Difference between revisions of "Bronze Serpent"
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| Bronze Serpent <ref name="term_39117" /> | | |
| Numbers 21:1 <p> Nothing more is known of the bronze serpent until it is mentioned again in 2 Kings 18:4 . There, in the account of King Hezekiah's purging of the Temple, the [[Bible]] tells of the destruction of this symbol. [[Hezekiah]] wanted to purify [[Temple]] worship. Apparently, the bronze serpent had become an object of worship as the [[Israelites]] burned incense to it. A symbol of God's mercy had become a stumbling block. So, Nehushtan, as it was called, was broken into pieces. (Nehushtan is a combination of the [[Hebrew]] words for serpent and for bronze.) </p> <p> [[Archaeological]] evidence from Mesopotamian and, more importantly, [[Canaanite]] sites reveals that the crawling serpent was a symbol of the fertility of the soil. The serpent was often represented associated with the fertility goddesses, the bull, the dove (life of the heavens), and water. This kind of symbolism had been known in the ancient [[Middle]] East since at least 4000 B.C. and became common in [[Palestine]] after 1800 B.C. It was widespread in the classical Canaanite cult. </p> <p> If the cultic serpent retained in [[Israel]] the significance it had in other ancient Middle [[Eastern]] cults, and there is no cogent argument for assuming otherwise, it was a Canaanite symbol used to depict the Lord's power of fertility. This explains why the Israelites revered it, why Hezekiah (probably ancient Judah's best king) contemptuously called it “a serpent-shaped piece of bronze,” and why he destroyed it. [[Nehushtan]] may have been in the Temple since its founding. </p> <p> [[Jesus]] made the final mention of this symbol in John 3:14 . There, in His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus compared His own purpose with that of the bronze serpent. The serpent, lifted up in the wilderness, had been God's chosen way to provide physical healing. Jesus, lifted up on the cross, is God's chosen way to provide spiritual healing for all afflicted by sin. As the serpent gave life in the wilderness, Jesus gives spiritual life. [[Faith]] was necessary to look at the serpent and be healed; faith is necessary to receive the healing (salvation) Jesus gives. See [[Moses]]; [[Wilderness]]; [[Atonement]]; [[Hezekiah]] . </p> <p> [[Albert]] F. Bean and Karen Joines </p> <p> </p>
| | Bronze Serpent <ref name="term_43700" /> |
| ==References == | | [[Bronze Serpent]] |
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| | == References == |
| <references> | | <references> |
| <ref name="term_39117"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/holman-bible-dictionary/bronze+serpent Bronze Serpent from Holman Bible Dictionary]</ref> | | <ref name="term_43700"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/holman-bible-dictionary/serpent,+bronze Bronze Serpent from Holman Bible Dictionary]</ref> |
| </references> | | </references> |
Latest revision as of 22:47, 12 October 2021
