During their time in the wilderness, the people often murmured against God. Murmured, Strong’s H3885, to stop usually over night; by implication to stay permanently; to be obstinate, to complain, grudge, remain, tarry.
It sounds like instead of moving on the Israelites would tarry in one place and complain. Murmured appears several times in the Torah, Exodus 15:24, 16:2, 17:3, Numbers 14:2, 14:29, 16:41 and Deuteronomy 1:27.
God parted the Red Sea for the passage of the Israelites and closed it on the Egyptian army, manna to as food, water from rocks and garments that didn't wear out; still the people murmured. Numbers 21:6, “And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.”
The people asked Moses to intervene with God, Numbers 21:7, “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.”
Numbers 21:8, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent (H8314), 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.”
An interesting therapy as a serpent is symbolic of sin and brass of judgment. H8314 - Burning, that is, (figuratively) poisonous (serpent); specifically a saraph or symbolical creature (from their copper color): - fiery (serpent), seraph.
Numbers 21:9, “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.”
Fast-forward hundreds of years to the time that Jesus stepped out of eternity. Here Jesus was not only instructing his disciples, he schooled Nicodemus as well. John 3:13, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” Jesus is/ was fully man and fully God.
John 3:14, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:” Moses lifting the brass serpent in the wilderness was prophetic of Jesus being lifted on the cross.
Just as the Israelites were instructed to look at the fiery serpent and be healed, we are to look to Jesus for our redemption. Jesus carried all the sin that ever was or ever will be to the cross. We are offered the gift of an eternity with Jesus; however, it is our choice as to whether we accept it or not. John 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
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