Title: On the Border Between Death and Life
Contents
2006. 3.26.
Israeli people's complaints
Today's text is divided into two main sections. The first paragraph is verses 4,5. Although it is only two verses, it contains both the history of Israel and the existence of mankind. The text tells the story of when the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness after the Exodus. Think about it. I thought I would arrive in the land of Canaan in two months at the most, but 40 years have already passed. To those of us who are reading their stories now, 40 years may seem insignificant, but each day is a difficult time for the parties involved. We know that the wilderness life will soon end as long as they endure this last moment well, but they never knew that. Just as people who have experienced severe ordeal repeatedly consider their lives to be resigned, the Israelites were getting tired of living in the wilderness.
Another difficult situation is described in today's text. Look at verse 4. “They left Mount Hor to escape the region of Edom and returned to the Red Sea.” The shortcut to the land of Canaan is through Edom. So Moses sent an envoy to the king of Edom and asked him to let him go through it. But Edom flatly refused the request (Numbers 20:14-21). The Israelites eventually turned south again. It is terribly annoying that this large group of strangers, including women and the elderly, not just a few dozen or a few hundred, but millions, take shortcuts and make major detours. And as I said before, they are now weary of 40 years of living in the wilderness.
The Israelites complained to Moses in this way. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you going to kill me in this wilderness? There is nothing to eat and no water to drink. This coarse food is now fed up” (v. 5). Their complaints are not harsh. They must have felt a sense of crisis that they were really being slaughtered in the wilderness. It is quite natural to think that it would have been better to remain in Egypt even though I was a slave to die here. It is not wrong to say that they are complaining like this, because they approached the land of Canaan and then moved away again, and came near and then moved away from it countless times. And they always lacked food and water to drink. Perhaps the ‘coarse food’ they are fed up with is manna. When we think of our past, when we only barely survived by eating only rice cakes or dog rice cakes, their complaints are not someone else's story.
copper snake case
The text now moves on to the second paragraph. When they complained that they were going to kill us in the wilderness, that they were fed up with this rough food, it is said that the LORD sent a fiery serpent to them (v. 6). Fiery snakes are so named because their venom burns like fire when bitten. Many people died from this snake bite. They came to Moses and begged: “It was a mistake we made against Yahweh and you. Pray to the LORD that the serpent will go away.” People always cheat like this. Complaining seems to come out when it is tolerable to a certain extent. Now, when we stand at the crossroads of whether to live or die, prayer comes out, not complaining. Just like the Black Death, when people were killed by fiery snakes, they began to beg forgiveness and a chance to live. Moses prayed for the people. The text tells us that Yahweh answered Moses like this. “Make a fiery serpent and put it on a pole, and let everyone who is bitten by the serpent look at it. Then you will not die” (verse 8). It is said that these words were fulfilled.
You've probably been thinking a lot while reading this story. First of all, this story seems a bit childish. It is difficult to understand with common sense that Yahweh God sent fiery serpents to kill people just because they complained a little. It is also ridiculous to see that people bitten by fire snakes are not dead when they look at the copper snake on a pole. In Hebrew, the word fiery can be translated not as an adjective to describe a serpent, but as a noun referring to a seraph, usually considered a type of angel. In the text, the seraph, the real serpent, and the copper serpent are used interchangeably. And another problem is that according to Genesis 3, the serpent is the one who corrupted Adam and Eve, the ancestors of mankind. But today's text explains that those who looked at the copper serpent were saved. There seems to be something wrong with the copper serpent story, too, in that the Bible originally teaches idolatry to make any image.
The most serious theological problem associated with this copper serpent tale is: Many years have passed since this copper snake incident. The Israelites settled in the land of Canaan, and through the period of the judges, they ushered in the age of the unified kingdom. In the generation of Solomon's son, the kingdom was divided into Judah in the south and Israel in the north. A king named Heschias ascended to the throne of Judah. He was a great king like David. One of the things he did was to shatter this copper serpent that Moses had made in the wilderness. It is said that up to that time the Israelites called the copper serpent “Nehustan” and offered sacrifices there. It is described in detail in 2 Kings 18.
The Bible has these different interpretations of the copper serpent. Today's text, Numbers, interprets the copper serpent as a symbol of salvation, while Kings interprets it as an idol. Where is the problem? Of course, on the surface alone, each of these claims may seem contradictory, but on the inside, they are not. It was apparently Moses who made the copper serpent. It is also true that it acted as a symbol of salvation in the wilderness. So far, no problems. However, it is wrong for the Israelites to put the copper serpent in a certain place after they settled in Canaan and offer incense and offerings. It is said that the copper serpent, which was supposed to remain a religious symbol, has been transformed into an object of faith. So Heskia got rid of it. Hezekiah did his part well, and Moses did his job well enough. Although the copper serpent was historically degenerate, it played a very important role in Moses' day.
symbol of salvation
I mentioned earlier that today's text is largely composed of two paragraphs. It is more natural to view these two stories as separate events that originally occurred in each other's circumstances. This is because these two events are not very special, but common events that occurred during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Not only this time, but Israel's complaints continued throughout their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. It's like we've been complaining like that for the rest of our 80 years. This is not something that can be solved by changing living conditions, but it is close to the essential nature of human beings. Also, the appearance of fire snakes is actually a routine event. All kinds of animals that threaten the lives of the Israelites live in the wilderness. Where would the snake be? Many people would have died from being bitten by a tarantula. The Bible writer interwoven and interpreted two different events. The appearance of the fiery serpent was the result of Israel's murmuring.
way of life
Section 9b reads: “Even when bitten by a snake, anyone who looked at the copper snake did not die.” Now the writer of Numbers is telling the story of the serpent in order to convey the one fact that those who could die in the wilderness, those who should die, were “not dead.” Why was it supposed to be a snake? It must have been the animal that could capture the hearts of readers living in ancient Israel the most.
The writer of Numbers asks the Israelites to face death and life through this copper serpent. We ask you to choose between the path of death and the path of life. The wilderness actually routinely demanded the choice of death and life. The Israelites could have been wiped out in the wilderness in one moment. It could be during wars, during epidemics, and because of drinking water. Their most basic confession of faith is that God protected their survival in such a crisis. Such a confession of faith is symbolized by a copper snake.
Finally, we can ask this question: Why does the writer of Numbers explain this confession of faith in connection with Israel's complaints? Let's hear what their complaints are once again. “Are you going to kill me in this wilderness? There is nothing to eat and no water to drink. I'm sick of this rough food now." These complaints continue to come out of our mouths today. They shout out loud that life is hard, and they get fed up with the fact that everyday life is boring. People 3,400 years ago and ours today are similar to bungeoppang.
The writer of the Gospel of John reinterpreted this copper serpent incident as the crucifixion of Jesus. “As the copper serpent was lifted up by the hand of Moses in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. It is so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14,15). Jesus is the way to the fullness of life. The cross of Jesus is the way that gives life at the boundary between death and life. Today, we meet the true life through the cross of Jesus.