It is written by THE SPIRIT in Numbers chapter 21:
4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.
5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”
6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
There are dramatic consequences when one speaks against Our Heavenly Father and/or HIS anointed. Ultimately, judgment comes upon those whose hearts become hardened from self-preservation at the expense of others. The bread which sustained them was now deemed worthless for they had forgotten the miracle of life contained within the bread. They were no longer thankful for the bread of life which caused their bodies to be in health. The children of Israel had forgotten the covenant FATHER made with them in Exodus chapter 15 when HE spoke:
26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”
The fiery serpents represented death to those who were lawless to the Word spoken to them. Once judgment arrived, people came to the realization of their sin and repented but the issue of being bitten required a solution else they would die from their sickness produced by the poison.
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”
9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Once the children repented and confessed their sins, FATHER provided for their healing and prefigured Christ on the cross by having Moses raise up the serpent on the pole. HE gave them specific instructions for their forgiveness and healing. They were to look at and focus on the brazen serpent on a pole, a type of Calvary. The Beloved Disciple wrote by THE SPIRIT in John chapter 3:
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so (for the same purpose) must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
How many were healed when they looked upon the brazen serpent? Everyone. If everyone was healed then, How much more should everyone be healed who look upon Jesus to be healed now. The poisoned serpent bite resulted in death then, the wages of sin is death today (Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.). Today, whosoever believeth is given the same commitment to salvation and Divine health.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
When the children looked on the serpent, they received forgiveness of their sin and healing for their bodies. How much more should we emphasize the work on the Cross yet many believers have allowed themselves to accept only half of what the Cross represents. Their senses have caused them to think that the cross is primarily intended for salvation. We must refocus our attention on the other aspect of the Cross and include the revelation of healing as well. Traditions of men have allowed our thinking to be “poisoned” and have compromised the effectiveness and intent of the work of Christ at the Cross. What would have happened to the children of Israel if they would have only accepted the forgiveness aspect of the serpent on the pole? They would have died from sickness. Let us ponder, look at, and set our gaze on the fullness of the Cross today and remove the incomplete teachings of the past from our midst.