What is Your Nehushtan

What is your Nehushtan?

Do you have one?

Do you even know what a Nehushtan is?

Well it isn’t some exotic sports car, nor is it a secret recipe handed down from generation to generation and it definitely isn’t a distant relative from some small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 

Chances are you are a little less familiar with this terminology but very much aware of the Biblical account behind this expression.  

“They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom.  But the people grew impatient on the way, they spoke against God and Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert?  There is no bread!  There is no water!  And we detest this miserable food!’ 

Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.  The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you.  Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.’  So Moses prayed for the people. 

The LORD said to Moses, ‘ Make a snake and put it up on a pole, anyone who is bitten can look at it and live’  So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole.  Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.”

                                                     Numbers 21:4-9

Does this sound familiar?  If not, no worries.  The story is pretty simple.  The Israelites were traveling in the desert totaling dependent upon God’s leading.  Eventually they grow impatient with their progress and they speak against God and their leader.  (Hmmmm anyone but me get impatient with God?)  God then sends snakes among the people that bite them and not just any snakes but deadly ones.  Realizing the error of their ways they come to Moses and repent of their self destructive attitude and ask that Moses intercede for them with the LORD.  He does and God instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on the pole and whoever looks at it will live. 

This looking wasn’t just any old looking.  This looking required an act of faith.  Why?  Imagine the ground crawling with venomous snakes, would your initial response be to NOT look down while looking up.  You see the bronze snake was put “up” on a pole.  The Israelites only recourse was to trust God completely for their healing and put all their focused attention on His instruction.  Those who did were healed. 

Still don’t know what a Nehushtan is?  Keep tracking with me.

Probably the most familiar part of this account in symbolized in John 3:14-15.

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

Just as the Israelites looked with faith on the lifted serpent and were healed anyone who looks at Jesus with full faith in what He has done will be spiritually healed.  That deserves an Amen!

So what does all of this have to do with Nehushtan?

“He (Hezekiah) broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it.  (It was called Nehushtan)’

                                                        2 Kings 18:4b

There you have it.  Nehustan was the bronze serpent that Moses had fashioned and place on a pole that the Israelites looked at (with faith) to be healed.  What had happened is they started to worship the symbol of how God worked in their lives rather then God Himself?  They turned something holy and good into an idol which became their focus for their love and adoration. 

Luckily that can’t happen to us.  That could only happen in an ancient culture where idolatry ran rampant.  We don’t see anything like that today.  Or maybe we do. 

          - How about that Pastor or counselor that the Lord has used so mightily in our lives that we have grown increasing dependent on to a point that is out of balance? 

          - Or maybe God has blessed us amazingly with children that we wanted so desperately but they have become the sole focus of all our attention.   

         

          - Perhaps God has given us a beautiful home that we never seem to quite finish decorating and we find that we are spending an increasing amount of time watching HGTV and less reading our Bible.

          - Possibly God has blessed us even with a ministry that has become our Nahushtan.  We now are more concerned about the ministerial growth then we are about God.  Somehow the intimacy that we once enjoyed with Him has been clouded by getting things accomplished in His name. 

Nahushtan is basically a good thing turned really bad.  Can you think of anything that God has given you to bless you that has turned into something that you worship rather then enjoy?  Something that takes up an increasing amount of your time, treasure and talents.   Perhaps it is a person, or a pet, a job, a teacher…….  What good thing has God given to bless you that has crowded out the giver to make room for the gift. 

What is your Nehushtan?

Whenever we take what God had done and put it in the place of Himself, we become idolators.

                                                 Oswald Chambers