Numbers 21

Obj. 3. But did not Moses make the image of a brazen serpent, why then may not images be set up? Resp. That was done by God's special command (Numbers 21:8), Make a brazen serpent; and there was a special use of it, both literal and spiritual; but what, does the setting up this…

He did ill to make the vow, and worse to keep it: he became guilty of the breach of the third and sixth commandment. 11. When we speak evil of God, we take his name in vain (Numbers 21:5). They spoke against God.

Like a sullen bird that is angry, and beats herself against the cage. 3. Murmuring cannot stand with submission to God's will: murmuring is the height of impatience; it is a kind of mutiny in the soul against God (Numbers 21:5): The people spoke against God. When a cloud of sorr…

Objection 3. Some books of the canon of Scripture are lost, as the book of the Wars of God (Numbers 21:14), the book of the Just (Joshua 10:13), the books of Chronicles of the kings of Israel and Judah (1 Kings 14:19), and the books of certain prophets, Nathan, Gad, Iddo, Ahijah…

If you look to him which hides his face from the house of Israel; if God hide his face from church and commonwealth, and yet our eyes are towards him, and we know not what to do, for our consciences, and liberty, and estates, and health, and peace, etc. But our eyes are to Chris…

If the faithful then at any time have desired that their faith might be confirmed by signs, we must not by and by follow them therein; because it was a thing very rare: as to Gideon, who being taken from the flail to govern the people, he gave two signs which he asked, to the en…

It is very comfortable and proper, to fetch similitudes from such manner of examples as this: which order Saint Paul also followed: (Galatians 4) where he records the mystery of the two sons of Abraham, and also his two wives, and afterward expounded the same. And Christ also (J…

The seventh part instanced, is her eyes, which were several times mentioned before; they point at her spiritual discerning, and understanding of spiritual things, and the believing-uptaking of them; in which respect, all natural men are blind, because of their ignorance and unbe…

God has required we should sue it out, and own our Advocate, as well as confess ourselves unable to satisfy, that we might know who is our Advocate. In the type of the bronze serpent, (Numbers 21:8) And the Lord said to Moses, Make you a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole; an…

The sinner must see the unprofitableness of his unrighteousness, before he profits by Christ's righteousness. The Israelites are first stung with the fiery serpents, and then the brazen serpent is set up (Numbers 21:6-8). Ephraim is first thoroughly convinced, and then God's bow…

2. It prevents murmuring, a sin which is a degree higher than the other; murmuring is a quarreling with God, and inveighing against him. They spoke against God (Numbers 21:5); the murmurer says interpretatively, that God has not dealt well with him, and he has deserved better fr…

To set forth his healing virtue, Christ is compared in Scripture to the following: The bronze serpent (Numbers 21:9): those who were stung were cured by looking on the bronze serpent. So when the soul is stung by the old serpent, it is cured by looking to Christ.

"Let us not tempt Christ, as some of them tempted him, and were destroyed by the serpents." And this is he who led them, and brought them out of Egypt (Numbers 21:6-7), whom they tempted in the wilderness (verses 5-7). And he ascribes to himself the covenant (Hebrews 8:9): "Not…

5. Another sin which has brought us low, is the abuse of the Gospel. We are sick of Israels disease: they despised Manna, Numbers 21:5. Our soul loatheth this light bread.

Now I beheld in my dream, that they had not journeyed far, but the river and the way for a time parted, at which they were not a little sorry; yet they durst not go out of the way. Now the way from the river was rough, and their feet tender by reason of their travels; so the sou…

Secondly, this looking at Christ is to behold him with an eye of faith; not only to look at him as pierced by our sins, but also at this as our salvation, in which our salvation is laid up, if at all we come to be saved. This is an act of faith, to look at Christ with assurance,…