March 8, 2015: Numbers 21:4-9

We encourage you to read this devotion three times a day.  Start in the morning and reflect upon the morning reflection question. Then in the afternoon, read it again and reflect using the noon question for reflection.  For the evening, take time to ponder how this has resonated with you in the day and reflecting using the evening question.  We offer a prayer with each devotion for you to pray or we invite you to pray what is in your heart.

Numbers 21:4-9

⁴From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. ⁵The 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 detest this miserable food.” ⁶Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. ⁷The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. ⁸And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” ⁹So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

Reflection:

Have you ever noticed how some stories in the Bible sound crazy?  If you haven’t then today’s reading from Numbers might change your mind.  Moses and the Israelites are living in the wilderness after being delivered from Egypt.  They had faced what seemed the worst struggle of their lives, living as slaves in Egypt.  Only to find that life in the wilderness was no picnic.  And so they did what we would do when we find ourselves in a discouraging and hopeless situation:  they complained.  I am a firm believer in speaking one’s mind and in being able to speak to God from your heart even if you are angry or disappointed.  However, God does not seem to appreciate an ungrateful attitude anymore than we would.  The Israelites not only complain to God about their situation, they speak against God.  Where do we draw the line in our prayers between honesty and disrespect?  Being put in our place is not something we like to think of our grace-filled and loving God.  Poisonous snakes are not something I like to think of period.  How can we live a life of faith in circumstances that break our spirit?

Reflection Questions:

Morning: Take time to write out your prayer for today.  Speak your mind to God about where you are in your life, what needs you have, and what dreams you hope to see as reality.

Noon: What sin has kept you from seeing God at work in your life today?  Think about Moses’ prayer for God to remove the snakes from their presence.  Pray for God to remove the sin that you are struggling with.

Evening: How did feel to speak honestly with God today?  Were you able to get beyond the surface prayers to a deep communication of your longings and struggles?  What would it look like for God to redirect your life?  As you pray your day into a close give God thanks for being with you and not ever giving up on you.