Introducing the word of the day… Nehushtan! And no, I didn’t just sneeze. It’s actually a word.
This word shows up in the Bible a grand total of (drum roll please)… 1 time!
It’s buried in the Old Testament in a fast-paced narrative about a king of Judah named Hezekiah. In this account, he is getting rid of a bunch of the idols and objects of false worship that his father and other previous kings had either built or allowed to be built.
And while he’s doing this, he finds this strange bronze snake called Nehushtan that the people had been burning incense to and using for false worship, and he destroys it.
So, what in the world is this snakey device?
It originates in another rapid, and crazy, narrative in Numbers 21. Here we find the nation of Israel in the middle of this 40 year journey from Egypt where they were enslaved and headed toward a glorious land that God had promised them.
But despite the fact that God was taking them somewhere so great, they started to complain because they didn’t like the food and accommodations. This was not the first time they complained against God either.
And God was angry about this.
So, he sent a bunch of snakes (some translations say “fiery serpents”! Can you imagine?) that began to bite the people and many of them died. This obviously freaked the people out and they began to beg God for mercy. God responded by telling their leader Moses to construct a snake on a stick out of bronze that anyone who was bitten could look at and be healed… and it worked.
My thoughts… crazy! This story is totally wild. But, here’s what’s even crazier to me: The record of Hezekiah that I mentioned earlier occurs approximately 700 years after this. This means that the Israelites who were wandering through the wilderness, struggling with the conditions, decided to haul this bronze statue around with them.
And not only that, they lugged it around and maintained it throughout many wars, journeys, displacements, the construction of a temple and palace, the establishment of their own empire, a massive civil war which resulted in a divided kingdom (Israel and Judah)… for 700 years!
And at the end of all this, when Hezekiah finds Nehushtan, the people had essentially been worshiping this snake stick.
Maybe at this point you’re wondering where all of this is going. As interesting as this story is, that’s not the reason I’m sharing it with you. It’s easy for me to read about this and recognize it as silly. Like “Why would people worship a snake on a stick?”
But then it hits me… I’m just like them. You see, this metal snake-kabob wasn’t what saved the Israelites, it was God. But Nehushtan was simpler, they could see it, it was new and shiny (maybe not so much after 700 years). Burning incense to it seemed simpler than complete devotion to God.
I do that. I often look for an easier way to practice faith and live life, rather than recognizing the promised land that God is leading me toward. Deep and devoted intimacy with God isn’t simple, and it does take effort, but there’s truly nothing more rewarding.
So, join me today as we unburden ourselves of the ugly, old statues that we carry around; as we remove the distractions and focus on the one true God; as we stop focusing on the gifts, and passionately pursue deep relationship with the one true God who created the universe.
He loves you more than any bronze snake ever could!