The Bible

Have you ever felt completely fatigued? Not physically, but emotionally? Where you feel that life cannot get any worse? Or perhaps you wonder why you were even born?

One of the most powerful scripture stories I've ever read can be found in the Old Testament and for me, it speaks directly to these feelings. It's all about a brazen serpent.

Moses had his hands full. He had been called of the Lord to bring the children of Israel out of Pharaoh's clutches and into freedom. But even after escape, the Israelites would do nothing but complain. As a result, Moses' burdens were great.

Moses was told by the Lord before delivering the Israelites:

"Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land....

"Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments;

"And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians" (Exo. 6:1, 6-7).

So Moses knows clearly what lays ahead of him. But he has yet to meet the true nature of those he's been called to lead. Again, nearly from the beginning, the Israelites complain and murmur and gripe and complain and....

In fact, even though for years they'd cried unto the Lord for deliverance from slavery to Pharaoh, they still start griping just prior to the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea:

"And they said unto Moses, ... hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?" (Exo 14:11)

The man is leading them to safety and yet they complain?

Moses response is simply, "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord" (Exo 14:13). And the sea parts and they cross on dry ground.

But soon they begin murmuring again.

"Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, ... when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger" (Exo 16:2-3).

What does Moses do for them? Through the Lord, Moses shows them manna - a miraculous substance that appears daily and feeds them for the next 40 years.

The Israelites continue this pattern of murmuring. I'm not sure why Moses doesn't just throw them into some pit. But no, he continues to lead and serve, giving them water from a rock and counseling in righteousness. He gives them the 10 Commandments to lead them in ways of truth and happiness. But still they complain.

And the Lord Himself continued to lead them with a cloud by day and a fire by night. Still they complained! And then rebellions enter in, lustings grow (the book Numbers in the Old Testament is quite instructive of the events during this time). Eventually the Lord "sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died" (Numbers 21:6).

This becomes a significant fixture in the history of the ancient children of Israel. (And Moses once again shows his valiant nature.) Moses gives them a momentous choice. While the Israelites lay writhing on the ground from snake bites, the Lord instructs Moses:

"Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live" (Number 21:8).

If you were present, would you have looked? It was a simple thing, really. Just lift your head and you will be healed. To find the rest of the story, read Numbers 21:9. But the point is, Moses teaches an important lesson. "Be humble enough to look and live," is that lesson. All from a "brazen serpent!"

In the Book of Mormon, we read:

"And now, my brethren, I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err. As the Lord God liveth that brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and gave unto Moses power that he should heal the nations after they had been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they would cast their eyes unto the serpent which he did raise up before them, and also gave him power that he should smite the rock and the water should come forth; yea, behold I say unto you, that as these things are true, and as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can be save" (2 Nephi 25:20).

Moses showed the way, even for us today. That brazen serpent which he placed on a pole and lifted for the Israelites' healing, represented none other than the Healer who can save - even Jesus Christ.

Moses' staff with the brazen serpent entwined was a type or figure of Christ which was to come. This is why I find this scripture story one of the most powerful ones available in the Old Testament.

And this is why when I'm emotionally fatigued, I think on Moses. He was fatigued, I'm sure, from leading those miserably challenged Israelites. Yet he'd learned something. His future Lord, even Jesus Christ, heals all emotional complaints. Moses knew that for those writhing on the ground, and for us today, all we need do is "look and live."

To read more scripture stories, click on this scripture link.