How good things turn bad

We all have memories and memories are important.  But, memories can work against us. Sometimes we so focus on a memory or a relic from a past victory that we lose focus on what is really important.

Moses

During their wandering in the desert before they entered the Promised Land the Jewish people rebelled against God many times. One of the times God sent snakes among the people and many were bitten and died.

The people realized their sin and repented and asked God to heal them.

Moses prayed for the people and God had them make a bronze snake. When Moses held it up on a pole the people looked at the snake and were healed. (Numbers 21:4-9)

Jesus

Jesus saw this bronze snake as an illustration of his work as the atoning Messiah. When he reasoned with Nicodemus he pointed out this clear picture of his work. Nicodemus, a teacher of the Law, was surely familiar with this passage. Jesus even used the detail of the pole being raised as a cryptic reference to his death on a cross. (John 3:1-15)

Hezekiah

For 700 years this bronze snake was preserved. In the troubled history of the Jews the sacred city of Shiloh was destroyed. The Ark of the Covenant was lost for a time to the Philistines but the bronze snake was in the temple until the reign of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah was faced with a brutal, perplexing choice. People were treating the bronze snake as an idol and were making sacrifices to it. Hezekiah destroyed it during his reforms against false worship in Israel.  (2 Kings 18:4)

The snake was a relic of the repentance and healing of the people. But for some it became an idol. Good things can turn bad when they turn our focus away from God.

Question for consideration:

How do we remember the spiritual milestones in our lives? I think every prayer notebook should have a section of recorded blessing so that we do not forget. When Jeremiah lamented the Fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, he reminded his readers that we have hope when we remember. (Lamentations 3:21)