#308 Lifted

And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.

2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.

3 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.

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.

10 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth.

11 And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising.

12 From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared.

13 From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,

15 And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab.

16 And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the Lordspake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.

17 Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:

18 The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah:

19 And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth:

20 And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon.

21 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,

22 Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king's high way, until we be past thy borders.

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

24 And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.

25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof.

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 unto Arnon.

27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:

28 For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.

29 Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.

30 We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba.

31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.

32 And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.

33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and og the king of bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at edrei.

34 And the Lord said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

35 So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land. Numbers 21 KJV

Israel comes humbly with a vow to utterly destroy rather than looking for a chance to plunder and hold back for themselves. It is granted to them and the king who has captured some of them is now defeated. This relationship with God is short lived and they revert to the whining of the past. They, like myself are fickle and quick to complain. They once again bring up being brought out to die in the wilderness, and they refer to the manna  as light bread and loathed. It is the free bread of heaven, but they are disgusted with it, yet they have been sustained all this time. I am reminded of a pastor, who I spoke at length with about what God's word said, and he became agitated and said he received a fresh word from God everyday. The Bible was apparently not sufficient enough for him, and not for the sort of people drawn to his fresh word. It was a church with a fine music ministry, huge and an emotionally charged crowd. My friend had invited us and he was excited because the pastor paid my friend many compliments and passed around titles. People thought they were prophetic, even when what they said was contrary to God's word, and it was all my wife could do not to get up and leave. I thought about it a lot over the years and its easy to judge, but I have preferred my own way over God's way so many times. I wish now that I knew God's word better, yet I can very easily revert to feelings and emotions rather than the bread of heaven. This time they cry about dying and in the past they have said it would have been better, and here God does give them a taste. They plead with Moses and confess that they have sinned. They ask that the serpents be removed, but God does something else. Moses is instructed to make a serpent and those that are bitten must look up to the serpent to be healed. Even as Christ, who knew no sin, becomes sin for us and is lifted up on a cross. Those, who look to Him and believe, are saved, but those who look to themselves, their emotions, feelings, a man, a woman or some other deity, hold onto that venom that can only be cured by Christ. 

No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man. 14Just as Moses lifted upthe snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,15that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.…John 3:13-15

Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth. Lamedh. 89Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. 90Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the earth, and it stands.…Psalm 119:88-90

From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16AllScripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction,for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.…2 Timothy 3:15-17