Hebrew Bible – God, Moses, Bronze Snake, and Jesus by Myra Kahn Adams for Town Hall
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Today’s lesson was prompted by a call from my esteemed colleague Russ Breault. He is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts about the Shroud of Turin and a Bible scholar. Russ suggested I write a follow-up to last week’s study about manna from Heaven found in Exodus Chapter 16 that included gospel quotes from Jesus proclaiming Himself “manna” — “the bread of life, who came down from Heaven.”
Russ specifically had in mind another early Old Testament passage recorded in Numbers that also occurred during the 40 years the Israelites wandered in the desert before reaching the promised land. This intriguing, supernatural story involves God, Moses, and a bronze “snake.” Then, similar to Jesus identifying with manna from Heaven, in the New Testament Gospel of John, Jesus explains and proclaims how His forthcoming suffering on the cross and Messianic identity connect to the “snake story” in Numbers.
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Russ is well-versed in this story and its relation to Jesus because he has written a forthcoming, groundbreaking book about the Bible and mysteries related to the Shroud of Turin available in early 2022. So now, let’s welcome Russ Breault as the co-writer of today’s Bible study.
First, we must read the original verses from the story in Numbers:
“They [the Israelites] traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!’ “
“Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.’
“So Moses prayed for the people. 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 21:4-9).
