Visiting God’s Aquarium

 

All of us went to an Aquarium at least once in our life. You stand there with your family and your nose against the glass peeking into a tank. The tank is supposed to be a snatch from what real life is out there in the ocean. The intention is to give you everything in a short space. Today we are going to visit such an aquarium window provided by God in an incident recorded by Moses in Numbers 21:4-9.


To highlight the event, as we watch noses against the glass in Numbers 21:4-9, the Israelites got fed-up with God’s daily menu for them. Now this was not necessary, for surely the food was tasty. But tasty food is not the problem, it is the hearts of the people and my judgment of their actions, to run the story ahead, is just what they are going to say about themselves later. Wait and see.


When God saw their rebellious hearts, for that is what it was, He sent snakes into this aquarium frame to bite the people and they died as flies. It is a horrible seen for us standing at the window and hearing it we are shocked since we do not like snakes. No-one does. At least 99.9%.


The people realized their predicament and turned around. They asked Moses to approach the Lord and beg for mercy for them. He wants them to apologize for their bad behavior. They knew it was bad. Very bad. They were biting the hand that was feeding them.


God then had a solution: He would ask Moses to make a brazen cross and put a snake on it. If they look at the cross, they would live. The Gospel in verity. But, notice something, God does not take the snakes away. The snakes are still going to bite the people!


We are in shock at the window. God did not remove the snakes that bit the people. Why?


Exactly because this is the mirror window of our own world. Christ died on the cross for salvation, we need to look and live, and Satan, the big snake of this world, is or was not taken away yet.


The reason God left this case in Numbers 21 as is, is because that is life all over the world. Daily people get bitten by the snake Satan and his tricks and in pain and suffering they seek help. The solution is very simple, look and live. Look at the Cross of Calvary, look at Christ’s death on our behalf, and that is the solution.


Ellen White wrote on this incident in 1 Selected Message 352 that the Israelites in this case were bitten but instead of looking and live, the chose to mourn and weep and tried to heal themselves. She says there are many today that are weeping over their sins and mourning how to solve it, when they could but look and live. Of course, she does not mean that one do not have to desist doing wrong. The main thing is to look and live.


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Dear God

We want to look at Jesus and live. Take us as we are and help us to transform into shining lights for You. Amen.