Sin and Grace

Please read Numbers 21-23 and Mark 6 and 7 if you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year. Tomorrow's readings are Numbers 24-27 and 1 Corinthians 13.

So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived. -Numbers 21:9 (NIV)

If you've been trudging along in the book of Numbers with me, you've read about the Israelites trudging along toward the Promised Land. You've also read how the Israelites have moaned and groaned practically the entire time. In this morning's assigned readings, they're at it again: complaining that the food is awful and that they don't have any water.

Do you ever get tired of people complaining all the time? Evidently, God does. That's because, according to Numbers 21, God responds to the most recent Israelite grumbling by sending poisonous snakes among the people. The snakes bite many of the Israelites and they die.

Yeah, it seems cruel...but it's effective. The people respond to the snakes by coming to Moses and saying, "We have sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes." And Moses prays.

God tells Moses to make a bronze snake and put in on a pole. When anyone bitten by a snake looks at the bronze snake on a pole, they live.

Now don't miss the powerful symbolism here. The bronze snake is both a symbol of their sin and God's grace. Remind you of anything? It reminds me of the cross. One symbol. Two meanings. A symbol of our sin and God's grace.

The reality is that sin always has consequences. Our sin hurts us and it hurts others. Our sin affects our relationship with God and our relationship with people. The cross is a bitter reminder of sin. But it's also a beautiful symbol of God's grace.

As you continue your journey with Christ to the cross, may God grant you the grace to acknowledge your sin and its destructive power. And may you see in the cross of Christ not just a reminder of your sin, but a symbol of God's amazing grace.