Numbers 21:8–9-When the Cure Looked Like the Curse

When the Israelites rebelled against God in the wilderness, fiery serpents invaded their camp. The people’s impatience and grumbling had reached a breaking point, and God allowed consequences to come in the form of venomous snakes. It was a moment of both justice and mercy—justice, because their rebellion was real; mercy, because even then, God was preparing a way out.

As the people cried out in repentance, God gave Moses a strange instruction: “Make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who looks at it shall live.” It didn’t make sense from a human standpoint. There was no medicine, no ritual, no sacrifice—just a simple act of obedience and faith. Anyone who chose to look at the bronze serpent would be healed. It wasn’t magic. It wasn’t superstition. It was trust in the Word of God.

In this episode of Verses We Missed, Steve Webb explores this unusual story and reveals how it points directly to Jesus. The bronze serpent—an image of the curse—became the symbol of healing and redemption. The very thing that represented death became a picture of deliverance. For more on this event, see the Numbers 21:8-9 passage on Bible Gateway.

Centuries later, Jesus would refer back to this scene during His conversation with Nicodemus. He said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” The parallel is striking: the Israelites were saved from physical death by looking at a symbol of their sin; we are saved from spiritual death by looking to the Savior who bore our sin.

This account is more than a story—it’s a preview of the Gospel. God took the image of judgment and turned it into the pathway to healing. It’s a reminder that what looks like defeat can become victory, and that God’s grace often arrives in unexpected forms. When life feels heavy and the consequences of our choices close in, this story tells us to lift our eyes—not to our own efforts, but to the One who was lifted up for us.

We’ll also talk about what this means for faith today. Faith isn’t just believing something about God—it’s looking to Him when we have nowhere else to turn. It’s trusting that even in seasons of wilderness, His mercy is near. The Israelites had to choose to look, and so do we.

This ancient story still speaks today. It reminds us that God’s mercy doesn’t always remove the consequences of sin, but it always provides a way through them. All who look to His provision—then and now—find life.

“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” – John 3:14

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