Devil Prayers and Divine Pleasures :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library
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15 years ago
Monday, July 20, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Smash That Bronze Snake!
Hi girls, something interesting that I have read. Do comment and tell me what do you think about it. :)
Article:
Going to church every Sunday. Saying “grace” before very meal. Saying the “sinner’s prayer” to be saved. These are probably familiar to many Christians—they are part of Christian tradition, and many Christians would disapprove if another Christian did not do these things. After all, God had instructed us to do them.
Did He, really?
When Hezekiah became king of Judah, one of the first things he did was to cleanse the kingdom of all idolatry. “He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles” (2 Ki 18:4). Then he came across a curious sight—an ancient bronze snake on a pole. Around it were several censers filled with burning incense, offered by the Israelites.
It turned out that the snake was created by Moses many years ago. Yes, the one who led Israel out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, through the desert and to the promised land—that Moses.Hezekiah must have wondered why Moses had created a bronze snake for the people to worship. Moses was a great man of God, one of the very few people who has ever spoken to God face to face. How could he have instigated Israel to worship an idol?
Actually, he did not.
A search through the historical records of Israel reveals this:
The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
— Numbers 21:8–9
God had instructed Moses to create the bronze snake, intending it as His tool for healing the people from lethal snake bites. The Israelites turned it into an idol and worshiped it.
It is remarkable that the bronze snake was never mentioned again in the Scriptures until King Hezekiah. All the kings of Judah who were commended for doing “what was right in the eyes of the Lord”—David, Solomon, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham—all missed the bronze snake when they set God’s house in order!
But King Hezekiah recognized that the bronze snake had become a snare to Israel and a stench to God. It had to be destroyed once and for all. So “he broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it” (2 Ki 18:4).
Something that God had intended for healing was turned into an idol. Something that was created for good in the relationship between God and man became a snare to the people and a stench before God. And it went undetected for generations!
What are our bronze snakes today?
What “Christian” habits do we have that have lost their original God-anointed meaning and purpose? What practices do we hold on to so dearly, or are even proud of, that were never commanded by God, but have instead become a snare to us? What ungodly “Christian” traditions have we inherited that have gone undetected for generations?
Whatever they are, smash them!
Article:
Going to church every Sunday. Saying “grace” before very meal. Saying the “sinner’s prayer” to be saved. These are probably familiar to many Christians—they are part of Christian tradition, and many Christians would disapprove if another Christian did not do these things. After all, God had instructed us to do them.
Did He, really?
When Hezekiah became king of Judah, one of the first things he did was to cleanse the kingdom of all idolatry. “He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles” (2 Ki 18:4). Then he came across a curious sight—an ancient bronze snake on a pole. Around it were several censers filled with burning incense, offered by the Israelites.
It turned out that the snake was created by Moses many years ago. Yes, the one who led Israel out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, through the desert and to the promised land—that Moses.Hezekiah must have wondered why Moses had created a bronze snake for the people to worship. Moses was a great man of God, one of the very few people who has ever spoken to God face to face. How could he have instigated Israel to worship an idol?
Actually, he did not.
A search through the historical records of Israel reveals this:
The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
— Numbers 21:8–9
God had instructed Moses to create the bronze snake, intending it as His tool for healing the people from lethal snake bites. The Israelites turned it into an idol and worshiped it.
It is remarkable that the bronze snake was never mentioned again in the Scriptures until King Hezekiah. All the kings of Judah who were commended for doing “what was right in the eyes of the Lord”—David, Solomon, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham—all missed the bronze snake when they set God’s house in order!
But King Hezekiah recognized that the bronze snake had become a snare to Israel and a stench to God. It had to be destroyed once and for all. So “he broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it” (2 Ki 18:4).
Something that God had intended for healing was turned into an idol. Something that was created for good in the relationship between God and man became a snare to the people and a stench before God. And it went undetected for generations!
What are our bronze snakes today?
What “Christian” habits do we have that have lost their original God-anointed meaning and purpose? What practices do we hold on to so dearly, or are even proud of, that were never commanded by God, but have instead become a snare to us? What ungodly “Christian” traditions have we inherited that have gone undetected for generations?
Whatever they are, smash them!
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