Often the way forward begins with going back. Confessing to our dark deeds brings us into light.
The poisonous snakes of the desert had been released from the restraint God had on them, and they had bitten the Israelites. Do you see the link that James would pen centuries later? “Every kind of beast…has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (Jas 3:7-8). Their tongues, like deadly adders, had struck again and again. The only solution was to face this head on. Here is their confession: “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us” (Num 21:7). Although there still would be future challenges, this was clearly a turning point in the life of Israel. They looked to the serpent on the pole and lived, a graphic picture of God’s provision in Christ: “by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom 8:3). Praise the Lord, He didn’t condemn the sinner, but the sin! Now see the difference moving forward. The rest of Numbers 20 is bright with hope and victory, as it should be in the life of every believer. The Israelites had four concluding rest stops and two signal triumphs before encamping in the plains of Moab, overlooking the Promised Land. We read, “The children of Israel moved on and camped in Oboth. And they…camped at Ije Abarim,…toward the sunrise” (vv 10-11). This reminds us of Jacob, encamped just north of this site, before he entered Canaan. After wrestling himself with the Lord, “Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him” (Gen 32:31). So it will be with us. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 Jn 1:7), we will discover daily the radiant joy of personal revival, victory over our foes, and fellowship with God.