18/5/13S: Numbers 21:4-9 Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!
2 Kings 18:4 He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.
O: God was the one who told Moses to make the bronze snake. So originally, it was a good thing. However, after many centuries, people started worshipping the snake instead of God. So good King Hezekiah had to destroy it.
A: What originally good things have we allowed to become idols in our lives?
For example, some churches have made rules like, "You must not drink any alcohol", "You must never hold a joss stick", etc. The original intention was good — to help people avoid drunkeness, to avoid worshipping idols, etc. However, these rules can become legalism.
P: Father, if there are any "Nehushtan"s in my life, please reveal them to me and help me to break them up. In Jesus' name, amen.
Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)
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