Holy Nehushtan!

We, as Christians, don't always see the forest for the trees. We are easily bewildered and habitually forgetful. We spend our lives both blessed and cursed and too often confuse the sources of both.

 "God sends rain to fall on the just and the unjust." Matthew 5.45 (paraphrased)

Yes, we even confuse cause with effect. Good things happen; bad things happen. We know we should be grateful to God for His goodness, but, historically, we haven't always thanked Him. Sometimes we give credit for our blessings to the wrong person...or thing. We forget that even though that thing is designed and/or sent by God, it is not God. Had we been paying better attention, we surely would have noticed the difference.

Most are familiar with at least some of the Old Testament stories of the Israelites sojourning with Moses in the wilderness. They always seemed to struggle with their faithfulness to God and, so to speak, keeping their eyes on the prize.

On one of the more famous occasions recorded in the book of Numbers, the children of Israel were doing what they did best: grumbling and complaining! Well, the Lord God, shall we say, got his bellyful. He went so far as to send a swarm of fiery serpents, biting their way through the midst of the camp. These vicious vipers bit many, many of them and many, many of them died.

And, as they were dying in their numbers, they, of course, despaired, crying***** out to Moses for help. I at least give them credit for having the good sense to turn to one who, in turn, turned to God. Moses then prayed for his people.

God gave Moses an interesting, even cryptically prophetic remedy. He told Moses to make a serpent of brass, one that resembled the others, but wasn't one of them, put it on a pole in the midst of the camp and tell the people that if those who were bitten would merely look at this "brazen serpent," they would live. Simple enough! Well, people being what they are,  some looked and lived, but some refused. Those who followed the Lord's command of merely looking were healed of their wounds and lived to tell the tale. The others? Well...

Incidentally, it's probably best for another blog, but much could be said about the fact that the brazen serpent on the pole was similar to the biting serpents on the ground, but was not one of them. Why did God order Moses to make a serpent of brass? Why did he not just have him choose one of the fiery serpents? Why hang it on a pole? Who made the serpent? Who made the pole? Why so many questions?

Fastforward a thousand years or so. Many leaders and kings of Israel had come and gone. Hezekiah, a particularly good king and a direct descendent of David, now sat on the throne in Jerusalem.  The Bible says there was "none like him." (II Kings 18.) He followed God faithfully and destroyed the "high places" and groves of pagan worship throughout all of Judah.  He even broke into pieces something called Nehushtan!

The Israelites, as they were wont to do, (as are we,) had long before confused the cause and effect of their miraculous deliverance from the legendary "fiery serpents." The brazen serpent, created by God's command, had become so much more than a family heirloom for Israel over the centuries. It had become a thing of reverence and awe. The people had even begun to burn incense to it.

I can only imagine the old Hebrews telling stories to their children and their children's children about how the "fiery serpents" had invaded their camp and that those who looked upon the brazen serpent were healed and lived! It must have been exciting for the young ones as they too looked upon the serpent. They were surely filled with wonderment and awe, listening to the stories grandpa told them about this snaky creation. I can easily imagine how the story might have evolved over the centuries, inflating the brass thing's power.  I'm sure it's supposed vigor would be even more exaggerated if the one relating this drama somehow managed to forget to mention that it was the Lord God who not only sent the deadly serpents into the camp, but instructed Moses to create the one which they held in such admiration.

Yes, it's a rare man indeed who can repeat an even already interesting story without embellishment, exaggeration, hyperbole or, even for some, downright lying. It's not hard to understand someone wanting to be known as the best story teller even if the story isn't exactly, shall we say, accurate. Imagine the old men falling to the siren song of the "ooh's" and "ah's" and wide-eyed attention of an enraptured audience.  Sounds like a few, a lot, of preachers I know these days.

Yes, whether on purpose or by accident, it's so easy to see how the crux of this seminal event could be lost with the waxing and waning moon over the centuries. Since they had not been heedful of God and His commands, not to mention His mercy, they had forgotten that this was done so not all stiff-necked Israel would die that day!

It's easy to see how, when looking for something to blame or thank, people often default to what they can actually see. People form entire religions out of worshiping stars, trees, mountains and any number of other observable, awe-inspiring objects of nature in their search for life's elusive meaning.

Yes, the serpent was made by God's design at God's command, but it was only an instrument made by a man that was intended for the blessing of God's people. It was not a living, breathing god itself. It was merely a brass thing!

That's why Hezekiah called it "Nehushtan." It was an insult, a term of derision and, frankly, a proper assessment.

"Nehushtan" means a thing of brass. This good king was making the point that this lifeless serpent was neither deity nor holy and was nothing that should have incense burned to it. He then proved his point by breaking it into pieces. So much for the power of Nehushtan. Oh, yes, Hezekiah was literally an iconoclast.

Fastforward to today. So much of what we have incorporated into our services, rituals, programs and more, stuff that was prayerfully intended for the good of God's people and salvation of souls, have taken on a life of their own. There is nothing inherently wrong with programs. They give us useful ways to organize and avoid the chaos into which we so easily slip. Yet, we find ourselves needing more people to run more programs to enable us to have more programs so people can run these programs so we can start new programs. I always laugh, on the rare occasion I attend a local Associational Meeting, when I hear them discussing the "Committee on Committees." It's the circle of life!

The Holy Bible, the inestimable gift of God to man, a book which contains so much that is edifying and strengthening, so much instruction for believers, a history of God's saints and the tenets of God's plan, has become, for all too many, a thing to worship. Even it has become Nehushtan!

Do you doubt me? How many times, in any given sermon, will a preacher refer to the Bible as "The Word of God"? How many times have you heard preachers, et al., say that this book "contains all we need to know about God"? How many times have you heard preachers say that this book "contains the mind of God"?

They back-peddle and side-step and talk out of both sides of their mouths claiming they don't mean it that way, (whatever way they think they mean it,) but their words speak louder than words. If they spoke of a man the same way they speak of this, albeit, holy book, they would be accused of worshiping the one in discussion.

I suppose anything, if out of order, can become Nehushtan. The Jews worshiped traditions, the Torah and Jerusalem. We worship traditions, song books, buildings and more. (Some apparently worship Nashville.) We often think we are worshiping God, when, in actuality, we are only worshiping the things that pointed us to God.

Mom & Dad were great! Those old songs were awesome. Sunday School at ten and worship at eleven are wonderful. Sunday evening service can be special. Wednesday night service can be sweet. The KJV is surely given to we English speaking people by divine intervention. Still, none of those things are the things that paid the ultimate price for our salvation. They are all Nehushtan! They are no more than things made of wood and paper and brass! Good they may be, but they are obviously not the best!

I've seen far too many habits, (I won't even say traditions,) held onto with a death grip because they were handed down to us by mom & dad. Whether it's seating arrangements, order of service or old songs. Some just don't seem to care how many lost souls burn in Hell as long as they get to sing one more rendition of, "Mansion Over the Hilltop."

Our churches and families can also very, very, very easily become our Nehushtan. Too many times has it been heard in any given congregation, "That's the way we've always done it." Or perhaps, "That's the way mom & dad did it."

Now, those things may or may not be good. Those may even be the things and people who pointed us to Christ. Yet, they are not Christ! They are never to be the object of our worship.  And, by-the-way, don't say you don't worship a thing when you revere it as holy; don't say you don't worship a thing when you fight with and abandon your friends over their objections to it; don't say you don't worship a thing when it takes pre-eminence even over the salvation of lost souls.

We remember our deceased loved ones, as we should, but we set them so high on a pedestal as to turn them, at least in our eyes, into holy things. We treat the memory of mom & dad and family members with the utmost care and reverence, remembering exactly which pew that sat in at church. Yes, sometimes there's even a bronze  plaque.

We take good care of our bodies. We feed, bathe and clothe ourselves in the finest raiment we can afford. (Some of us, yes, even go so far as to burn incense to ourselves.) And when we die, we preserve our remains as best we can, covered within the bosom of Mother Earth, having a marble monument to ourselves placed above our heads. Furthermore, we expect this body, that we frankly worshipped, to somehow reincorporate itself at the return of our Savior and rise to spend an eternity in Heaven "walking on streets of gold."

We are blessed with so much that God gives us as He seeks to lead us to His Saving Grace. Whether it be signs, books, friends, family members or buildings, none of these should be the first object of our effection. These are only the trappings of our faith.

Don't get me wrong! I love miracles! I love good music! I love good sermons! Good services! Good friends! Good feelings! Yet, all of this is Nehushtan!

I once read a very popular book and  in it, the author was continually trying to make the point that we are to seek God's face and not just His hands. Though the point was excellent, I wondered if the man had ever actually read his own book. He incessantly related anecdotes about exploding pulpits and people falling down under the influence, allegedly, of the Holy Ghost. The author seemed caught in his own trap. He couldn't seem to realize that the thing he was talking about avoiding was the very thing in which he was ensconced.

Everything the man seemed to say, every story, concerned things and events that surrounded supposedly committed believers. It was real miracle-a-day stuff. The problem? It was all just about the stuff! It was the trappings and surroundings and excitement and miracles of the Bible and Christianity. It seemed to have little to do with the Gospel and the One who died for me.

It usually works that way. We, as the Jews of old, have no intention of letting our affection slip from the One who deserves it to someone or something else. It just happens when we don't pay attention. Much like a man with wandering eyes who stops paying attention to the one he loves because another has captured his attention.

We forget that God is a jealous God and that He desires all of our attention and affections for Himself. Since He gave everything for us, it seems only fair that we would requite His love.

Even the cross is no more than wood. The nails only iron. The tomb a hollow place in a rock. All are wonderful and meaningful, but all these too are just so much stuff!

I haven't thought this entirely through. I'm treading on thin ice, but I'll keep walking out until it breaks. (I'll sink, swim or the Lord will lift me up, I suppose.) Somehow, it seems to me we even worship the man Jesus over the eternal Christ. Many make the man Holy to the point of making Him a part of the Trinity as opposed to God in the flesh of a babe born in a barn. Not a few forget that His flesh was truly flesh. Yes, He was God in the flesh, but in the final analysis, Jesus was just a man. He was like me. He sweated, thirsted, ached, grew tired and suffered from every bodily function and malady that I do. He would have been no more than any other man had He not embodied the indwelling of Jehovah. Is it possible that we can even make Jesus Nehushtan?

He was a source of worship for many, (though He always pointed to His Father,) as was Nehushtan. (John 5.30) He was broken in pieces, by a King unlike any other, as was Nehushtan. (Isaiah 53.10) He even broke the bread at the Last Supper and referred to it as His Body. (Matthew 26.6) The parallels are obvious. Alas, they are opaque and, sometimes, esoteric. It's something I'll be praying about for a long time to come.

I suppose the lesson here is that everything is Nehushtan! Everything but Christ, at least. All must be broken and torn down for the Word of God that became flesh. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

All Glory and holiness to Him!