Numbers 21

 

Moses did pray in behalf of his followers, and in answer to his prayer the Lord instructed: "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" (Num. 21:8).

 

Moses again did as the Lord instructed.

 

Left at this point, one wonders what happened. How many were obedient? How many were not? Did anyone look and live? Answers to these questions are found in the Book of Mormon. One prophet explained: "He [the Lord] sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished" (1 Ne. 17:41).

 

The type raised up in the wilderness, the serpent on the pole, symbolized Christ upon the cross. Jesus himself taught this truth. Many times he forecast his cruel form of death; and on at least one occasion, he made reference to Moses and the wilderness incident. Note these words of the Master:

 

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:14-15).

 

We, like Israel of old, must rivet our eyes and minds upon the cross of Christ if we hope to gain eternal life, because through his resurrection we will gain the victory over physical death. And his atonement opens up to us a way to overcome our sins, a way to spiritual rebirth, and a way back to the presence of God.

 

Oh, how we must look to Christ and live.

 

The direction of our look is critical. From the rooftop King David "saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon" (2 Sam. 11:2). He looked across the way, and his heart was filled with lust. He looked; he fell.

 

Judas Iscariot fixed his eye upon thirty pieces of silver. Greed overcame his righteous desires. His misplaced look cost his life, his soul, and the thirty coins. (See Matt. 27:3-10.)

 

Our looks must not be allowed to wander across the way or to become fixed upon the perishable things of the world. The eye, "the light of the body" (Matt. 6:22), must be trained to look upward. We must look to God and live! ("'Look to God and Live'," Ensign, Nov 1978, 52)

 

 

Notice how the scribe records only the facts of this interesting event. No hint is given that the brazen serpent symbolized anything special. Certainly, the meaning was not lost on Moses. How then could the scribe responsible for the final version of Numbers fail to make any comment on this prophetic incident? You can certainly tell that Mormon is not abridging this work! He would never miss such an important teaching moment.

 

Not surprisingly, the best possible commentary for this event comes from the Book of Mormon- Alma the younger specifically. In his famous sermon comparing faith to a seed, Alma explains the symbolism and the serpent; he explains the importance of looking to Christ in faith.

 

the Son of God... was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.

O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?

If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works. (Alma 33:18-22, italics added)

 

As the Israelites were suffering from physical sickness, they were given the opportunity to be healed, almost in an instant, and yet they declined. Similarly, the stubborn sinner will often wallow in spiritual sickness rather than "look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit" (Hel 8:15). The spiritually ill continue to suffer-even to the point of spiritual death-because they do "not believe that [the Lord] would heal them" (Alma 33:20).

 

"How silly," some must have said. "How can such a thing cure me? I'll not show my stupidity by paying any attention," and some would not look.

 

In First Nephi we read that "after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished" (1 Ne. 17:41).

 

The lesson is enlarged in the Gospel of John.

 

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:14-16).

 

And today many say, "How silly! How could accepting Christ save me?" They will not turn their heads to look nor incline their ears to hear. (Conference Report, October 1968, pp. 73-76)