Thus it was then, and thus it is now. We must have to do with Jesus for ourselves. The Church cannot save us—no order of priests or ministers can save us. There must be the personal link with the Saviour, else there is no life. “It came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten _any man_, when _he_ beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” This was God’s order then, and this is His order now; for “_as_ Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even _so_ must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Let us remember the two little words “_as_” and “_so_,” for they apply to every particular in the type and the Antitype. Faith is an individual thing; repentance is an individual thing; salvation is an individual thing. Let us never forget this. True, there is, in Christianity, union and communion; but we must have to do with Christ for ourselves, and we must walk with God for ourselves. We can neither get life nor live by the faith of another. There is, we repeat with emphasis, an intense individuality in every stage of the Christian’s life and practical career.
We shall not dwell further upon the familiar type of “the serpent of brass,” but we pray God to enable the reader to meditate upon it for himself, and to make a direct personal application of the precious truth unfolded in one of the most striking figures of Old-Testament times. May he be led to gaze, with a more profound and soul-subduing faith, upon the cross, and to drink into his inmost soul the precious mystery there presented. May he not be satisfied with merely getting life by a look at that cross, but seek to enter, more and more, into its deep and marvelous meaning, and thus be more devotedly knit to Him who, when there was no other way of escape possible, did voluntarily surrender Himself to be bruised on that cursed tree for us and for our salvation.
We shall close our remarks on Numbers xxi. by calling the reader’s attention to verses 16-18. “And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, ‘Gather the people together, and I will give them water.’ Then Israel sang this song, ‘Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it. The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the law-giver, with their staves.’”
This is a remarkable passage coming in at such a moment and in such a connection. The murmurings are hushed, the people are nearing the borders of the promised land, the effects of the serpents’ bite have passed away, and now, without any rod, without any smiting, the people are supplied with refreshment. What though the Amorites, Moabites, and Ammonites are about them? what though the power of Sihon stands in the way? God can open a well for His people and give them a song in spite of all. Oh, what a God is our God! How blessed it is to trace His actings and ways with His people in all these wilderness scenes! May we learn to trust Him more implicitly, and to walk with Him, from day to day, in holy and happy subjection. This is the true path of peace and blessing.