Curious......why a snake?

[Gary O']

Numbers 21:4

New International Version
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.

 

[BobRyan]

he became cursed for us ...

 

[angelsaroundme]

Snakes were associated with healing and probably resurrection on account of the shedding of their skin.

Snake Venom: From Deadly Toxins to Life-saving Therapeutics - PubMed (nih.gov)

"The venom constitutes families of proteins and peptides with various isoforms that make it a cocktail of diverse molecules. These biomolecules are responsible for the disturbance in fundamental physiological systems of the envenomed victim, leading to morbidity which can lead to death if left untreated. Researchers have turned these life-threatening toxins into life-saving therapeutics via technological advancements. Since the development of captopril, the first drug that was derived from bradykininpotentiating peptide of Bothrops jararaca, to the disintegrins that have potent activity against certain types of cancers, snake venom components have shown great potential for the development of lead compounds for new drugs. There is a continuous development of new drugs from snake venom for coagulopathy and hemostasis to anti-cancer agents."

A History Of 'Snake Oil Salesmen' : Code Switch : NPR

"Among the items the Chinese railroad workers brought with them to the States were various medicines — including snake oil. Made from the oil of the Chinese water snake, which is rich in the omega-3 acids that help reduce inflammation, snake oil in its original form really was effective, especially when used to treat arthritis and bursitis. The workers would rub the oil, used for centuries in China, on their joints after a long hard day at work. The story goes that the Chinese workers began sharing the oil with some American counterparts, who marveled at the effects."

 

[Gary O']

he became cursed for us ...

Makes more sense than anything I've heard.
Just having a hard time grasping that Moses made that 'graven image'.....of what seems a likeness of that serpent in eden.

Anything about it in EG White writings?

 

[Skye1300]

Numbers 21:4

New International Version
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.

To show that God can work through anything, even statues. It shows that statues are not graven images. Statues in and of themselves are not bad or evil. The statue was of a snake because God used it to heal snake bites.

 

[eleos1954]

To show that God can work through anything, even statues. It shows that statues are not graven images. Statues in and of themselves are not bad or evil. The statue was of a snake because God used it to heal snake bites.

In Numbers 21:1-9 God has Moses set a brass serpent on a pole so that if anybody was bitten by a serpent, they could look at this serpent on a pole and be healed. Now as real and literal as this serpent was it was only symbolic. There was no magic in the brass or the pole. This brass serpent was to point forward to Jesus dying for us on the cross and curing us form the snake bites of that old serpent the devil.

Still some people started worshiping the brass serpent because they could not see past the pole and get the big picture. 2 Kings 18:4 tells us, finally Hezekiah destroyed the brass serpent because people were worshiping it instead of God. The problem was they saw the brass serpent as the end of their theology instead of looking beyond the pole to what it represented.

 

[Gary K]

To show that God can work through anything, even statues. It shows that statues are not graven images. Statues in and of themselves are not bad or evil. The statue was of a snake because God used it to heal snake bites.

No. God used it to get the children of Isreal to display faith in Him. The command was look and live, and only those who had the faith to act upon God's command were healed.

It had nothing to do with statues. It had everything to do with faith in God.

 

[Skye1300]

No. God used it to get the children of Isreal to display faith in Him. The command was look and live, and only those who had the faith to act upon God's command were healed.

It had nothing to do with statues. It had everything to do with faith in God.

But God did use a statue of a snake to do that though. He used a statue to teach His people to have faith in Him.

 

[caecilius]

I don't know what your burden is, but get off me.
It'll be a blessing for both of us.

View attachment 317628

Here's a link which gives you several links from EGWhite concerning the serpent on the pole. Click below
Search
God Bless you.

 

[Gary O']

Thank you so much!
My eyes are failing me in regard to small type and small keys on the laptop.
I need to not be so tech illiterate, and learn how to enlarge things.

Thank you again.

 

[Gary O']

Well now

THAT

was a load

Let's just pray for each other, and end it at that

 

[BPPLEE]

To show that God can work through anything, even statues. It shows that statues are not graven images. Statues in and of themselves are not bad or evil. The statue was of a snake because God used it to heal snake bites.

And Hezekiah destroyed it because it became an idol

 

[BPPLEE]

You do know the EGW site has a search function, do you not?

Satan was judged on the cross. The snake is symbolic of Satan. Jesus became sin for us and said even as the serpent was lifted up on a pole so would he be. edit just saw I responded to the wrong person thought I was responding to the OP

 

[Gary O']

I find this particular opinion actually quite interesting and was curious if there was some deeper meaning behind those words.

Just reading about Martin Luther in The Great Controversy
His remarks on prayer is riveting/inspiring.

 

[BobRyan]

I was hoping.
Please provide a link

The Adventist Home

Just type in any text you want to search on in the box at the top - over the words "search"

(ignore the fact that my link is in the context of one of my searches in Adventist Home... you can type anything you like in that search box and it will find it if it is anywhere in her writings)

 

[Landon Caeli]

MOD HAT ON

A small cleanup has taken place due to off topic posts. Please take some time to view the site rules when posting. Thank you.
Help | Christian Forums

MOD HAT OFF​