83. We are cleansed from the poison of sin

Moses and the Israelites had to travel around Edom, because their relatives wouldn't allow them to travel through their land. Very soon this longer journey proved too much for the Israelites and they did what they knew best, they started complaining again. They forgot all about God's provision for them and how He looked after them. They forgot that the reason that they were still in the wilderness was purely their own fault. They could have been in the Promised Land long ago, but due to their unbelief they were still stuck in the wilderness and they blamed everyone else but themselves:

"Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?" They complained. "There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this wretched manna!" Numbers 21:5

It was shocking to think that they could complain like this, but I suppose it is easy to judge them from where I was sitting in our comfortable home with all my favorite food at hand and aircon to cool the hottest part of the day…

But God didn't take their complaints lightly and sent poisonous snakes to kill them. Their complaining quickly turned into sorrow and remorse and they begged Moses to pray for them, which he did. God then instructed him to build a bronze snake and to attach it to the top of a pole. He said that everyone that looked at the snake will live. Of course it was not the snake that healed them, but their belief that God can, that did.

Jesus used this incident to tell us that we need to do the same to be healed. We need to look onto Him to be healed from the poisonous bite of sin:

"And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, so that everyone who believes in Me will have eternal life." John 3:14,15

Only by looking up to Him can we be saved from the poison permeating through our bodies. Faith in Him is our ticket to new life. We can only truly run the race of life, if we are not slowed down by the weight of sin. We need to ask His forgiveness and try and move out of the wilderness into the Promised Land. And we can only do that if we leave our complaining behind, and move forward with His best interests in mind. He is sitting in the honored seat at the right hand of God and from there He knows what is best for us. And if we keep our eyes on Him, we will know where the best route for our lives will be and we will learn how to start living in the new life that He died to give us.

"And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy He knew would be His afterward. Now He is seated in the place of highest honor beside God's throne in heaven." Hebrews 12:1,2

Father thank you for sending Jesus to die for us and to provide a new way of life for us. Thank you that we are cleansed from the poison of sin and help us to focus on Jesus, our High Priest and to live our lives in order to please You. Amen

1 comment for “83. We are cleansed from the poison of sin”

  1. Gravatar of MariMari
    Posted Saturday, 12 April 2014 at 7:54:43 PM

    Amen!

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