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When the children of Israel sinned against God, they were bitten by serpents (Num. 21:4-9); God told Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole on their behalf for God's judgment so that by looking upon that serpent all might live:
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The bronze serpent typifies Christ (John 3:14), and the pole typifies the cross (1 Pet. 2:24); in typology, bronze signifies judgment; the bronze serpent had the form of a serpent but not the poisonous nature of a serpent.
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In the same way, Christ was lifted up on the cross (John 8:28) in the likeness of the flesh of sin (Rom. 8:3), without participating in any way in the poisonous sin of the flesh (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15).
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In Genesis 3 Satan, the serpent, injected his nature into man's flesh; as descendants of Adam, we all have been”bitten” by the old serpent, the devil; therefore, in the sight of God, the entire fallen human race consists of serpentine beings with the poison of the old serpent in their fallen nature:
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In John 8:44 the Lord Jesus revealed that the devil is the father of sinners; thus, in our fallen nature we are children of the old serpent, the devil—1 John 3:10.
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In Matthew 12:34 the Lord Jesus called the Pharisees the”offspring of vipers”; in 23:33 He called them”Serpents! Brood of vipers!”
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The devil is the ancient serpent (Rev. 12:9; 20:2), and sinners are serpents, the offspring of vipers; in our fallen nature we are not merely sinful—we are serpentine.
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Romans 7 says that Satan as personified sin is in our flesh; sin can deceive and kill people (v. 11), and it can dwell in people and cause them to do things against their will (vv. 17, 20); it is quite alive (v. 9) and exceedingly active, so it must be the evil nature of Satan, the evil one, dwelling, acting, and working in fallen mankind.
Morning Nourishment
Num. 21:8-9 Then Jehovah said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the pole; and if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.John 3:14 says,”As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Here the Lord referred to what happened in Numbers 21:4-9. Numbers 21:5 says,”The people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and there is no water; and our soul loathes this light bread.” Here we see that the children of Israel complained and were rebellious. As a result, the Lord”sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died” (v. 6). Then the people came to Moses and confessed that they had sinned in speaking against Jehovah and against him. They asked Moses to pray that Jehovah would take away the serpents from them. When Moses prayed for the people, Jehovah said to him,”Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live” (v. 8). We are told that Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. Then”if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived” (v. 9). (CWWL, 1982, vol. 2,”The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John,” p. 109)
This bronze serpent typifies Christ (John 3:14), and the pole typifies the cross (1 Pet. 2:24). In typology bronze, or brass, signifies judgment. The Hebrew word translated”looked at” in Numbers 21:9 may also be rendered”regarded,” or”looked intently at.” (Life-study of Numbers, p. 231)
Today's Reading
As descendants of Adam, we all have been”bitten” by the old serpent, the devil. Therefore, we are all serpentine beings with the poison of the old serpent in our nature. In the sight of God, the entire fallen human race consists of poisonous serpents. Furthermore, all these serpents are dead. We as dead serpents need a substitute, someone with the form of a serpent but without the poisonous element of the serpent. This Substitute, of course, is Christ.According to John 3:14, Christ became a bronze serpent…. He was a serpent in form, but He did not have the poisonous nature of a serpent. We, however, actually are serpentine, for in our fallen nature we are children of the old serpent, the devil (1 John 3:10). For this reason, in Matthew 12:34 the Lord Jesus called the Pharisees the”offspring of vipers.” In Matthew 23:33 He called them serpents and a brood of vipers, the offspring of the most poisonous kind of serpents. The Lord was telling the Pharisees that they were little vipers….The devil is the old serpent (Rev. 12:9; 20:2), and sinners also are serpents, the offspring of vipers. Therefore, in the sight of God, in our fallen nature we are not merely sinful—we are serpentine. (CWWL, 1982, vol. 2,”The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John,” pp. 110, 131)
Based upon Romans 7 we say that Satan and sin are in the flesh. Romans 7 tells us that sin is in our flesh, and in Romans 7 sin is personified. This chapter shows that sin can deceive and kill people (v. 11) and that it can dwell in people and do things against their will (vv. 17, 20). It is quite alive (v. 9) and exceedingly active; so it must be the evil nature of Satan, the evil one, dwelling, acting, and working in fallen mankind. Sin in Romans 7 is a person. This person is the source of sin, the origin of sin. This sin who is Satan still remains in our flesh, where he lives, works, and moves, even after we have been saved. The sin in our flesh is a person, just as the divine life in our spirit is a person. This person who is our life is Christ (Col. 3:4), the embodiment of the Triune God. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 3,”God's New Testament Economy,” pp. 146-147)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 43; Life-study of Numbers, msg. 31; CWWL, 1984, vol. 3,”God's New Testament Economy,” ch. 3