2 Kings 18:1-4
Nearly 700 years had passed since Moses had fashioned a serpent out of brass and placed it on a pole for all of Israel to look upon and be healed when twenty-five year old Hezekiah became king of Judah. A true son of David, he followed in his ancestor’s footsteps, doing “that which was right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Kings 18:3).
One of the first things that Hezekiah did as king was brought spiritual reform to the nation. He started by removing the high places of worship that Israelites had fashioned to avoid making the journey to the temple in Jerusalem. These high places represented alternatives to the brazen altar and were as damaging to the people as an alternative form of Calvary would be to us.
He also broke in pieces the brazen serpent which Moses had made. This brass snake had been held in high regard by the children of Israel for 7 centuries, and had become a holy relic to the people. They had gone so far as to burn incense to it (verse 4), which is a form of worship. Barred from worshipping idols by the law, Israel was taking something that was meant to be good to a previous generation and turning it into a shameful thing.
Hezekiah calls the serpent “Nehushtan” which in Hebrew means, “a thing of brass”. This title removes all mystery and superstition from the snake, taking it back to what it truly is, just a thing made out of brass. He meant to jolt Israel into a realization that it was never the snake that had delivered them, but it was the Lord God of their fathers.
The presence of this brass snake after 700 years shows us that Israel had lost consciousness as to who God really was. It also shows that they still had a hunger for the things of God, though they did not know how to bring those things about. They had also made a mistake that is common to the church today; they had misinterpreted history and trusted the serpent instead of what the serpent represented.
We are often guilty of making holy relics out of things that are purely symbolic. Some have elevated the act of water baptism to a level on par with salvation itself. Others view the sacraments of the church as vital to salvation or a particular denomination as having special revelation from God, and only the members of that denomination as being truly saved. All of these things hold their place within Christianity, but they are still “Nehushtan”, and can be treated as nothing more.
Still others elevate the act of praise and worship to the highest level in the church or they have a secret worship of their building and structure, feeling that these things actually bring them closer to God. If we do not keep Jesus in our sights we are all susceptible to a Nehushtan becoming bigger and more important to us than Christ and His finished work.
Let’s live our lives in a way in which we can keep the serpent of brass around for what it is without making it more important than who we are in Christ. Our traditions and buildings and beliefs are beautiful and should be respected, but our Savior is glorious and should be adored.
Nearly 700 years had passed since Moses had fashioned a serpent out of brass and placed it on a pole for all of Israel to look upon and be healed when twenty-five year old Hezekiah became king of Judah. A true son of David, he followed in his ancestor’s footsteps, doing “that which was right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Kings 18:3).
One of the first things that Hezekiah did as king was brought spiritual reform to the nation. He started by removing the high places of worship that Israelites had fashioned to avoid making the journey to the temple in Jerusalem. These high places represented alternatives to the brazen altar and were as damaging to the people as an alternative form of Calvary would be to us.
He also broke in pieces the brazen serpent which Moses had made. This brass snake had been held in high regard by the children of Israel for 7 centuries, and had become a holy relic to the people. They had gone so far as to burn incense to it (verse 4), which is a form of worship. Barred from worshipping idols by the law, Israel was taking something that was meant to be good to a previous generation and turning it into a shameful thing.
Hezekiah calls the serpent “Nehushtan” which in Hebrew means, “a thing of brass”. This title removes all mystery and superstition from the snake, taking it back to what it truly is, just a thing made out of brass. He meant to jolt Israel into a realization that it was never the snake that had delivered them, but it was the Lord God of their fathers.
The presence of this brass snake after 700 years shows us that Israel had lost consciousness as to who God really was. It also shows that they still had a hunger for the things of God, though they did not know how to bring those things about. They had also made a mistake that is common to the church today; they had misinterpreted history and trusted the serpent instead of what the serpent represented.
We are often guilty of making holy relics out of things that are purely symbolic. Some have elevated the act of water baptism to a level on par with salvation itself. Others view the sacraments of the church as vital to salvation or a particular denomination as having special revelation from God, and only the members of that denomination as being truly saved. All of these things hold their place within Christianity, but they are still “Nehushtan”, and can be treated as nothing more.
Still others elevate the act of praise and worship to the highest level in the church or they have a secret worship of their building and structure, feeling that these things actually bring them closer to God. If we do not keep Jesus in our sights we are all susceptible to a Nehushtan becoming bigger and more important to us than Christ and His finished work.
Let’s live our lives in a way in which we can keep the serpent of brass around for what it is without making it more important than who we are in Christ. Our traditions and buildings and beliefs are beautiful and should be respected, but our Savior is glorious and should be adored.
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