Numbers 21

1) This is the final of a series of complaints. this time it is directed against Moses and God.

2) I love this anxiouos complaint-no bread no water but the food they have is lousy. It reminds me of the old joke. 2 women are in a restaurant compalining about the food. Othen one says, yeah and such small portions.

3) Some translate these creatures as fiery, due to the painful inflammation perhaps. The poisonous ones are seraph, flying snakes as in Is.14:29, related, I would guess to the seraphinm in Is.6 they are in the temple adornments.

4) I would have to work on the idea of bronze serpents beyond their potential as idols. In Egypt a cobra that spit fire as protection was depicted on the ruler's crown.

5) Like the snake in pharmacies, this one has healing properties as well. The replica will show up later as Nehushtan (this is an idol destroyed late). This seems to have, at the least, echoes of sympathetic magic. We can't be sure if it would be the alloy tine and copper=bronze or jsut copper.

6) A great use of this story with John 3:14 is in James Kay's Seasons of Grace collection. It is a fabulous collection of short sermons and is a demonstration of his skill with images.

7) I don't know to what extent one could start relating different serpents such as the one in Gen.3 or the serpent of Is.27 or for that matter, Rev. 12. Lots of serpent images have cropped up in the Ancient Near east.

8) What serpents persist due to our complaints?

9) How would a replica of something become healing?

10) Kay in his sermon, see #6 uses the idea of looking up as critical as draining away the poison.

11) What poisons afflict modern life? What would heal them?