What Was Meant to Heal

"The people spoke against God and Moses: "Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!" Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died. 

The people then came to Moses and said, "We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that He will take the snakes away from us." And Moses interceded for the people. 

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake (image) and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover." So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered."

Numbers 21:4-9

I read the above verses this morning and several things occurred to me as I read. First is how we, like the Israelites, complain about how God provides for us. They were not hungry or starving. They simply did not LIKE the provision available. For us, it could be we have a car, but complain about how we don't like it or would like something else. Perhaps it is our home and we would like something bigger or in a different neighborhood. Or maybe it's our spouse. I'll just leave that one alone! 

I know from personal experience there are many times God has provided me with what I need, yet I complain to Him because it is not exactly what I want. I wonder how many times my complaining has opened the door for "snakes" to enter my life. How many times has my discontent led to a poison entering my life? 

Another part of this story that stood out to me is how the Israelites requested the snakes be taken away, but they weren't! God did not remove the snakes from their lives. However, He did provide a way for them to be healed when they were bitten. Life works this way sometimes. There are consequences for our choices and our actions and while God cannot change those consequences, He can bring healing in the middle of them. Many of the choices I made in my past led to painful conditions. While I did plead for God to remove them, I knew that was not possible. What I did find was that in the midst of the pain, God showed me a way of healing. I simply had to maintain my focus on Him, rather than the cause of the pain. 

I can't help but wonder if any of the Israelites later looked to the bronze snake as the source of their healing rather than recognize it was the Maker who gave them the healing. There is no record of this happening that I could find, but when I think of how we are so easily led astray, I imagine it must have happened. Instead of realizing how our creator has given us all we need for healing, we instead turn to medications and all kinds of therapies for healing. Rather than trust in the tools God has given us, we trust in the wisdom, or "bronze snakes" of man.  Consider this symbol commonly used to represent the medical profession: 

I find it interesting all these years later, many still turn to the bronze snake for physical healing. While there is a time and place for seeking medical attention, we must be careful to never forget the one who provides the wisdom and the one who has already given us all we need to survive in the nature He created. While the bronze snake was created to heal, it was the live snakes causing the damage and pain in the first place. What is your first response when you are in need of healing? Do you turn to your Creator or to something created by man? Never forget to seek Him first!