'From Mount Hor they set out by way of the Red Sea, to bypass the land of Edom, but the people’s patience was worn out by the journey; so the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!” So the Lord sent among the people seraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of the Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, and the Lord said to Moses: Make a seraph and mount it on a pole, and everyone who has been bitten will look at it and recover. Accordingly Moses made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever the serpent bit someone, the person looked at the bronze serpent and recovered (Num. 21:4-9).'
As Moses was leading the Israelites from captivity in Egypt to the Promised Land, they complained and God sent Seraph Serpents that bit them causing many to die. The Israelites repented and begged Moses to pray to God to take the serpents away. By looking at a bronze serpent mounted on a pole God, through His infinite mercy, gave the Israelites the gift of earthly life. The book of Wisdom explains, “For when the dire venom of beasts came upon them and they were dying from the bite of crooked serpents, your anger endured not to the end. But as a warning, for a short time they were terrorized, though they had a sign of salvation, to remind them of the precept of your law. For the one who turned toward it was saved, not by what was seen, but by you, the savior of all (Wisdom 16:5-7).”
In the Gospel of John, Jesus said to the Pharisees “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life (John 3:14-15).” Jesus, lifted up on the cross, gave us the gift of eternal life to those who looked upon him with faith. Christ, raised above all human things, draws all who believe towards him. His glorification is the means by which all mankind can be saved; “He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself (Phil. 3:21).”
Almighty and eternal God, through the power of Christ’s resurrection, into which we shared at our Baptism, may the Holy Spirit strengthen us so that we may keep our gaze fixed on your Son, Jesus. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Luis A. Martin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Antonio Garcia-Moreno, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy, & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (1999). The Navarre Bible - The Pentateuch. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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