IV. The Good Effect.
i. Life — "When he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived " (Num. xxi. 9).
• Joseph Parker.
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ii. Eternal Life — " that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life " (John iil 15).
L
A Pressing Danger,
The danger is — (i.) Death from the bite of a serpent (Num. xxi. 6) ; (ii.) " perishing " in sin (John iii. 16).
L The Serpent and Death.
1. The district through which the Israelites were passing is infested at the present day with venomous reptiles of various kinds, and this seems to have been its character in the time of Moses. It is impossible clearly to identify these " fiery serpents " with any of the several species now known, or to say why they received the appellation "fiery." The name may have been given them on account of their colour, or their ferocity, or, inasmuch as the word is rendered "deadly" in the Septuagint, and "burning" in some other versions, it may indicate the burning sensation produced by their bite, and its venomous and fatal character.
2. The bite was fatal. " Much people died." It was no light affliction which was but for a moment, a passing inconvenience that wore away with time; no sickness was it from which prudence and care could recover them. Not as when Paul shook off his venomous beast into the crackling flames, and it perished there. He who was bitten died : old and young, strong man and frail woman. " Ah," said some of those who are always ready to make light of any illness unless it is their own, "he will get over it ; he is young, and he has youth on his side." " See," said another, " what a splendid constitution he has ; he will mend." " Come," said another, " we must hope for the best." But much people died.
^ In October, 1852, Gurling, one of the keepers of the reptiles in the Zoological Gardens, was about to part with a friend who was going to Australia, and according to custom he must needs drink with him. He drank considerable quantities of gin, and although he would probably have been in a great passion if any
NUMBERS XXI. 8, 9 393
one had called him drunk, yet reason and common sense had evidently been overpowered. He went back to his post at the gardens in an excited state. He had some months before seen an exhibition of snake-charming, and this was on his poor muddled brain. He must emulate the Egyptians, and play with serpents. First he took out of its cage a Morocco venom-snake, put it round his neck, twisted it about, and whirled it round about him. Happily for him it did not rouse itself so as to bite. The assistant-keeper cried out, " For God's sake, put back the snake," but the foolish man replied, " I am inspired." Putting back the venom-snake, he exclaimed, " Now for the cobra ! " This deadly serpent was somewhat torpid with the cold of the previous night, and therefore the rash man placed it in his bosom till it revived, and glided downward till its head appeared below the back of hia waistcoat. He took it by the body, about a foot from the head, and then seized it lower down by the other hand, intending to hold it by the tail and swing it round his head. He held it for an instant opposite to his face, and like a flash of lightning the serpent struck him between the eyes. The blood streamed down his face, and he called for help, but his companion fled in horror ; and, as he told the jury, he did not know how long he was gone, for he was " in a maze." When assistance arrived, Gurling was sitting on a chair, having restored the cobra to its place. He said, " I am a dead man." They put him in a cab, and took him to the hospital. First his speech went, he could only point to his poor throat and moan ; then his vision failed him, and lastly his hearing. His pulse gradually sank, and in one hour from the time at which he had been struck he was a corpse. There was only a little mark upon the bridge of his nose, but the poison spread over the body, and he was a dead man.^
ii. Sin and Perishing.
1. The bite of these serpents was mortal The Israelites could have no question about that, because in their own presence " much people of Israel died." They saw their own friends die of the snake-bite, and they helped to bury them. They knew why they died, and were sure that it was because the venom of the fiery serpents was in their veins. They were left almost without an excuse for imagining that they could be bitten and yet live. Now, we know that many have perished as the result of sin. We are not in doubt as to what sin will do, for we are
' 0. H. Spurgeon.
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told by the infallible Word, that " the wages of sin is death," and, yet again, " sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."