Lifting Up the Curse

Moses made a copper serpent and mounted it on a standard; and when anyone was bitten by a serpent, he would look at the copper serpent and recover.  Numbers 21:9  JPS

Recover – There is no doubt that Yeshua refers to this event as an explanation of the cross and the ascension (see John 3:14).  But what does this odd story of the Israelites in the wilderness mean and why would He refer to it?

Archeological evidence suggests that copper (not bronze) snakes were part of the pagan religious iconography in the area, including Egypt.  There is also a play on words in Hebrew.  Moses makes a nehash nehoshet, the first word meaning “snake” and the second “copper.”  Rabbinic tradition teaches that YHWH did not simply remove this plague as He did in Egypt because this is a test of obedience.  Only those who looked upon the icon were healed (see Targum Jonathan and Wisdom of Solomon).  This event becomes a symbol of faith in the word of the Lord and in His servant’s action.  The Hebrew verb used here (sum) has a variety of meanings and is frequently associated with YHWH.  Among its umbrella of meanings are “to appoint, to set aside for a special purpose, to assign something, to establish a new relationship, and to bring about a change.”  Do you suppose that Yeshua wasn’t aware of these meanings when He pointed Nicodemus toward this story?  As a superb rabbi, wouldn’t you expect Him to ask His student (Nicodemus) to discover the deeper truth in this story by examining it carefully?  Wouldn’t a play on the multiple definitions fit rabbinic teaching?

What conclusions can we draw that assist in our understanding of Yeshua’s clue?  First we find that once again YHWH uses something from familiar paganism to reverse the pagan belief.  The children of Abraham would have been familiar with the winged Egyptian uraeus (the cobra) as a symbol of royalty, associated with the sun god and many other deities.  Furthermore, this symbol was worn on the headdress as a protective icon.  Now imagine that Moses fashions such a symbol, not as homage to the Egyptian gods but as a sign of healing and protection from the One true God.  What would this mean to the Israelites?  Wouldn’t they see that one more Egyptian icon now falls under the power of YHWH?  Wouldn’t they recognize that true protection comes only through the efficacy of the Lord even if the icon once represented a pagan practice?  In other words, the copper snake transforms prior idolatry into a standard of the Holy One of Israel.  Life, death and healing are found, not in the representations of men, but in the standard lifted up by God. 

Roman crucifixion was the ultimate symbol of power over life.  Crucifixion was the most brutal, most torturous, most cruel form of execution the Romans could devise.  If there were ever a symbol of death, the cross was it.  Now Yeshua does what Moses did in the wilderness.  He transforms a symbolic representation of pagan control over life into a vehicle of healing through the One true God.  The idolatry of Rome is converted into a sign of YHWH’s sovereignty, just as the idolatry of Egypt was converted into a sign of YHWH’s healing.  And in both cases, the recipient must look upon that pagan symbol and see something new; not a sign of the power of Man’s gods but a sign of the authority of Israel’s God.

Perhaps Yeshua goes to the cross in order to establish God’s final authority over the real enemy – death.  If the sacrifice for forgiveness is accomplished before the world’s foundations, then the cross represents God’s victory over every form of idolatry holding men captive by the threat of death.  “It is accomplished,” takes on far greater meaning.

Topical Index:  cross, recover, lifted up, Numbers 21:9, snake, John 3:14