Nehushtan

The other day while I was reading a Spurgeon sermon called "The Essence of the Gospel" I had a strange thought come to mind.

Spurgeon said, "Let me point out to you the way to escape. The only way of escape for any man or woman here is to believe in Jesus Christ. “I am praying about it,” says one. My text says nothing of the sort. “I will think of it.” Think of it? You will think yourself into Hell before long! Immediate faith is what I, as God’s ambassador, demand of you in the name of the Christ of God—immediate, instantaneous faith in Jesus! Behold the emblem of the Gospel minister and of his message! Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness upon the great central standard in the very midst of the camp where men were dying all around him. They are bitten with the serpent, and what has Moses to declare to them as a remedy? He bids them look and live! Some of them will think of it, some of them will consider it, others of them will pray about it. But he has no commission to console any of these—his one command is an immediate look—he has no promise to those who will not look. Even thus is Jesus lifted up among you. There is life in a look, life now, life at this moment. I cannot guarantee you that the serpent’s bite shall not be your eternal ruin if you linger for a single hour. The Prophet’s one word is, “Look now.” Today, God in mercy sends to everyone in this house this message—“The times of your ignorance God winked at,” but now commands all men everywhere to repent. He sends His Gospel message, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” That message I cannot be certain will ever come to you again. “Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.” Every moment you do not believe, you are sinning against God by that unbelief. I cannot, therefore, tolerate that you should wait a moment. Jesus is God! He became Man! He died! He lives and bids you trust Him—promising that you shall live. Trust Him now, then! He is worthy of your confidence. Sin not against Him. Sin not against your own souls by rejecting Him. Remember what it was which Moses lifted up—it was a serpent—the image of that same serpent which bit them. Were they healed by looking to that which poisoned them? Assuredly they were. What is that which has poisoned you, Sinner? It is the curse of sin. What is that which I hold up today in the Gospel? It is Christ made a curse for us! He takes upon Himself our sin! Though in Him was no sin, yet He was made sin for us—and if you trust Him to be the sin-offering for you, to suffer for you, to bleed for you—and so trust in Him as to take Him from now on as your standard, resolving to follow the uplifted Crucified One throughout life, even until He brings you to God Himself in Heaven, you are NOT condemned!"

After I read that quote for some reason the Medical Symbol I see at the Pharmacist came to mind. I did a Wikisearch of the origin of that symbol "The Rod of Asclepius" and it has its origin with the Greek god Asclepius. However they also mentioned this...

"A similar symbol, Nehushtan, is mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Numbers (Numbers 21:6-9). Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live."

THAT is probably the origin of this symbol as it perfectly matches with the biblical text which says "And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live."... if so that's cool.

So if you are reading this post and are not a Christian the Lord Jesus Christ is commanding you today, "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. - Isa 45:22