A Good Snake
Ever looked at the symbol for the medical profession? It is a snake wrapped around the top of a pole. It is quite an odd symbol. Has curiosity ever overtaken you to wonder why this symbol represents the medical field? If you search “medical symbol” you will get a story about the Greek god, Hermes. But the story goes back much further.
In the days of Moses, Moses was leading the Israelites out of horrible slavery and bondage. Daily through the guidance of God, they were making their way from Egypt to a new land we now know as Israel. God was also teaching the Hebrew people how to trust Him, and they were struggling. Although He was providing them with food and water, they complained bitterly and lashed out against Moses. They forgot the brutality of the Egyptian taskmasters who beat them to death, who killed their infant babies and took away all elements of freedom.
The Bible captures the story like this, because the Israelites complained against God’s goodness, He sent deadly, venomous snakes into their camp. Being bitten was a death sentence. This got their attention! Realizing their horrible attitudes and denial of God’s provision, they cried out to God and repented of their sin. This is where it gets interesting. God told Moses to make a bronze pole with a snake wrapped around the top. Anyone bitten by a snake looked at the pole and was healed. What a crazy story. And yet, today, we still use a pole with a snake to symbolize healing.
Jesus refers to this story and it is captured in John’s gospel. When Jesus used the image, it was during the time of the Greek Golden Age and when mythology abounded, and people worshiped many gods. Here is the point Jesus taught. Each one of us was born into this world with a sinful nature and separated from God our creator. We are on a course of not only physical death but spiritual death that goes beyond the grave. It is the result of the curse of Adam and Eve who betrayed and disobeyed God by eating the one fruit they were told not to eat. Interestingly enough…the tempter was in the form of a snake. In the same way God made a way for anyone bitten by a snake in the desert to be healed and not die, He does also through Jesus, His son. When Jesus shared the historic image from the days of Moses, he foreshadowed the horrible death he would undergo but also the salvation He would provide for all of humanity. He would overcome the sting of death.
Our rebellion and dismissal of God has us on a sure path to death and destruction both now and after physical death. But God made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin. It was not a bronze pole Jesus was on, but a Roman cross that the soldiers lifted high so that everyone had to look up to see Jesus. The result is the same. Whoever looks at Jesus as the object of God’s love and mercy, believes in Him and follows His way of being in this world, will not die. He or she will be healed! Our healing is by looking at Love hanging on the cross.
It is turning away from the sin that enslaves us and keeps us in bondage and following a path to a new life, a new place. It is following a heavenly Father, our God, who daily provides for us and does so out of love. He is a God always working to get our attention.
Sin has bitten us, and its effect will kill us. Let us look up at the cross and the sacrificial love of Jesus who heals us, redeems us, and puts us in right relationship with the Father. When you see the snake on a pole and know it symbolizes healing, also see the cross with a Son who gives eternal healing and life if we just believe He can save us.
Maybe today is your day for healing, being saved and starting a new journey with your heavenly Father that loves you and wants to provide for you.
Prayer: “Heavenly Father, I admit that I have sinned against you and have a broken relationship with You. You gave your Son, Jesus as an object of your love that if I believe you sent him to save me and follow his ways, I will be healed and put in right relationship with you and others. Jesus, I put my trust in you. I look up to You on the cross. Save me from the result of my sin and let me walk with you and God our Father. Thank you for your love and healing. Thank you for saving me, Jesus. Amen.”
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