FACING UP TO FAILURE
Opening Prayer
Thank you, dear Lord, for the gift of prayer. When I come to you, you always listen, you always hear—you always answer.
Read NUMBERS 21:1-9
Arad Destroyed
21 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. 2 Then Israel made this vow to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy[a] their cities.” 3 The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.[b]
The Bronze Snake
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea,[c] to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 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.
Footnotes
- Numbers 21:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 3.
- Numbers 21:3 Hormah means destruction.
- Numbers 21:4 Or the Sea of Reeds
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Psalm 19:12 asks, ‘Forgive my hidden faults.’ Are there things you prefer to hide that need to be brought to God today? Or things hidden from yourself that he needs to expose?We find it painful to revisit our failures. We’d prefer to forget them and move on. But God’s treatment of failure is more thorough.
The plague of snakes is a consequence of Israel’s failure to trust God. This is expressed as impatience and grumbling (vs 4,5). When they do acknowledge their sin, they simply want God to get rid of the venomous creatures (v 7). But the snake that represents their failure is also the focus of God’s healing and forgiveness (v 9). This may seem paradoxical: in order to be healed they have to look at the very thing that reminds them of their failure. God does not sweep sin under the carpet. He deals with it head on.
For us, the cross of Jesus represents both the deep shame of our failure and the means of our healing and forgiveness. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, ‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him’ (John 3:14).
Apply
Paul encourages us to ‘consider … the kindness and sternness of God’ (Romans 11:22). Is there a failure that you need to face up to? Facing it with God, despite the shame, leads to healing and forgiveness. You will discover both God’s holiness and his grace.
Closing prayer
Merciful God, I when I come to you confessing my sin, thank you that you never turn away and always forgive.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.