#MedicalAdvice

The desert experience for these people who had been in slavery for hundreds of years held for them many experiences, some good and some seriously bad. From the parting of the Red Sea to the provision of manna, there were many miracles that could have been remembered to encourage them, but, no, they chose to complain about what they didn't have. Moses became fed-up with them more than once and even God did, more than once. They had refused to believe God and had believed the news brought by the majority of the spies and were denied access into Canaan. This meant forty years of desert life. Their complaints finally caused God to send fiery serpents among them and the bites caused death. Of course, they begged to be saved and Moses was told to make a replica of a serpent and put it on a pole for all to look to in order to be saved from sure death. All they had to do was believe that looking on the replica would save them.

It is interesting that ever since the early 19th century, the official symbol for physicians is a serpent twined around a staff. The name of this symbol is 'caduceus' which stands for Greek gods of healing, but centuries before the Greeks came up with gods, Moses came up with the bronze serpent twined abound a pole that actually did heal. Heal, it did and all it took was the faith to look.

It would appear that faith is important. Scripture says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Can faith, itself, be sick? When it is not placed in the right thing it can be sick and when not used, it can become weak. Scripture also says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God, so, the right place to find faith is in God's Word and the right place to put that faith is in God's word. That healthy faith cannot help but be used and it is never used up.

If that hord of of people had just used their faith instead of looking at the problems, they would have avoided forty years of wandering in a wasteland. They didn't have a Bible, but they had loads of miracles to remember. Today, we have the Bible. We don't need a 'parting of the Red Sea'. We have the Bible. We don't need manna placed out in our yard every day. We are so blessed. Jesus did the fiery serpent in on His pole, the cross. We are told in the Bible to look upon Him, our healer and savior.

God used good and bad experiences for that people,who had been in bondage for hundreds of years, to build them into a nation whose God is the Lord. That nation gave the world Jesus who hung on a cross and told us to just believe in Him. That bronze serpent was a picture of the future cross holding the Savior for all who were doomed to death to, by faith, look to Him and be saved.