Tag Archives: Wilderness

Victoriously Overcoming the Wilderness’ “Fiery Serpents”

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Numbers 21: The Process of Overcoming­—From Sin to Victory and Salvation!

  • 21:4–9, The bronze serpent on the pole is a prophetic picture of salvation at the cross of Yeshua from the sting of death brought on by sin (John 3:14–15; 1 Cor 15:55–57). This is a picture of the believer’s initial salvation.
  • 21:10–22:1, Here is a recounting of the Israelites’ wilderness trek before entering the Promised Land. It was a time of testing, refining, building of faith, and learning obedience for the Israelites. This is a picture of the spiritual walk of the believer through the wilderness of this physical life.
  • 21:14–35, While crossing the wilderness, the Israelites had to fight and overcome the enemy—that is, those who would keep them from fulfilling their YHVH-ordained destiny to possess the land and inheritance he had promised them. First came the fighting and overcoming, followed by the victories. The life of the believer is one of spiritual struggle, as well, against the world, the flesh and the devil. (See Rom 7:14–25; 2 Cor 10:3–5; Eph 6:10–18.)
  • 21:10, 14–18, Here we read how Israel was refreshed with water from the rock. Isaiah speaks about the wells of salvation (Isa 12:3). There is a springing up of joy and praise (verse 17) that comes as victory is experienced, and as YHVH makes rivers to flow out of seemingly dry and barren situations (verse 18). We, too, are called to come to the rivers of salvation, the river of life and to become a river of life ourselves to all those with whom we come into contact (John 7:37–39). Yeshua is the source of that living water; he is the spiritual Rock and source of water that never runs dry (John 4:10, 13–14; 1 Cor 10:4).

Numbers 21:4–9, Fiery serpent. The plague of fiery serpents was a righteous judgment Elohim brought upon Israel for murmuring and unbelief. Israel had “sharpened their tongues like a serpent” (Ps 140:3) and “their throat [was] an open sepulcher; with their tongues have … used deceit; the poison of asps [was] under their lips” (Rom 3:13). All this was directed at Elohim and Moses. As a result of their sin, they reaped what they had sown. Elohim loosed fiery serpents upon the Israelites to bite and sting to death the unbelieving murmurers.

The wilderness Elohim led the Israelites through was full of fiery serpents and scorpions (Deut 8:15), yet this is the only account in the Torah of these creatures ever attacking Israel. YHVH had protected them to this point, but this one time he pulled back his hand of providential protection and grace allowing them to experience the due recompense of their sinful actions. How often has our merciful Father withheld the just desserts of our faithless, rebellious and abominable action against him and graciously protected us from the full consequences of our sin? If we fail to hear his soft voice of correction he will deal more harshly with us until our attention is gained (Ps 32:8–9). All he has to do is withdraw his hand of protection that restrains the judgments we all deserve and the “fiery serpents” will likewise attack us. Remember what happened to Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts is an example of this (Acts 5:1–11). Job experienced a similar situation as well.

Israel’s Murmuring. Israel complained for lack of food and water. In unbelief they concluded and confessed (literally prophesied upon themselves a curse) that they would die in the wilderness. Elohim gave them the fulfillment of their faithless delusions—serpents to sting them and leave them physiologically in a parched and burning condition. (The poison of these snakes actually leaves the victim burning with a fiery pain in his body and a desperately dry and thirsty condition [See Adam Clarke’s Commentary, vol. 1, p. 684]). This occurred with the quail also. They complained with their mouths and lusted for meat and Elohim gave them so much quail that it “came out of their nostrils” (Num 11:20). Many were struck dead in judgment. What is the lesson of this story? That for which we lust or that which we fear will come upon us, for Elohim allows those very things to rise up, attack us and judge us. Why? So that the false gods of our hearts will be exposed and we will, as a result, see the error of our ways, repent and turn back to obedient faith to the one true Elohim. Few understand this method of operation of Elohim, but the Scriptures reveals this as one of the ways he deals with his people to help them to grow up spiritually.

Salvation. Israel repented and received salvation from the sting of death by looking upward toward the brass or bronze (bronze representing judgment) serpent on the pole. Of course, no less than Yeshua himself reveals to us that this serpent is a pictures himself dying on the tree as a sin offering and source of our salvation (John 3:14–15 and 12:32).

Even the Jewish sages admit that the serpent did not heal the afflicted Israelites, but looking upward unto heaven granted them salvation and healing. (See Wisdom 16:4–12)

Parallels between the bronze serpent and Yeshua 

Yeshua likened his death on the cross to the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness (John 3:14–15). Let’s explore the spiritual implications of the bronze serpent as it prophetically pointed to Yeshua the Messiah.

  • Both the serpent and Messiah were lifted up on a pole.
  • Israel was to look up to the brass serpent to be healed physically; sinners are to look up to Messiah to be saved.
  • YHVH provided salvation from the sting of death from no other source but the serpent. Similarly, there is salvation in no other name but Yeshua (Acts 4:12).
  • If the Israelites looked at bronze serpent they were healed and lived; if sinful man looks at Messiah he will live.
  • Both the serpent and the cross are merely symbols of Elohim’s grace and mercy. They simply point one to YHVH in heaven who heals those who believe him and have faith in him.

A Type of the Devil. The Bible calls the devil a great red dragon or serpent (Rev 12:3) whose venom inflames men’s sinful passions through his fiery darts aimed at humans (Eph 6:16). Fiery serpent is the Hebrew word saraph the plural of which is seraphim, which is a type of an angelic, flaming spirit (Heb 1:7). Though physical snakes bit the Israelites, this is nevertheless a picture of Satan, the fallen angelic being who is now the serpent and enemy of both YHVH and man.

For Our Example. Israel experienced these things for our examples (1 Cor 10:1–12). What they went through and how they reacted to various situations is literally a mirror held up for our benefit for us to see ourselves as we really are, so that we will not repeat their mistakes. We owe them a debt of gratitude, for we are able to gain spiritually by their experience if we will lean from their mistakes by not repeating them.

 

The Afflictions of YHVH Are for Our Refinement

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YHVH wants to turn his people into pure gold.

YHVH wants to turn his people into pure gold.

Deuteronomy 8:2–3, 6ff, YHVH afflicted/humbled you. Does the concept of YHVH afflicting his people bother you? Perhaps he will do this to us if and when we need it. The word afflict/anah (Strong’s H6031) literally means “to become low, depressed, put down or stoop.” (Note some other places where anah is used: Pss 55:19; 88:7; 90:15; 119:71, 75.) Scripture says that Israel exited Egypt with “a high hand/upraised arm” (Exod 14:8 and Num 33:3). The word high/upraised can connote haughtiness or arrogance, or it can mean that the children left Egypt triumphantly and in jubilation waving banners (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash, p. 369). What do you think? Did they leave Egypt in a spirit of contrition or arrogance? If the latter, then perhaps, in YHVH’s eyes, they need some humbling.

Are we any different? Do we need to be humbled? Down through the ages, YHVH has allowed his servants to suffer, but it was for their spiritual growth and benefit. What did Paul say about his thorn in the flesh? (See 2 Cor 12:7.) Why did Job experience what he did? (Read Job 42.) The process of humbling us so that we might have a higher view of YHVH, and a lower view of ourselves is not a bad thing! When we become contrite and humble before YHVH and more dependent on him, the blessings, power, anointing and provision of YHVH are able to flow into our lives more readily.

How has YHVH been trying to humble your flesh that he might bring you to a deeper level spiritually? The ArtScroll Chumash comments, “It is true that Elohim subjected the people to some hardships in the wilderness, but even that was for their good; just as a father may chastise his child to prepare him for the future” (p. 983). Consider this issue in light of the sufferings of YHVH’s servants while they were faithfully awaiting their spiritual inheritance as recorded in Hebrews 11. (Compare this with Jas 1:12–17 and 1 Cor 3:13.) Also consider the two types of judgments of YHVH as recorded in Scripture: his judgments unto repentance and his judgments unto death. What are some examples of each? If YHVH’s saints stay close to him spiritually, they won’t have to go through the latter type of judgment. (Examples: Noah and the flood; Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah; the Israelites in the plagues on Egypt; the saints and the tribulation, the great tribulation versus the wrath of Elohim periods at the end of the age [these are three separate time periods or events]; see also Heb 12:3–11).

 

Numbers 21 Overview: A Microcosm of Life

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Sundown Silhouette

Numbers 21: The Process of Overcoming­—From Sin to Victory and Salvation!

21:4–9, The bronze serpent on the pole is a prophetic picture of salvation at the cross of Yeshua from the sting of death brought on by sin (John 3:14–15; 1 Cor 15:55–57). This is a picture of the believer’s initial salvation.

21:10–22:1, Here is a recounting of the Israelites’ wilderness trek before entering the Promised Land. It was a time of testing, refining, building of faith, and learning obedience for the Israelites. This is a picture of the spiritual walk of the believer through the wilderness of this physical life.

21:14–35, While crossing the wilderness, the Israelites had to fight and overcome the enemy—that is, those who would keep them from fulfilling their YHVH-ordained destiny to possess the land and inheritance he had promised them. First comes the fighting and overcoming, followed by the victories. The life of the believer is one of spiritual struggle, as well, against the world, the flesh and the devil. (See Rom 7:14–25; 2 Cor 10:3–5; Eph 6:10–18.)

21:10, 14–18, Here we read how Israel was refreshed with water from the rock. Isaiah speaks about the wells of salvation (Isa 12:3). There is a springing up of joy and praise (verse 17) that comes as victory is experienced, and as YHVH makes rivers to flow out of seemingly dry and barren situations (verse 18). We, too, are called to come to the rivers of salvation, the river of life and to become ourselves a river of life to all those with whom we come into contact (John 7:37–39). Yeshua is the source of that living water; he is the spiritual Rock and source of water that never runs dry (John 4:10, 13–14; 1 Cor 10:4).

Numbers 21: The Process of Overcoming­—From Sin to Victory and Salvation!

21:4–9, The bronze serpent on the pole is a prophetic picture of salvation at the cross of Yeshua from the sting of death brought on by sin (1 Cor 15:55–57). This is a picture of the believer’s initial salvation.

21:10–22:1, Here is a recounting of the Israelites’ wilderness trek before entering the Promised Land. It was a time of testing, refining, building of faith, and learning obedience for the Israelites. This is a picture of the spiritual walk of the believer through the wilderness of this physical life.

21:14–35, While crossing the wilderness, the Israelites had to fight and overcome the enemy—that is, those who would keep them from fulfilling their YHVH-ordained destiny to possess the land and inheritance he had promised them. First comes the fighting and overcoming, followed by the victories. The life of the believer is one of spiritual struggle, as well, against the world, the flesh and the devil. (See Rom 7:14–25; 2 Cor 10:3–5; Eph 6:10–18.)

21:10, 14–18, Here we read how Israel was refreshed with water from the rock. Isaiah speaks about the wells of salvation (Isa 12:3). There is a springing up of joy and praise (verse 17) that comes as victory is experienced, and as YHVH makes rivers to flow out of seemingly dry and barren situations (verse 18). We, too, are called to come to the rivers of salvation, the river of life and to become ourselves a river of life to all those with whom we come into contact (John 7:37–39). Yeshua is the source of that living water; he is the spiritual Rock and source of water that never runs dry (John 4:10, 13–14; 1 Cor 10:4).

 

Life in the Wilderness Is What We Make of It

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Explorer observing landscape

Numbers 20:5, It [the wilderness] is not a place of seed and fig and grape and pomegranates; and there is no water to drink. This was the complaint of the people against YHVH. In Hebraic thought, water, the fig tree, wine from the grape, as well as oil, milk and honey (the two symbols of the Promised Land) are all metaphors for Torah (see Everyman’s Talmud, pp. 133–134). The Israelites were seeking physical food, but were missing the spiritual food (i.e. Torah, faith in his Word and promises) that YHVH was abundantly providing them during their wilderness walk. Additionally, the Hebrew word for wilderness is b’midbar (the Hebrew name for the book of Numbers), which means “in the wilderness, desert, uninhabited land or pasture.”

The root word of midbar is the word dabar meaning “to speak, declare, command, promise or commune.” In a number of instances in the Scriptures, the terms word/dabar of God/Elohim or word /dabar of the LORD/YHVH is used to denote words coming directly from the mouth of YHVH. In the tabernacle (Heb. mishkan), the most set-apart place was called the d’veer (a cognate of the word debar) or oracle. It was there that Moses went to receive the word (d’bar) of YHVH.

What is the point of this brief word study? While going through the wilderness of life, if we have an attitude of gratitude instead of one of complaining, murmuring, doubt, fear and unbelief in the Word and promises of YHVH, will we not be more likely to understand YHVH’s purposes, instructions, (i.e. Torah), his heart and his plans for our lives? If we have such an attitude, will our hearts not be more inclined to hear YHVH’s voice more clearly and understand his will for our lives thereby receiving hope for the future and strengthened faith? One can waste one’s energy on murmuring and never grow up spiritually, or one can determine to hear YHVH and to commune with him in the wilderness of life and seek spiritual enrichment out of that wilderness and view it as our training ground for entering the Promised Land.

Let’s make a conscious effort to redirect our thoughts and attitude positively, while never forgetting the bitter lessons of our Israelite forefathers (1 Cor 10:11)? Murmuring produced nothing except death in the wilderness. If we have a grateful heart attitude, we will not only have a happier time in the wilderness of life, but we will be more likely to hear YHVH’s voice and understand the meaning and purpose of the experiences we have while en route to the Promised Land of our ultimate spiritual inheritance.

 

What is your response to trials? Murmuring or gratitude?

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Wilderness

Numbers 20:2–3, There was no water … the people chided with Moses. Do you suffer lack in your life? If you’re a man, perhaps it’s because you’re lazy and refuse to follow the biblical commands to get up and go to work to provide for your family (see Gen 2:15; 3:17–19; Exod 20:9; 1 Tim 5:8). Beyond this, the Scriptures say that Yeshua will supply all of our needs (Phil 4:19).

Do you get angry with YHVH and murmur against him for your lot in life and for the bad things that happen to you?

On the other hand, do you give thanks to him for all that happens to you (1 Thess 5:18) knowing that all things work to good for the benefit of our being conformed into the image of Yeshua (Rom 8:28–29)?

We must go through the wilderness of life before entering the Promised Land. Those Israelites who murmured did not enter the Promised Land. If we keep fighting or resisting our trials in the wilderness instead of learning from them and overcoming them, then how will we be spiritually prepared and refined to enter the Promised Land? We must learn to have faith in the promises of YHVH. Do we truly believe his Word when he says he will supply all of our needs?

Numbers 20:5, It [the wilderness] is not a place of seed and fig and grape and pomegranates; and there is no water to drink. This was the complaint of the people against YHVH. In Hebraic thought, water, the fig tree, wine from the grape, as well as oil, milk and honey (the two symbols of the Promised Land) are all metaphors for Torah (see Everyman’s Talmud, pp. 133–134). The Israelites were seeking physical food, but were missing the spiritual food (i.e. Torah, faith in his Word and promises) that YHVH was abundantly providing them during their wilderness walk. Additionally, the Hebrew word for wilderness is b’midbar (the Hebrew name for the book of Numbers), which means “in the wilderness, desert, uninhabited land or pasture.” The root word of midbar is the word dabar meaning “to speak, declare, command, promise or commune.” In a number of instances in the Scriptures, the terms word/dabar of God/Elohim or word /dabar of the LORD/YHVH is used to denote words coming directly from the mouth of YHVH. In the tabernacle (Heb. mishkan), the most set-apart place was called the d’veer (a cognate of the word debar) or oracle where Moses went to receive the word of YHVH.

What is the point of this brief word study? While going through the wilderness of life, if we have an attitude of gratitude instead of one of complaining, murmuring, doubt, fear and unbelief in the Word and promises of YHVH, will we not be more likely to understand YHVH’s purposes, instructions, (i.e. Torah), his heart and his plans for our lives? Will we our hearts not be more inclined to hear YHVH’s voice more clearly and understand his will for our lives thereby receiving hope for the future and strengthened faith?

One can waste one’s energy on murmuring and never grow up spiritually, or one can determine to hear YHVH and to commune with him in the wilderness of life and seek spiritual enrichment out of that wilderness and view it as our training ground for entering the Promised Land.

Will you make a conscious effort to redirect your thoughts and attitude positively while never forgetting the bitter lessons of our Israelite forefathers (1 Cor 10:11)? Murmuring produced nothing except death in the wilderness.

 

Leaving the Bitterness of Egypt and Experiencing Healing in the Wilderness

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Exodus 15:27, From Egypt to Elim to provision in the wilderness. In this portion of Scripture, we see a prophetic picture of what new believers must go through when leaving enslavement to Pharaoh (Satan) and coming out of Egypt (the world).

Oasis 20098602

After leaving Egypt, Pharaoh pursued the Israelites not wanting to lose any of his subjects. YHVH then led the Israelites through the Red Sea, a picture of baptism for the remission of sins.

The Israelites then murmured against YHVH because of the bitter waters of Marah, which they were unable to drink. Moses, a prophetic picture of Yeshua, healed the waters when he cast a tree (a picture of Yeshua’s death on the cross) into the waters making them sweet and potable. This story shows us that we must put off the bitterness, unforgiveness, anger and fear of the carnal man before we can expect to receive a blessing from YHVH, and healing in our lives.

From there, the children of Israel came to the desert oasis of Elim where YHVH nourished them in a most refreshing way. Elim is a prophetic picture of coming into a bit of heaven on earth and the provisions of YHVH in the midst of our wilderness journey called life after having overcome our bitterness of past sin through the cross of Yeshua.

Immediately after this, YHVH began reigning manna down on the Israelites—a picture of Yeshua, the bread of life. This whole story teaches us that when we finally overcome the sins of bitterness and complaining through the power of Yeshua’s death, we can experience healing, physical nourishment, refreshment along with ongoing supernatural provision for our spiritual journey toward the Promised Land of YHVH’s kingdom.

 

Who Is the Revelation 12 Woman?

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The Bride of Yeshua in the Wilderness 

Who is the woman that is mentioned in Revelation 12 that is taken into the wilderness for three-and-one-half years (Rev 12:14), which occurs just before the second coming of Yeshua? I believe that is a reference to the end times saints who are the bride of Yeshua. (Not all saints are the bride of Yeshua. Some are foolish virgins [Matt 25:1–13], or lukewarm believers who will have to go through fiery trials to become approved of YHVH [Rev 3:14–21]. Some are still rebels in respect to his Torah [Ezek 20:37]. The end times bride will be Torah submissive [see Rev 12:17; 14:12].) Let’s explore some answers to this question.

When the Scriptures speaks of the wilderness (Heb. midbar), it is referring to anywhere outside of the land of Israel.

Wilderness

Ezekiel 20:33–41 says that YHVH will bring the house of Israel out of their captive nations with an outstretched arm and with fury poured out (in a time of YHVH’s judgments) (vv. 33–34, as when he brought them out of Egypt). YHVH will bring his people into “a wilderness of the people.” This could be a literal wilderness as with the children of Israel, or a spiritual wilderness in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation in which Israel is called to live and be a light. There he will plead with Israel face-to-face like he did in the wilderness of Sinai (vv. 35–36). This seems to be another reference to the second exodus (v. 36). In that wilderness, YHVH will purge out those who are rebels and those who transgress (or sin; i.e., violate his Torah, see 1 John 3:4) against YHVH (v. 38). This YHVH did with ancient Israel for 40 years. During this time of testing and purging, the house of Israel will not be returning to the land of Israel (v. 38) until they have put away their idols (v. 40), then all the house of Israel will be acceptable to YHVH and will serve him on his holy mountain (v. 40–41). Israel not to return until they loath their spiritual pollution (v. 42-44). Continue reading →