"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." In reading the account of what the Lord here refers to, which you will find in the 21st chapter of the book of Numbers, one word arrested the deep attention of my soul, and I pray God may not only arrest your precious soul, unsaved one, but also detain it. Well, let us look for a moment at the picture; truly it is a dark scene that meets our eye. The people had sinned—spoken against God, and against Moses, His servant; and not only that, but what was the crowning sin of all—they had "loathed" and called "light" the provision which God gave from heaven to meet their need; and this reminds me of a solemn passage in the New Testament, where God sent a message of invitation, and "they made light of it, and went their ways." Ah! dear soul, are you going your way, the end of which is eternal judgment, and making light of Christ (God’s way), which the manna sent down from heaven set forth? Oh! then, that like Israel you may turn to the Lord and say, "I have sinned"—this is true repentance—judging self, and thereby justifying God's word—this was their confession.
"And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass." This is the word that was brought with such power in the Holy Ghost to my heart—it was all over with the people; they had sinned, and the wages of sin—death—was the due of each; God's just sentence was being executed: "much people of Israel died." Think of the scene—the serpent-bitten ones dying, or dead; they could do nothing that would avail them aught before God; they were utterly lost and ruined by sin, and so far as they were concerned, their case was hopeless;—the blackness of darkness had closed in all around them, and shut them up to the terrible fact that death was passed upon all, for all had sinned. I have said that all hope in themselves was gone, all question as to themselves was over; they were, if I may use such an expression for the sake of plainness, done for: whether they realized it or not, the fact was the same; their unbelief could in no wise alter the truth of God's word.
And now I think I hear each anxious heart inquire, What hath the Lord spoken? and see each strained eye eagerly turned upon the despised Moses to see what he will do (we have read what the Lord commanded). “And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." Do you see? What Moses made (in obedience to the command of God) was the object for faith to gaze upon, and the instant a bitten Israelite gave heed to the word "Look!" he lived. What Moses made alone met the deep need of those bitten ones; to look at themselves was speedy death; to look at what Moses made was instant life; and the one who turned from the contemplation of himself and gazed upon the lifted up serpent had faith in God's word (that is, he believed what God had said), the effect of which is salvation.
"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you, in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Here is the reality of that which has been before our hearts; God has made Christ who knew no sin, to be sin for us. Do you not see that just as what Moses made suited the case of the bitten Israelites, so what God has made Christ to be suits your case, unsaved sinner? It is no longer a question of anything you can do, but of what God has made Christ to be. We read of Him, " Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
It was on the cross that He was made sin—no one but Himself and God know the full meaning of that; but it is enough for the sinner that believes in Him to know that God made Christ to be sin there, and that all His righteous claims have been fully met and satisfied, seeing God hath raised Him up from among the dead, and seated Him at His own right hand in glory, saying, "Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." At the name of Jesus (the One who is despised and rejected of men) every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Oh, sinner! will you not bow your heart to Him now, and with your mouth confess that He is your Savior, your Lord? Do not, I beseech you, wait until that day when all must bow, enemies as well as friends, but now—while it is still the day of salvation and you may bow—come! and fall down before Him just as you are. He said when upon earth, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all to Me." Oh I that the attractions of His glorious Person, and the perfections of His finished work, may now draw you to Himself, that of you, as of the blind man of old, it may be said, "And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God: and all the people when they saw it gave praise to God." Then you will be able to say, “He loved me, and gave 'Himself for me.”
“So near, so very near to God,
I cannot nearer be;
For in the Person of His Son
I am as near as He.
So dear, so very dear to God,
More dear I cannot be;
The love wherewith He loves His Son,
Such is His love to me.”
R. B.