民二一7~8　百姓到摩西那里，说，我们有罪了，……求你向耶和华祷告，叫这些蛇离开我们。于是摩西为百姓祷告。耶和华对摩西说，你制造一条火蛇，挂在杆上；凡被咬的，一看这蛇，就必得活。

　　约三14　摩西在旷野怎样举蛇，人子也必照样被举起来。

　　铜表征审判。〔民数记二十一章四至九节的〕铜蛇是主耶稣的预表；祂在罪之肉体的样式里被钉十字架，作我们的代替和顶替，使我们能“望”（信入）祂而得永远的生命（约三14~15与注，罗八3与注3）（圣经恢复本，民二一9注1）。

　　Num. 21:7-8 And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned...; pray to Jehovah, that He may take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people. 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.

　　John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.

　　Bronze signifies judgment. The bronze serpent is a type of the Lord Jesus, who was crucified in the likeness of the flesh of sin as our Substitute and Replacement that we might "look at" (believe into) Him and have eternal life. (Num. 21:9, footnote 1)

　　在创世记三章，撒但化身为蛇，将他的性情注射到人肉体里。当以色列子民得罪神，为蛇所咬之后，神吩咐摩西举起铜蛇，替他们受神的审判，凡望那铜蛇的就活了（民二一4~9）。那是个预表。在约翰三章十四节，主耶稣把那个预表应用到自己身上，表明祂成为肉体，乃是成为罪之肉体的样式（罗八3），就是铜蛇的形状，有蛇形而无蛇毒。基督成为罪之肉体的样式，却与肉体的罪无分无关（林后五21，来四15）。当祂在肉体里，在十字架上被举起时，古蛇撒但因着主的死就受了对付（约十二31~33，来二14）。这就是说，堕落之人里面的蛇性受了对付。当人在基督里由神的生命所重生时，他那属撒但的性情就废止了。

　　尼哥底母……是亚当的后裔，被古蛇毒害，里面有了蛇性。他不仅需要主作神的羔羊除去他的罪（约一29），也需要主成为蛇的形状，在十字架上对付他的蛇性，使他得着永远的生命。照约翰二章所立定的原则，这就是变死亡为生命（圣经恢复本，约三14注1）。

　　铜蛇首先表征主耶稣。其次，这蛇表征以色列人，因为是以色列人犯罪，该被挂在杆上，受咒诅、受审判；第三，这蛇表征那蛇撒但。实在说，不是以色列人自愿犯罪，乃是在他们里面的蛇叫他们犯罪。神审判以色列人，实际上是审判这蛇；所以，挂在杆上的，实际上是那蛇。犯罪的是人，但受审判的却是蛇。这给我们看见，实际上犯罪的乃是那在人里面的蛇，就是魔鬼。在神眼中，蛇和以色列人乃是一。所以，神审判杆上的蛇，也就是祂审判以色列人。

　　我们还要看见，至终不是以色列人本身受神审判，乃是一个代替受了神的审判。这代替—基督—乃是借着与祂所代替的人联合为一而受审判。基督的十字架指明两个联合：第一，基督所救赎的人与撒但联合；第二，基督与祂所救赎的人联合。

　　民数记二十一章八至九节说，“凡被咬的，一看这蛇，就必得活。……蛇若咬了什么人，那人一望这铜蛇就活了。”这意思是，凡看见自己里面是蛇，又定罪自己里面的撒但，并接受基督十字架的人，就有生命。

　　重生的原则就是我们看见自己已经与撒但联合，成了撒但的一部分，也看见主耶稣在十字架上，已经把这联合对付了；因此，我们定罪这联合，并接受主的救法，结果我们就活了，有复活的生命在我们里面运行。唯有这样，我们才能享受复活及复活的生命，并活在永远的生命里（民数记概论下册，第二十六篇—中文尚未出书）。

　　In Genesis 3 Satan, the serpent, injected his nature into man's flesh. 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 their behalf for God's judgment, that by looking upon that bronze serpent all might live. That was a type. Here, in John 3:14, the Lord Jesus applied that type to Himself, indicating that when He was in the flesh, He was in "the likeness of the flesh of sin" (Rom. 8:3), which likeness is equal to the form of the bronze serpent. The bronze serpent had the form of the serpent but was without the serpent's poison. Christ was made in "the likeness of the flesh of sin," but He did not participate in any way in the sin of the flesh (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). When He was lifted up in the flesh on the cross, by His death Satan, the old serpent, was dealt with (John 12:31-33; Heb. 2:14). This means that the serpentine nature within fallen man has been dealt with. When a man is regenerated with the divine life in Christ, his satanic nature is annulled.

　　As a descendant of Adam, Nicodemus had been poisoned by the old serpent, and the serpent's nature was within him. He needed the Lord not only to be the Lamb of God to take away his sin (John 1:29) but also to be in the form of the serpent that his serpentine nature might be dealt with on the cross and that he might have eternal life. (John 3:14, footnote 1)

　　The bronze serpent first signifies the Lord Jesus. Second, it signifies the children of Israel, because they had sinned and should have been hung on the pole to be cursed and judged. Third, it signifies the serpent Satan. It was not that the children of Israel wanted to sin, but rather, the serpent in them caused them to sin. In judging the children of Israel, God actually was judging the serpent; therefore, the one hung on the pole was actually the serpent. Man sinned, but the serpent received the judgment. This shows that the one who sinned was actually the serpent in man, that is, the devil. In God's eyes the serpent and the children of Israel were one. Therefore, God's judging the serpent on the pole was also His judging of the children of Israel.

　　We also need to see that ultimately a Substitute, not the children of Israel themselves, was judged by God. This Substitute, Christ, was judged by being identified with the people for whom He was substituted. The cross of Christ indicates two identifications: the people redeemed by Christ were identified with Satan, and Christ was identified with His redeemed people.

　　Numbers 21:8-9 says, "Everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live....If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived." This means that everyone who sees that he is inwardly serpentine, condemns Satan in him, and receives the cross of Christ will have life.

　　The principle of regeneration is that we see that we were identified with Satan as a part of Satan, and we see that the Lord Jesus has dealt with this identification on the cross; thus, we condemn this identification and receive the Lord's salvation with the result that we live and have the resurrection life operating in us. Only in this way can we enjoy resurrection and the resurrection life and live in the eternal life. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," pp. 312-314)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," ch. 26