD]
and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
When we
sinned against God in Adam; we broke God’s law in Adam. Sin entered in—like
these serpents and the venom entered the people. We came under the curse and
condemnation of the law. But it was not much
people that died, in Adam all died.
1 Corinthians 15: 22: For as in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive.
Application: Someone says, “I don’t want God to condemn me for
something someone else did! I don’t want
to be represented in another.” Sinner, yes you do! That is our only hope. Just as all who Adam represented died so all
who Christ represented shall live!
So here
we have established our problem: all have sinned against God, all have sinned
against God’s law, all have come under the curse and condemnation of God and
his law. And we have another problem? God
is just. He will by no means clear the guilty.
How then can God save a sinner? How
can God be merciful to me, the sinner, and yet remain just?
II. THE LORD TOLD MOSES TO MAKE A SERPENT AND
LIFT IT UP.—Numbers
21: 8: And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon
a pole:…v9: And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole,…
Eternal Provision
Who
provided the answer to our problem? The LORD did! In eternity—before sin entered in and death
by sin—God the Father had already solved the problem we would face. God knew
how he could remain just and yet show mercy to sinners like us. How so?
A Serpent of Brass
What
was it the LORD told Moses to make? He told Moses to make a serpent of brass. He
told him to make a serpent in the likeness of what it was that was causing the
death. He told him to lift it up on a pole. The Lord Jesus tells us this
pictures him.
John 3: 14: And as
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be
lifted up: 15: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
eternal life.
Those
Christ came to save were flesh and blood—so Christ was made flesh. (Rom 8:
3-4) Sin caused Christ’s people to die—Christ
was made sin. (2 Cor 5: 21) His people fell under the curse of the law—Christ
was made a curse for us. (Gal 3: 13) Christ said, “I must be lifted up” and he was lifted up—crucified on the cross.
Why was
it a must? By Christ being made sin and coming under the curse, God was just to
execute justice on his Son instead of his people. And because God executed justice
on Christ instead of his people, God satisfied his own justice. The law is satisfied: Moses lifted it up,
like as the law put Christ on the cross; but now the law is satisfied! Now God
is just to show his people mercy. That is why it was a must that Christ be
lifted up on the cross.
Since
all the work is finished of justifying his people—what is left then for you and
I to do to have this salvation from our sin? Nothing!
III. GOD TOLD THEM TO LOOK AT THE SERPENT AND
PROMISED THEY WOULD LIVE—Numbers 21: 8:…and it shall come to pass,
that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. AND
WHAT GOD PROMISED GOD DID—Numbers 21: 9:…and
it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the
serpent of brass, he lived.
What Faith Is
Those
who look to Christ in faith shall live. Faith is believing God. When they
looked at that serpent, they showed they believed God. Faith is believing
Christ-crucified is all my salvation. They proved that in a look. We prove it
by believing on Christ. Faith is believing Christ-crucified is my only salvation—when they looked to that
serpent, and nowhere else, that is what they confessed.
What Faith is Not—Mr. A.W. Pink gave 7 things they were not told to do. Let
me point out these things which they were not
told to do.
One, they were not told
to produce their own cure of healing their wounds. Many preachers today—great minds,
doctors of divinity, impressive men—are telling sinners they must make their
own cure by something they do. Those who seek spiritual relief by
such means are like the poor woman mentioned in the Gospel: she “suffered many
things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing
bettered, but rather grew worse” (Mk 5:26).
Two, they were not told
they would be healed by ministering or serving others who were wounded. This
is huge in our day. Most today are busy doing works of charity, expecting that
by giving relief to others, they will counteract the deadly sin which is at
work in their own souls.
Illustration: What good is it for one to jump
into deep water to rescue a drowning man if he cannot swim himself! Sinner, you can’t swim yourself; you
are a sinner yourself; you are dying yourself; you are unable to deliver
yourself; helping others like you will not help you.
Three, they were not
told to fight the serpents. Sinners in our day are being told to fight their sins. Sinner, you
can’t stop your sin, sin is what you are; sin is all that is in the believers
old man of flesh—but suppose you could—suppose from this day forward you never
sinned again. What about the sins you already sinned and your sin-nature? If
you could stop sinning today—you are still guilty and in need of Christ; still
need to be born of God and created anew! Crusades against intemperance,
profanity, vice, never improve society, only make society worse. And they never
bring a single sinner one step nearer to Christ.
Fourthly, they were not
told to make an offering to the serpent on the pole. In our day, many are told they must
produce some sort of payment in return for their healing. For example: Preachers beg sinners to “Give their hearts to Jesus” or to
“turn over your life to Jesus.” We don’t have a heart or a life unless God
gives us one. We have nothing with which to give God that God did not give us
by his free grace. If you do something
for someone and they pay you back in some way then what you did ceases being a
gift. Instead, it becomes a service they bought from you. Likewise, grace
ceases to be grace if any price is paid for what it brings.
Five, they were not told to come down to Moses and pray at a
mourners bench. This exact form
is not as prevalent in our day. But the principle is. Many preachers urge sinners to go through an
outward form, a show of repentance: like walking an aisle, answering a few questions
they ask and saying a prayer. Then tell sinners they are saved. AW Pink
said, “They tread the clean side of the Broad Road” for awhile. But as Christ
said, “ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” (Mt 23: 15) Now he’s lost but thinks he’s saved. God
alone can give faith and repentance.
Six, they were not told
to look at Moses. They had been crying to Moses—Moses
represents the law. The law was given
for one reason.
Romans 5:20: Moreover the law
entered, that the offence might abound.
Romans 3: 19…that every mouth may
be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Galatians 3: 24: Wherefore the law
was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by
faith. 25: But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
God took their eyes off Moses, and commanded them to
look at the brazen serpent. Why? Salvation is “Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). Sinner, Christ is the Righteousness of God,
the Righteousness of the Law. And Christ
is the end of the law for everyone that believes on Christ. Get this: those who rest in Christ have not
only fulfilled the law, established the law through faith in Christ who
established the law for us, but we cannot be charged with breaking the law
because God justified us.
Romans 8: 33: Who shall lay any
thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. 34: Who is he
that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who
is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Another thing, Moses also represents a man, a preacher—sinner,
not the will of your flesh flesh, blood-kinship, not the will of any other man
can save you. Those who believed in John’s day, “were born, not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (Jn 1: 13)
Seven, they were not told to look at their
wounds. Some look to their sins to produce repentance. Can you produce something right by looking at
something wrong? Do you produce heat by
looking at the snow? Or light by looking into the darkness? Sinner, you will
never repent from your sins UNTIL you look in faith to Christ!
Zechariah 12:10:
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son,
and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his
firstborn.
Faith is the beginning of all
godliness. Faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin. When you look
to Christ, you look away from self; when you believe Christ, you repent from
all else.
Eight, this is common
in our day—somehow Satan has gotten sinners to put confidence in their
looking—in their faith. You hear people saying, “Well, at least I’ve got my faith.” God does not tell us to look to our looking. He
says look to Christ. He does not tell us to “Believe in our
believing.” He says, “Believe on Christ!”
All these things are deadly. But sinners are being taught that salvation
is in these things. If you believe you
are saved by anything you have done, you are mistaken. We may believe ourselves to be Christ’s—but
if we are looking anywhere other than Christ—then we are mistaken: be it an
experience, good works, repentance, faith, feelings, resolutions, baptism,
anything else.
CHRIST IS ALL AND IN ALL! LOOK AND LIVE!
Amen!