Complaining
= Rebellion
The
“Red Letter Words” of Jesus
Day
31
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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. John 3:14-16 (NKJV)
In Numbers 21:4-9, you will find the story of the serpent mentioned in the above scriptures. In this Biblical account, the Israelites complained to Moses about God delivering them from Egypt. They nitpicked about the wilderness and the manna too. Whine. Whine. Whine.
God became fed up with them and brought judgment because of their angry and rebellious spirits. The Lord sent fiery serpents. “Fiery” references their bodies’ reaction to being bit by poisonous snakes.
The people went to Moses and admitted they had sinned against the Lord and repented of their rebellious attitudes. Immediately, God gave the antidote. He told Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. Everyone bitten by a snake who looked up at the pole was healed.
Time to be vulnerable. I’m a complainer. I’m a “my glass is half-empty” kind of person. Even complainers think I complain a lot. Okay, you get my point. I may want to heed what happened to the Israelites.
When I moan and groan about my situation, my eyes are on my problem and not the Lord. When I murmur, I’m letting the Lord know I don’t like what has happened in my life. I’m not happy with the cards He’s dealt me. I don’t like His way; I want my will to be done. That’s called rebellion. When I protest, I lack trust in God.
Anyone else want to raise your hand and say, “Me too.”
Father, I admit I’m a complainer. Instead of looking to You, I focus on my circumstances. I blame you for dealing me a bad hand. I become angry and cling to my ways. I accuse You of not caring about me. Please forgive me. I have sinned against You. You do care…so much so You sent Your Son to take my punishment on the cross. May I choose to trust You. Your ways and thoughts are higher than mine and are for my good (Isaiah 55:8-9). In Jesus’ name Amen.
(In the next devotion, we’ll look at how the fiery bronze serpent typifies Jesus Christ.)
http://www.biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/john/3
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