Tonight at church I learned several really neat things!
We were talking about a passage in Numbers:
They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this food!"
Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them: they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
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." 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, he lived.
Numbers 21:4-9 NIV
1. The snake was a symbol of Christ. John 3:14-15 says Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life (NIV). The snake represents sin and it's dead on a stick, just like Jesus became sin and died on the cross. In Numbers, the Israelites could look at the snake and be healed, just like we can look to Jesus and be saved. So. Cool.
2. I'm sure all of us have seen this symbol before:
Medical centers and veterinary clinics use this as a symbol..I guess to distinguish themselves and say "HEY! We fix things here!" Before I searched for any image, I'd planned on saying "I bet they don't even know that this is in reference to the Bible..."then I came across this:
A stick or rod with a snake curled around it is the staff (the rod) of Aesculapius (also called Asklepios), the ancient mythical god of medicine. His Greek name was Asklepios and his Roman name Aesculapius. In reality, Asklepios may have once lived and been renowned for his gentle, humane remedies and his humane treatment of the mentally ill. His followers established temples called asklepions, temples of Asklepios, temples of healing. The greatest asklepion was in a grove of trees south of Corinth, Greece where the sick had to spend a night while the proper remedies were revealed during a dream to the priests of the temple and the cured had to make a suitable sacrifice (usually a rooster) to the god.
According to mythology, Aesculapius had a number of children including Hygieia, the goddess of health (from whose name comes the word "hygiene") and Panaceia, the goddess of healing (from whose name comes the word "panacea" for a universal remedy).
Today, the staff of Aesculapius is a commonly used symbol of medicine. It is the symbol of the American Medical Association (AMA) and many other medical societies.
-from medterms.com
I thought.."they STILL don't know what it's from.."they don't know that this is a biblical reference and if they did, they probably wouldn't broadcast it to the world because someone may get offended...(I didn't search any other meanings, this one just popped up and I clicked on it, somewhere may very well state that this originated from the Bible, but that one isn't the first thing I saw.)
This staff with the snake represents a place of healing. The Israelites looked to the snake on the rod to be healed, now we look to hospitals, doctors, vets to heal us and our loved ones. Poo on Greek mythology..people need to be educated about this stuff.
Then the guy that told us all of this was talking to me after service and he told me of another incidence where Christ is referenced. In Numbers 20 it talks about how Moses breaks the stones and water flows out of them. Jesus is the rock and from Him flows the river of life. Also, Moses struck the rocks twice, just like Jesus was beaten and then poked with the spear. If I was in an English class, we would call this foreshadowing! God is so cool.
The final excitingness: I love when someone can encourage you and they don't even know it. I've been talking to a friend lately who is so on fire for the Lord it's absolutely ridiculous. This person makes me want to do better. They are constantly asking me about what I'm reading in the Bible, what I'm learning, what God is showing me and challenging me. I don't think they even know it. Lately I've kind of been in a funk and my friends have begun to notice: asking if I'm ok, wondering if something is wrong. I haven't been reading my Bible or even thinking about reading my Bible like I should. I needed this person right when they stepped back into my life (they weren't ever really out of it, but neither of us are necessarily good at keeping in touch).
They were the first person I wanted to tell the above mentioned stuff to because I knew they'd appreciate it! This person is REALLY cool and I'm so glad to know them! I hope they stick around for a long time!
God is so good. Unbelievably good and I am completely undeserving of all that goodness.
Well ththththat's all folks. :)
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