Thy Strong Word — Numbers 21: Fiery Serpents, a Bronze Savior, and Victories Won

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“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” When Israel once again grumbles against God, fiery serpents bring death into the camp. God then reveals a shocking, unexpected remedy: a bronze serpent lifted on a pole, and all who look upon it live. Jesus Himself points to this event as a picture of His crucifixion. In this chapter, we also see Israel begin to win victories as they approach the Promised Land, turning from complaint to conquest.

The Rev. Robert Smith, pastor emeritus in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Numbers 21.

The Book of Numbers is far more than an ancient census report. It is the story of a people learning to trust God in the wilderness, and failing, and finding grace anyway.

In this series, host Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors walk through the Old Testament book of Numbers chapter by chapter. We follow Israel from Sinai toward the Promised Land, through grumbling and rebellion, fiery serpents and a talking donkey, faithless spies and faithful priests. The journey is hard, the failures are many, and God remains faithful to a faithless people.

These ancient accounts point us to Christ. The bronze serpent lifted on a pole points to the cross. The rock struck for water points to the one struck for us. The high priest whose death frees the manslayer points to the Great High Priest whose death sets us free forever. Join us as we discover that the wilderness has more to teach us than we ever expected.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Numbers 21

Arad Destroyed

[1] When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. [2] And Israel vowed a vow to the LORD and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.” [3] And the LORD heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah.

The Bronze Serpent

[4] From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient 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 we loathe this worthless food.” [6] Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. [7] And 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] And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” [9] So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

The Song of the Well

[10] And the people of Israel set out and camped in Oboth. [11] And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. [12] From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. [13] From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. [14] Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD,

“Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,

[15] and the slope of the valleys

that extends to the seat of Ar,

and leans to the border of Moab.”

[16] And from there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” [17] Then Israel sang this song:

“Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—

[18] the well that the princes made,

that the nobles of the people dug,

with the scepter and with their staffs.”

And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, [19] and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, [20] and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that looks down on the desert.

King Sihon Defeated

[21] Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, [22] “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” [23] But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. [24] And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. [25] And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. [26] For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. [27] Therefore the ballad singers say,

“Come to Heshbon, let it be built;

let the city of Sihon be established.

[28] For fire came out from Heshbon,

flame from the city of Sihon.

It devoured Ar of Moab,

and swallowed the heights of the Arnon.

[29] Woe to you, O Moab!

You are undone, O people of Chemosh!

He has made his sons fugitives,

and his daughters captives,

to an Amorite king, Sihon.

[30] So we overthrew them;

Heshbon, as far as Dibon, perished;

and we laid waste as far as Nophah;

fire spread as far as Medeba.”

King Og Defeated

[31] Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. [32] And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. [33] Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. [34] But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” [35] So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.