Numbers 21:7-9 New International Version (NIV)
7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
Tuesday - March 16
Notice how the people of Israel are saved. They have a choice. They can trust the Word of God and live or they can reject God’s Word as a foolish command to look at a bronze serpent. After all, how could looking at a bronze serpent physically heal anyone?! That doesn’t make any sense! But the issue is faith. Will they ever believe that God’s promise is true? Will they relent of their rebellion and look at an image of the exact same thing that was killing them and trust that God is now using it for their salvation? Some did and lived. The cross is where Jesus was rejected, humiliated and killed. Now, God invites us to trust His promise that the cross is our salvation.