Recently, we have been intrigued by a strange story that is referenced three times in the Bible: the story of Nehushtan. In Numbers 21:4-9, the Israelites travel in the wilderness and become very impatient with God. They began to speak against God and Moses, and complain about the manna that God miraculously supplied from Heaven, saying that it tastes terrible. They even questioned God’s deliverance from Egypt. In judgment against the people, the Lord sends venomous snakes into the camp, and they end up biting many people. The people see the error of their ways and go to Moses, confess their sins and Moses prays for them.

In order to bring healing, the Lord instructs Moses to create a piece of art. He tells Moses to make a snake out of bronze and put it on a pole so that anyone who had been bitten could look on it and live. What an amazing story of God’s presence and healing.

However, the second time this story comes up, we see that the people have messed up again. In 2 Kings 18, we see that Hezekiah becomes king. He was righteous and did what God told him to do. So he removed the places of idol worship and cut down the monuments to other gods. Then, in verse 4, we see Nehushtan again. The bronze snake that Moses had made has slithered into the people’s worship of God. They had been burning incense to it! And so King Hezekiah, eager to be a righteous king, turned it into scrap metal and broke it into pieces.

At first, the bronze snake was a wonderful thing. It was something that God used to bring healing to the people of Israel and to remind them of God’s powerful presence in their midst. For more than 800 years, the people had kept and preserved the bronze serpent until finally, it became worshipped as Nehushtan.   

This story shows us that sometimes we can warp good things into idols; these things that God once used for our good could now hinder us from a true and full understanding of God. Without realizing, we may have started to care more about those good things than the true worship of God. 

Perhaps we have held on to past leaders and have made them into idols. Perhaps we have become too attached to a certain type or style of worship and have made those into idols. Perhaps we hold on to the “good old days” or past spiritual experiences and make those into idols. There are many dangers of idolatry in the modern church and often they are “good” things that we have warped into idolatry.

But as we mentioned earlier, there is a third time that this story is referenced. In John 3:14-15, just before the most memorized verse of the Bible, we see Jesus reference the story of the bronze snake. Jesus teaches us that the bronze snake is really a picture of Himself and His ministry in the world—that he must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. As He often does, Jesus brings us back to the heart and main purpose: the snake was healing, and full healing is what Jesus is all about. Let’s get back to the heart of the gospel and smash any idols that may have crept in.

• July 1: Numbers 21:4-9
• July 2: 2 Kings 18:1-8
• July 3: John 3:1-21
• July 4: Exodus 20:3-6
• July 5: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
• July 6: Colossians 3:1-17
• July 7: Isaiah 44:6-23
• July 8: Genesis 31
• July 9: Psalm 16
• July 10: Psalm 135:13-21
• July 11: Psalm 115:1-11
• July 12: Jeremiah 10:2-7
• July 13: John 8:21-30
• July 14: Hebrews 1:1-4
• July 15: Colossians 1:15-23
• July 16: Exodus 32
• July 17: Daniel 3
• July 18: 1 Kings 18:16-40
• July 19: Judges 10:6-18
• July 20: Matthew 6:25-34
• July 21: Judges 6:12-32
• July 22: Romans 12:1-8
• July 23: Exodus 34:10-14
• July 24: Acts 17:16-34
• July 25: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
• July 26: 1 Thessalonians 1:2-9
• July 27: Jeremiah 17:13-18
• July 28: 1 Peter 2:21-25
• July 29: Isaiah 53
• July 30: Psalm 103:1-5
• July 31: Isaiah 48:1-9