What Is the Bronze Serpent — In Biblical Context
The bronze serpent was the serpent of brass Moses lifted up on a pole to heal the Israelites from fiery serpent bites — a type of Christ's crucifixion.
The bronze serpent was the serpent of brass Moses lifted up on a pole to heal the Israelites from fiery serpent bites — a type of Christ's crucifixion.
"And the LORD said unto Moses, 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. 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." — Numbers 21:8-9 (KJV)
The Biblical Context
After Israel's rebellion and complaint in the wilderness, God sent fiery serpents among the people, and many were bitten and died. The people came to Moses and confessed, '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.' Moses prayed, and God instructed him: '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.' Moses made a serpent of brass and set it on a pole. Everyone who looked at the bronze serpent lived. Centuries later, King Hezekiah destroyed the bronze serpent — which the people had begun to worship as Nehushtan — because it had become an idol. Jesus Himself applied the bronze serpent to His own death: '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.' The bronze serpent is one of the clearest Old Testament types of the cross: the remedy for sin is not doing something but looking in faith to the One who was lifted up in our place.
Where It Sits in Scripture
The core passage for this question, Numbers 21:8-9, sits inside Numbers 21. To grasp the full meaning, read the surrounding paragraph — the verses before set up the thought, the verses after carry it forward.
"And the LORD said unto Moses, 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. 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."
Supporting Passages
"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."
"He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan."
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