Tough Love
Does God punish us to help us?
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food. Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live. So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live. - Numbers 21:4-9
Back in Moses' day, people believed everything that happened in this world was orchestrated by God. Nothing good or bad just happened. The cause was human behavior and the effect was from God.
If we were good, God gave us good things. And if we were bad, God reigned down punishment upon us.
In today's reading, the people believe God sent the serpents to kill them because they complained about the food. We can focus on that and live in fear of God, or we can focus on what happens next and understand something about God's grace and compassion, his love for us as his own.
When the people were in danger, they prayed for God's help and God responded, giving all of them the power to save themselves.
It seems ironic that God would have Moses create would could be called an idol, a bronze serpent. But God did not want them to pray to it. He just said they should look upon it and live.
The image of the serpent is so powerful and memorable, it is still used in medicine today.
So, what is God's message to us?
I believe he wants us to trust in him, to love him as he loves us, and to love one another with the same measure of love we love ourselves. When we look upon the serpent of healing, we are reminded that we want to live, and God wants us to live a full and joy filled life.
It is up to us to believe and to do what we know is right.
God's love is not tough, but true. We are the ones who act tough.
More to come...