Welcome to Day 3 of my 40-day devotional. Today we talk about the good news that God shared for thousands of years. Our passage is Numbers 21:4-9.

Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.” The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

Numbers 21:4-9

When you are preparing to take a trip, you often want to tell people about it. When we took our car into the mechanic to prepare for our California trip, the mechanic and the lady at the front desk heard all about our trip, whether they wanted to our not. You might also tell your neighbors and ask them to check your mail. You might tell your bank teller and ask them to note on your account the dates of travel. You share with family and friends about it. You are excited to share about your trip. You just can’t keep from talking about it.

Long before Jesus went to the cross of Calvary, God told about it. Throughout Israel’s history in the Old Testament, the events foreshadowed the salvation Jesus would bring. We call these types. One of those types is the account we just read from Numbers 21. As God’s people journeyed through the wilderness toward the Promised Land, they sinned and that brought God’s wrath on them. The punishment for sin is always death, but this time God’s judgment was through venomous snakebites. But at God’s command, Moses raised the bronze serpent on a pole and promised that anyone who looked to it would live. Jesus later clarified that this was indeed a type and that He was the antitype. In His conversation with Nicodemus, He said:

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”

John 3:14-15

God also sent someone else to testify to the truth about Jesus in the New Testament. John the Baptist received a special calling from God. In Matthew 3, he also received a special vision:

Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Matthew 3:13-17

God’s desire is to rescue those who have rebelled against Him, sinners like you and me. He told about the cross long before it happened, and He continues to raise up witnesses to it’s effect two thousand years after it happened. How will God use you to tell someone about His plan of salvation accomplished through His Son’s death on the cross?

As you pray today, ask God to give you a heart for His message. Express that you want the whole world to know about Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to give you both the boldness and the words to share this good news!

Thank you for joining me for Day 3. If you missed yesterday’s devotion, you can read it here. To return to Day 1, click here. Please join me tomorrow for Day 4.