What Was the Bronze Serpent of Moses — In Biblical Context

The Biblical Context

The bronze serpent is recorded in Numbers 21. As Israel journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to compass the land of Edom, the people grew impatient and 'spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.' In response, 'the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.' Convicted, the people came to Moses confessing their sin and asking him to intercede. Moses prayed, and the Lord answered: '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 (bronze) 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.' The remedy was strikingly simple: not medicine, not works, not even prayer — just a look of faith. The bronze serpent was preserved in Israel for centuries until King Hezekiah destroyed it because the people had begun to burn incense to it, naming it Nehushtan (2 Kings 18:4). Jesus Himself revealed the typological meaning of the bronze serpent in John 3:14-15: '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.' Just as the serpent was lifted on a pole and bitten Israelites were healed by looking, so Christ was lifted on the cross and dying sinners are saved by looking to Him in faith. He took on Himself the very form of the curse — like sin in our likeness — that we might live. The bronze serpent preaches the gospel: look and live.

Where It Sits in Scripture

Supporting Passages