March 10: Numbers 21:4-9

Key Verse: Numbers 21:8
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.’

Devotion:
When we cry out to God in our desperation, He often answers us in ways we cannot see because we think He has to do such a difficult thing… whereas He knows He is doing something simple! When the people of Israel were being led through the desert, they grew impatient and wanted God to give them their land before they grew any more thirsty and had to face any more hardships!

When the snakes arrived on the scene the people were terrified they would all die from snake bites, never mind from thirst or heat stroke! They could not see a way out of their situation because they focused on all the bad things happening. God had promised them a land of ‘milk and honey’ and yet they had lost sight of their target.

The people cried out all the more when the snakes were biting and they begged Moses to ask God to take away the snakes so they could at least live! They realised they had been a bit harsh with their words and they asked for forgiveness. What God told Moses to do was something very different from what they expected!

Moses was told to make a statue of a snake and put it on a pole to be lifted up. This must have gone against their thoughts – why should they lift up a snake on a pole when they were trying to get rid of the snakes! But God wanted them to stop looking at the immediate issues and to look at something He was doing. When God is doing something, we should take notice and praise Him for what He does!

Points to Ponder:
Do you focus on your problems?

Or do you focus on what God can do?