sound of a soft breath

Just as the bronze snake became the vehicle of the Israelites' salvation, so Jesus' death on the cross would be the vehicle for the salvation of all people who believe in him."

Whitney T. Kuniholm wrote this in reflecting on the passage I am reading today from Numbers Chapter 21 in the Old Testament. I am currently journaling through the book titled The Essential Jesus: 100 Readings Through the Bible's Greatest Story written by Whitney T. Kuniholm. This is passage number 13 of the one hundred he has outlined in his book.

The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." (Numbers 21:8)

Here in this short account we see sin, judgment, and death. A sequence or pattern that pops up in the Bible quite a few times. It is a reminder that sin ultimately leads to death. Here it is relatively immediate. The people sin against God and judgment comes through the poisonous snakes in death.

The beautiful thing is that God provides a way off the train that leads directly from sin to death. God the Father provides a door through His Son Jesus for us to jump through. A door that leads straight to the cross of Christ where we enter into a new Kingdom. A Kingdom where sin and death have no control. A Kingdom that is both today and to come. A Kingdom with no end.

In this account we get a glimpse of that door off the speeding train. This train speeding towards death. A glimpse of that door of salvation. A hint of the healing found in the Cross. A preview of a different way. A way that centers on looking towards one sacrifice lifted up, one King above all, one Lord, one Savior - Jesus.

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." (John 3:14-15)

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