Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Numbers 21:4-9
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  March 17, 2021

So far in our journey on the Road to Redemption, we’ve seen the picture of Jesus in the passover lamb. We’ve seen him battle against the temptations of Satan and fulfill the promise God made in the Garden of Eden. We’ve watched him be silent like a sheep before the shearers. And we’ve seen him demonstrate what true kingship looks like in the presence of earthly kings. Today, the road gets rockier. Today we see God’s anger poured out upon his people. But more importantly, we see God providing salvation to those who looked to him in repentance and faith. Let’s continue following our Savior on this Road to Redemption as today we journey From Pole to Pole.

Today we find the children of Israel on a road of their own. We hear in Numbers 21, “They set out from Mount Hor along the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom,” The Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness for the past 40 years. Because of the sins of their forefathers and their rebellion against God, they had not been allowed to enter the Promised Land until all of those who had rebelled had died in the desert. They were making their way towards Canaan when they arrived at Kadesh, the place their parents had rebelled. The shortest route to the Promised Land would take them through the land of Edom, along a well-known route called “The King’s Highway.” Moses sent a letter to the king of Edom, asking for his permission to go through their land. He appealed to him as a brother–since Edom was descended from Esau. But the king refused passage. Moses asked a second time and the king refused a second time, this time sending a large army to the border. So Moses and Israel were forced to go the long way around Edom. And this wasn’t an easy journey. So we hear, “but the people became very impatient along the way.” 

Anyone who has ever had to live out of a suitcase for more than a couple of days knows how old it can get. To be unsettled is tolerable for only so long. Travelling is exciting, but after a few days, you’d gladly trade the nice hotels and the restaurant meals for your own bed and a home-cooked meal. The same is true about moving, isn’t it? Talk about a stress-filled endeavor! Imagine you’ve sold the house, packed the truck and set out for your new home, and a month later you’re still driving around the country looking for it. And two months later you’re still on the road. And a year later you’re still living out of your suitcase and your destination isn’t any closer than when you first left. And you’ve eaten at every McDonalds and Burger King there is and had so many Big Macs and Whoppers that you swear you’d rather starve than eat another one. Let’s just imagine that you did this for 40 years. And then at the end of 40 years you finally can see your new house. It’s just over there. But instead of making a bee-line for it, you find road construction that forces you to take a detour all the way around the city and you have to come in on the complete opposite side. You don’t think you’d be a little ornery and might find something to complain about?

You know what it’s like. You’ve all had the kids in the backseat of the car asking, “Are we there yet? How much longer? I’m hungry! I’m thirsty! I need to go to the bathroom!” And isn’t that what the Israelites sound like? The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? Look, there is no food! There is no water! And we are disgusted by this worthless food!” It’s been said that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Well, it’s pretty clear that this generation of Israel had learned some bad habits from the previous one. Just look at their initial complaint! “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” Do you realize that the majority of those who were complaining had never been in Egypt? Most of them were born as Israel travelled and wandered. It had been more than 40 years since Israel came out of Egypt. The only people who had seen Egypt as adults were Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. The gall of these people to complain about something they even experienced, to complain about God’s providence for them as they not only survived, but thrived while wandering in the desert, to complain about bread from heaven! 

The gall of those people! And it’s fine to think that way as long as we realize that we’re just like them. The same care, protection, and consistent blessing that Israel received, we receive. Yet, we often take those blessings for granted, don’t we? Our cars are too old. Our jobs are too stressful. Our school is too boring. Our marriage is too much work. Our church is too old-fashioned. Our pastor is too strict. We have too much of this and not enough of that.  We used to want this and now we want that. How often haven’t we gotten so tired of the moving and never arriving? Tired of the same old disappointments, same old arguments, same old broken promises? We get so sick and tired of the daily responsibilities and lack of appreciation, the constant correction with no understanding, the endless list of things that must be done and never any time to do what we want to do. And like Israel, we grumble and complain. Complain to whoever will listen to us—but ultimately our complaint is against God.

“The LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and the snakes bit the people. As a result many people from Israel died.” The LORD could have killed them with kindness, couldn’t he? He could have acquiesced to their complaints and given them whatever they wanted. But what good would that have done for them eternally? It would have only led them farther down the path to hell that they were already traveling. No, God is not willing to give up on us or just give us what we deserve. He won’t stand idly by while we ruin our lives with selfish pride or foolish wisdom either. So God sends the venomous snakes into our lives. And you’ve been bitten. Just look at your life. Unless you’ve numbed your conscience into a vegetative state, you can feel the guilt of your sin burning like that venom, when you examine yourself. You’ve grumbled. You’ve complained. You’ve taken what God’s given for granted. You’ve spoken to and treated your spouse, your parents, your children, your fellow believers as something less than gifts of God. You’ve been bitten. How do I know? Because all of us have been bitten. All of us bear those tell-tale teeth marks with no one to blame but ourselves. 

“The people went to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD to take the snakes away from us.” It took venomous snakes to get Israel to look in the mirror, but when she finally did she was horrified by what she saw. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to live. She knew she needed salvation. And so she came running back to the same LORD and the same Moses, who she just had grumbled against. She came back and didn’t hide her sin, didn’t try to justify it or excuse it or sugar-coat it; she confessed it plainly and simply. “So Moses prayed on behalf of the people. The LORD said to Moses, “Make a venomous snake and put it on a pole. If anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” Moses made a bronze snake and put it on the pole. If a snake had bitten anyone, if that person looked at the bronze snake, he lived.”

And what did the LORD do? He showed mercy. And what did Moses do? He prayed for the people. Why? Because that’s what the LORD does for his people, and that’s what a pastor does for his people, because God’s kingdom is a kingdom of grace, of undeserved love, of mercy and medicine. And when the people saw and heard Moses, what did they do? They did exactly what the LORD said would heal them. They looked at a snake on a pole. They didn’t tell God to explain it. They didn’t try to come up with a better plan. They didn’t offer to make a deal with God. They didn’t try to look inside, to dress up the snake a bit, to wait for someone to argue with them into looking. They didn’t do any of that nonsense. They looked at the snake. Why? They were desperate. They wanted to be healed, to live. They wanted God to kill the venom before the venom killed them.

The snakes are loose. You know that. I know that.  They’re everywhere: on TV, the radio, the internet, in the home, the workplace, the church, and worst of all in our very own hearts. And their bite stings and burns. Their venom works death. So what do we do? Listen to what Jesus said: “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 shall not perish but have eternal life.” Just as Israel looked at the pole with the bronze snake and lived, so we look to the pole of Jesus’ cross and live. We see Jesus lifted up bearing our sins, dying to defeat death. We hear God’s promise that by looking at Jesus in faith, we live. This is the medicine. This is what kills the venom before it kills you. And there’s no use telling God to explain it. There’s no point in trying to come up with a better plan. There’s no deal that you can offer to God. There’s no use trying to look inside yourself, or trying to dress up the cross a bit, or waiting for someone to argue you into looking at it. Enough of that nonsense! Look at the Savior. You want to be healed, don’t you? You want to live! So look at the Savior and live. Jesus is here! He’s here on the altar, at the font, in the very words that fill your ears. He’s come to crush the serpent’s head. He is the medicine that their venom cannot withstand. Soon, very soon, he will be lifted up. And when he is, see what you have done to him, but even more, see what he has done for you on the Road to Redemption. Amen.