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Welcome. I'm Cliff Hedges. This is Pastor Cliff's Notes. This is a podcast where we are studying the Bible. We're working our way through the book of Numbers. Today is episode 1642, and we're looking at Numbers chapter 21, verses 1 through 9. So God had rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, brought them to the very edge of the promised land. But they rebelled. They said it was too scary. So God sent them back into the wilderness to remain there until this faithless generation died. It'd be forty years out of Egypt. Now we are in the fortieth year. Miriam, the sister of Moses, and Aaron, the brother of Bosef, both died. So we're seeing even the leadership dying off. And the Israelites have started moving toward the north to enter Canaan. The king of Edom had said, No, you cannot go through Edom, and so they're going to go around Edom. So we pick it up now in chapter 21, verse 1. When the Canaanite king of Ered, who lived in the Degev, heard that Israel was coming on the Ethereum road, he fought against Israel and captured some prisoners. So the Canaanite king of Ered. So this is an actual Canaanite king, so someone from the Promised Land who comes and attacks Israel. Now Ered was a major city south of Hebron, but it was destroyed like 2650 BC, so a thousand years prior to this time. So where exactly is it at this time? It's hard to say. It's probably more of an area in the south than Gev. So this is probably some local area ruler, not the historic city of Ered. And he comes out and attacks the Israelites. Says they're on the Ethereum Road. That's where we have no idea where that is. So it's the road they're on, and they're in their take. He captures some prisoners. Verse 2. Then Israel made a vow to the Lord. If you will hand this people over to us, we will completely destroy their cities. Okay, what's going on here? Literally, it's then Israel vowed a vow. If you will hand this people over to us, we will completely destroy their cities. Again, literally, it's put their cities to the ban. And this was where we talked earlier about things being offered completely to God. And this is where we'll see this sum, where when Israel is in battle with some of the areas, some of it, they're free to take whatever they can from that city. They're free to take what livestock, goods, whatever, even slaves. But the cities that are given over to the Lord, they're considered a holy offering to God. That is, we are going to go risk our lives, and as the people of God engage in battle with these enemies of God, but we're not taking anything. Nothing will be taken for us. It will all be turned over to God. And that's what they are saying here. Completely destroy the cities, put the cities to the Bayan. Verse 3 The Lord listened to Israel's request and handed the Canaanites over to them. And Israel completely destroyed them and their cities. So they named the place Horamah. So this Canaanite king attacks some part of the Israelite crowd, it takes them prisoners. This time they go to God and say, God, we think we ought to attack them back. What do you think? And if you do, if you let us, we'll completely turn it over to you. And God says, Yes, go and do it. And so God actually empowered them to do it. Now, interestingly enough, the last time they were in some kind of battle with Canaanites was back in Numbers 14, after they rebelled and said, We are not going into the promised land because there's giants there. It's too scary. And God said, Well, then head back toward the Red Sea. You're going to spend the next 40 years in the wilderness. Then a group of them said, No, let's go take the promised land. We can force God to let us do it. And they attacked some of the Canaanites and were defeated. We saw back in Numbers chapter 14, verse 45. Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah. Ooh, there we see the name Hormah. And here in verse 3 we see the name Hormah. It says they named a place Hormah, which means destruction or the ban place. So in the very place that they were defeated by the Canaanites 40 years ago, actually 38 years, they now defeat the Canaanites there. Difference? Well, back in Numbers 14, they were acting in defiance of God's direction. God said, Head back toward the Red Sea. And they said, No, no, we're going to really take the promised land. Here in Numbers 21, they were acting with God's blessing. They actually went to God first and said, Here's what we think we ought to do, God, is that what we should do? So we're certain a difference here in attitude in the Trielites. We're also having a changeover in generations. Remember, we're in the 40th year. Most of that first generation is gone. Not all, because remember, some people would have been 20 years old at numbers 14. So now they're just barely 40 years old. So they're not that old. So there's still a lot of people from that first generation. Not for long, though. And so how much influence do they have? Hard to say. But probably the majority of the actual army fighting force is the second generation now. And we see a much different attitude with them. So things are looking good here in the first part of chapter 21. Verse 4. Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom. But the people became impatient because of the journey. So they're probably looping south to go around Edom, and they would actually be traveling away from the promised land, which is disturbing to those who are eager to go to the Promised Land. And people start complaining again. Verse 5. We detest this wretched food. There's stuff we have heard before, complaining about the food, complaining about lack of water, and complaining about the wretched food, the manna, the bread of heaven. We're tired of that again. So we've heard all these complaints before, and we don't see any generational difference. We don't see the older people are complaining, the younger people not complaining, or the older people complaining, affected younger people. But apparently it is some widespread complaining. Verse 6. So we now see God's judgment on them for their lack of faith. Pois snakes. Now, literally, it is fiery snakes. That's where some get the image of these supernatural snakes that are actually on fire. Probably refers to the bite. The bite feels like fire. And it's a fairly quick acting, apparently, uh venom, that people die from the bite. Many English translations say fiery serpents or fiery snakes. Verse 7. The people then came to Moses and said, We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. So we see repentance here. Continuing to verse 7. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us. And Moses interceded for the people. So we see repentance here, and turning to God, saying, We have done wrong, and asking Moses to intercede. And he does. And what they asked for is take the snakes away. Verse 8. Then the Lord said to Moses, Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover. So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered. So God does provide relief here. He doesn't take the snakes away. He doesn't stop people from being bitten by the snakes, but he provides a cure for those who are bitten. They have to look at this bronze snake. What's going on here? This just seems weird. Why doesn't God just make the snakes go away? Why does why an image? This there was part of the Ten Commandments was don't make images. Don't be making these bronze images. And that's what Moses is doing here. Well, it's setting it up to where somebody has to make an act of faith. It's not just that God has said, okay, I fixed it. God is saying, you will be able to have the fixing if you act in faith in obedience to what I have said. And the obedience is just looking at the snake. Now it doesn't mean just catch a glimpse of it, it means look at it, gaze at it. And to be actually purposely looking to the snake, you are looking with faith, because you've been told if you look at this snake, God will heal you of this snake bite. Now there's lessons from the snake, and because it is something that is dangerously close to an idol, it is something that gets misused. In 2 Kings chapter 18, verse 4, King Hezekiah takes this snake and breaks it up into pieces because it had become an idol, and people were preying to the bronze snake. So good things can be used in wrong ways. The uh book of wisdom. It's not in most Protestant Bibles, it's part of the Apocrypha. Actually, it appeared in the uh Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, called the Wisdom of Solomon. So I don't consider it inspired scripture, but it does give us some historical perspective. Wisdom 16, verses 5 through 7, recounting some of the history of Israel. Not by what was seen, but by you, the Savior of all. This written probably 200 BC, and it was making the point then. Okay, it wasn't the snake that saved people, it was faith. They were not healed by the snake, they were healed by God. See some references to this in the New Testament. They're tired of the manna, the bread from heaven. In John chapter 6, Jesus says, I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. So Jesus is the bread of heaven. That's what they were complaining about, the bread of heaven, what God had provided. Similarly, when Jesus is talking to Nicodemus in John chapter three, says in verse 14, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God loved the world in this way, He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. So this is right before famous John 316 that most people can quote is Jesus is comparing himself to the snake that he will be lifted up, and he's referring to being placed on a cross. But people have to look to him for salvation, look to him in faith. And so it's kind of a strange account that we have with this bronze snake that Moses puts on a pole. But the whole point here is to experience God's salvation requires acting in obedience and acting in faith and looking to the Lord for that salvation. So we're still in this period of transition of the second generation is taking over. We've still got the a lot of the first generation there, but not for too much longer. Thanks for joining me. Join me again next time as we continue working through numbers.