Sunday, March 12, 2017

Family Sunday Nehushtan


Gtcotr/ss031217

Today we are going to read two short stories from the Bible. The first story is an account of something that happened when Moses and the Children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness about 1400 years before Christ. The second story takes place over 700 years later during the reign of a king named Hezekiah who ruled over Judah and had his palace in the city of Jerusalem.

It will be interesting to see where these two stories intersect and how they fit together to teach us some important truths for today. During our family Bible study this morning we are going to discover:
1.  God’s way is the best way even when it is a hard way.
2.  Acknowledging our need is the first step to recovery.
3.  God’s help is a blessing which may take some time.
4.  The blessings of God should never take the place of God.

The first story:

Numbers 21
4 ¶  And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the souls of the people were very discouraged because of the way.
5  And the people spoke against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loathes this light bread.
6  And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
7  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against you; pray unto the LORD, that He take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
8  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live.
9  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

If the Children of Israel had have used the main road from Egypt to Israel it would have taken them only about 10 days to 2 weeks at most. The well-established trade route would also have afforded known sources of water. Of course, there were some 600,000 men between the ages of 20 and 50 plus the women, children and those who had already retired. The straight-line approach appeared the easiest but it was not the best.

The shorter way would have led them straight through the heart of the land of Edom. Edom was also known in the Bible as Esau the brother of Jacob. God knew these two sides of the family would end up fighting and killing each other or else He would have to decide which one lived and which one died. Esau and Jacob were both the sons of Isaac and God wanted the brothers to live in peace. So, God led the Children of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, to go all the way around the land of Edom. It was harder and longer but it was after all best for everyone concerned.

When the people began to complain about God and the way Moses was leading them God counted it as sin. The serpents were a manifestation of the wages of sin. These attacks did not come upon the innocent but rather upon the guilty. Many people began to get sick and die of the poison. Thankfully some of the people had the good sense to realize what was happening. They confessed their sins and ask for prayer. Moses prayed and God gave the remedy.

However, it took some time to make a mold and pour a cast of a brass serpent. These things don’t just happen automatically. The serpent was a symbol of sin and the very thing with which the people were plagued. Moses placed the brass serpent on a pole and raised it high in the camp so that whenever a person sinned they could, if they so chose, look upon the serpent and be healed and delivered from death. Only those who identified themselves as sinners in need of salvation were delivered. Looking up at the serpent was a public acknowledgement of the need to be saved.

So far, from the first story today, we have seen how:
1.  God’s way is the best way even when it is a hard way.
2.  Acknowledging our need is the first step to recovery.
3.  God’s help is a blessing which may take some time.

Now for the second story … over 700 years later …

2 Kings 18
1 ¶  Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.
2  Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.
3  And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.
4  He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the groves, and broke in pieces the brass serpent that Moses had made: for in those days the children of Israel burnt incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.
5  He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
6  For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.
7  And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went…

King Hezekiah was a good king and he did what was right in the sight of the God. Verse 4 says:

4  He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the groves, and broke in pieces the brass serpent that Moses had made: for in those days the children of Israel burnt incense to it: and he called
it Nehushtan.

What does the word Nehushtan mean?

Nehustan = It’s just a piece of brass

That brass serpent had been among the children of Israel for over 700 years and everyone knew the story of how it had healed their forefathers in the wilderness. It had been given to the children of Israel by God in a critical time of need. But it was just a piece of brass. However, the people believed that the brass serpent possessed the power to heal, deliver and answer prayer. They took the blessing of God and misused it.
·        How can God’s blessings be turned to evil? When the blessing of God begins to take the place of God.
·        God is to be worshipped and adored. He is to hold the first and only number one place in our lives.
·        We are to appreciate the blessings of God … not allow the blessings of God to take the place of God.
·        First things first … and God is always and only first!

This brings us to our last point for today:

4.  The blessings of God should never take the place of God.

After all, they’re just blessings! Nothing more than a piece of brass …

Conclusion: When we are in trouble, even trouble we may cause ourselves, we can call on God and He will help us. However, whatever remedy God supplies, it is not meant to dominate or take over our lives or take us farther from Him. We should appreciate every blessing but never allow the blessings of God to take the place of God. I know, sometimes the way seems hard but God knows what is best for everyone concerned. Deliverance may take some time but our first step is to acknowledge our need for His help.

Let’s renew our commitment to put First things First this year:
1.   God
2.   Family
3.   The Church
4.   The World


Everything else is simply Nehustan!