May 17, 2026 Life Lessons from Moses Part 5

 Have you ever grumbled? Have you ever failed? Are you afraid of snakes? If so, this is for you! To kick things off, consider a couple of quick snake jokes: When God asked the serpent why he tempted Eve, the snake didn’t have a leg to stand on. And why did the snake cross the road? To show the chicken how to tempt someone in the Garden. Yes, those were pretty bad, but at least you’ve made it through the worst part of this message. In all seriousness, life has a sneaky way of feeling toxic. Stress coils around us, anxiety sinks its teeth in, and before we know it, we are spiritually dizzy, emotionally swollen, and wondering how we got here.

In Numbers 21:4–9, the Israelites found themselves in a wilderness season where everything seemed to be going wrong. They grew deeply impatient and allowed discontentment to fog their spiritual windshield, completely blinding them to God’s past miracles. They fell into a vicious cycle of grumbling, complaining upward against God and Moses about the journey, the lack of water, and the "miserable" manna. But grumbling is never truly about our external circumstances—it’s about a lack of trust. When we grumble, we are essentially telling God that He isn’t moving fast enough or doing things correctly. Because of their rebellion, God allowed the consequences of their toxic attitudes to bite them, sending venomous, deadly serpents into the camp.

When the dying people confessed their sin and begged for mercy, God provided an unconventional solution that defied all human logic. He commanded Moses to forge a bronze serpent, lift it up on a pole, and promise that anyone who looked at it would live. If you went to a doctor today with a poisonous snakebite and he told you to skip the antivenom and stare at a metal sculpture he made in his garage, you’d find a new doctor. Seeking God’s plan often requires us to obey instructions that challenge our intellect, whether that means forgiving someone who hurt us, giving generously when money is tight, or trusting Him when we don't understand. Yet, Moses obeyed, and the solution worked perfectly.

The Bible records that whenever someone was bitten, if they simply looked at the bronze serpent, they lived. It wasn’t about touching the pole, analyzing the metal, or debating the theology behind it; healing came solely from a humble look of faith. There was no magic in the bronze itself—the act of looking was a physical expression of spiritual surrender. Imagine a swelling victim lying on the ground refusing to look because they didn't understand the mechanics of the cure; they would die with the remedy right in front of them. Spiritually, people do this every day by trying to fix themselves and refusing to turn their eyes to God’s ready provision.

When life gets venomous, our natural instinct is to obsessively stare at the snakes. We paralyze ourselves by analyzing the failure, magnifying the financial stress, and talking about the problem to everyone except the Healer. We behave like someone spending an hour complaining about a painful splinter and Googling worst-case scenarios instead of just pulling it out. God didn't instantly remove the snakes from the camp, but He provided a cure. Similarly, He doesn't always eliminate our storms or erase our wilderness seasons, but He always provides the sustaining grace, manna, and presence to carry us through if we will stop staring at the venom and look at the victory.

Jesus directly connects His mission to this wilderness account in John 3:14–15, stating that just as Moses lifted up the serpent, the Son of Man must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. The cross is God’s ultimate "look and live" solution. Just as that bronze serpent represented the very thing that was killing Israel, Jesus took on the poison of our pride, the venom of our rebellion, and the sting of our shame upon Himself. Salvation does not require a look of self-improvement or religious works; it demands a look of faith that admits we cannot rescue ourselves. When life gets venomous, stop replaying the failures, drop the grumbling, and look to the Savior.