06. the Cross in the Torah – Numbers

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Summary of Numbers

Following a census at Mount Sinai (numbering the men able to bear arms), Israel moved on to the Promised Land. After they had overcome some obstacles with God’s help they finally arrived at its border and sent spies in to explore the land and the people living there. When only 2 out of the 12 spies had the confidence that God would enable them to conquer Canaan, the Israelites refused to enter. Prompted by this repeated sign of mistrust God made a drastic decision: Nobody except two people from the current generation would set foot into the Promised Land. Even Moses at some point along the journey forfeited his right to enter. Wandering in the wilderness for 40 years they would have to wait until a new generation would get a new chance to proof their trust in God.

the Storyline of Numbers (cha. 21)

In Numbers (Num.) cha. 21:4-9 we read that the Israelites at some point along the journey rebelled against God and Moses. Again. This is particularly remarkable in the light of what had happened so far in God’s history with his chosen people. God had …

• delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt with mighty signs and wonders (Exo. 7-12),
• parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to save them from Pharaoh’s army
  (Exo. 13-14),
• miraculously provided the Israelites with food and water in the wilderness
  (Exo. 16 / Num. 20),
• opened up the earth to swallow a group of people who had instigated a rebellion against Moses (Num. 16),
• helped the Israelites defeat their enemies along their way (Num. 21).

After all those signs of God’s might and his faithfulness towards those who follow him they rebelled against him because they did not like the food he was providing. God is patient and slow to anger (e.g. Exo. 34:6) but there comes a time – as in this story – when his patience runs out: In a divine act of judgement God sent poisonous snakes among the Israelites. Dying from the snake bites the Israelites realized what they had done: They had rebelled, they had sinned against God. They repented from their sin and asked Moses to pray for them to God so that he might take away the snakes. When Moses interceded on Israel’s behalf God provided a remedy for those who had been bitten: Moses had to erect a pole with a bronze snake on it and everyone who looked at this serpent was cured.

the Foreshadowing of the Cross

One of the best known and frequently quoted verses of the Bible is John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 [NIV]

This Bible verse is often interpreted – and partially even translated – in the way that God loved the world “so much”. While God’s love for his creation is certainly great, the straight forward meaning of John 3:16 goes into a different direction: The Greek word which is translated “so” in the NIV is the word “houtō” ^[a] which means “so, like this, in the manner”. By its very meaning it makes a comparison, and therefore John 3:16 – as any other verse – has to be understood in the immediate context leading up to it:

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so ^[a] the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so ^[a] loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

John 3:14-16 [NIV]

God did not love us “so much” in the sense that he could not help himself but save us: He chose to love us! He loves us “so”, “in the same way” as depicted in Num. 21 which is directly referred to in the context of John 3:16: In the same way as the Israelites rebelled against God in the wilderness, we all have rebelled against God. Rebellion against God is sin: It does not matter how many sins a person has committed or how severe the effects of those sins have been on one’s own life or on the lives of others. For God the violation of his standard for good and evil, right and wrong is plain and simple rebellion and therefore sin. In light of his standard we all “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:21-24). Comparing ourselves to one another – which is a common practice today – will not help us in front of the holy, righteous God described in the Bible.

An important difference between the situation in Num. 21 and the gospel has to be pointed out: The Israelites had entered into a unique covenant with God at Mount Sinai. Through this covenant God intended to show to the nations surrounding Israel what it means to be blessed by the one and only true God if they obeyed his commandments and what it means to be cursed by God if they did not. Therefore God’s dealing with the sin of the Israelites was more direct and more visible than what we observe today, particularly in other nations. Israel was and is God’s beacon to the world. Nevertheless, in the same way as God judged rebellion/sin in Num. 21, he will also judge every human being on judgement day according to their sins committed in this life unless they repent.

God did not provide a solution for the forgiveness of Israel’s rebellion/sin until they had acknowledged their sin and turned away from it. But once they had done so God provided a solution, a remedy for the Israelites: A serpent lifted up on a pole. Whoever looked at it, therefore believed in God’s provision in it, was cured. In the same way God provided a remedy for us and our sins today 2,000 years ago: Whoever looks at Jesus lifted up on the Cross, whoever believes in his name, will be saved (John 20:31). As with the Israelites in Num. 21 no works are required for our salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9): It “is by faith from first to last” as Paul writes in Romans 1:17. By faith we can “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” and receive mercy “in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Interception: Misrepresenting God’s Attributes

Today lots of Christian evangelism is built on the phrase “God loves you!” and John 3:16 which is supposed to be “the gospel in a nutshell”. This approach stand in stark contrast to what Jesus and his disciples demonstrated in the New Testament to be the example for evangelism: They never preached the love of God to unbelievers! Why? Certainly there were numerous reasons for that, one being efficiency: Preaching the love of God to unbelievers is in many cases inefficient. The most common reactions to this approach are:

• If God loves me then what’s your point? If God loves me the way I am then there is no need for me to turn around from my sinful ways.
• You tell me that God loves me? Look at all the suffering in the world and in my life: Is it loving to allow all of this to happen?
• You tell me that God loves me and if I don’t believe in his Son I am going to hell for eternity?

The chances of being able to add anything else to this first approach in all of these scenarios are slim: The person will probably walk away and leave the Christian standing. In the best case scenario the Christian will have to back paddle and start again from a sound platform. According to the Bible Jesus never preached God’s love to unbelievers: He showed it in his actions and preached repentance. In Mark’s account of the gospel cha. 1:15 we can read Jesus’ first words when he started his ministry:

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Mark 1:15 [NIV]

According to the Bible the first disciples did not preach God’s love to unbelievers either: They showed it in their actions and preached repentance as they had learned this from their master. In the book of Acts cha. 2:38 for example we read the first account of Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost. He answered the question from the crowd what it takes to be saved this way:

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38 [NIV]

This is the standard message of the gospel which a Christian, a follower of Christ should preach to unbelievers in a loving way: Repent from your old ways and turn to Christ! Not only because it is more efficient; not only because it misrepresents God to only preach his love while he has revealed himself in scripture predominantly as a holy, as a righteous, as a just God, and even as a God of wrath and hatred against sinners. Not only because of that. The most important reason why we should preach repentance is because it is the first step in the process of “being born again” as Jesus mentions it in John 3:3-5: Without being born again nobody can enter let alone see the kingdom of God.

The continuous red line running through the Old Testament into the New Testament can be clearly seen here: The first two steps into the Kingdom of God have been – and always will be – repentance and faith. Those two steps are completed today with baptism in water and the reception of the Holy Spirit. Those two final steps were not only announced by Jesus himself in the already quoted cha. 3 of John’s gospel but have been echoed throughout the whole New Testament by several authors. As new born children we can be adopted into God’s family through Jesus Christ who is the eternal and personal word of God (John 1:1-14), the door (John 10:9), and the only way to the Father (John 14:6).

• David Pawson, The Normal Christian Birth [YouTube] ^41min.
• David Pawson, Exposing Error [YouTube] ^92min.
• David Platt, God Hates & Loves Sinners [YouTube] ^10min.

the Shadow at one Glance

Navigation

1. tCitT – Introduction
2. tCitT – Is the Bible reliable?
3. tCitT – Genesis 
4. tCitT – Exodus 
5. tCitT – Leviticus 
6. tCitT – Numbers
7. tCitT – Deuteronomy 
8. tCitT – Bottom line
9. tCitT – download