The following is an excerpt from David L. Stubbs, Numbers (SCM
Theological Commentary; London: SCM Press, 2009; published in the USA by Brazos
Press in the Brazos Theological Commentary series), pp. 166-169. [I think the so-called "bronze serpent" was more likely a copper serpent but this is by the way.]
Many modern interpreters understand the bronze serpent to be
a kind of healing idol or cultic symbol fashioned by Moses in the wilderness in
response to attacks by snakes, probably drawing from Egyptian practices of “sympathetic
magic” or else drawing upon association of the serpent with gods of healing.
Alternatively, given that the serpent was revered among many
ancient Near Eastern peoples as “a potent symbol of life and death,” other
interpreters reason that, at the command of God, israel coopted this symbol of
life and death and used it as a symbol for YHWH or YHWH’s power, the God who
holds both life and death in his hands.
In contrast to these modern interpretations, serpent imagery
elsewhere in the Bible leads one to see the serpent as a symbol associated with
evil and sin. Thus the sending of the serpents and the lifting up of the bronze
serpent become revelations or symbols of Israel’s sin. This basic meaning opens
up the episode in a different way,
ultimately showing that God’s healing occurs in conjunction with the people’s
confession and repentance of their sinful ways...
Elsewhere in the Pentateuch, serpents appear in two other
crucial passages, both of which give the serpent a more-than-physical sense. In
the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh (Exod. 4:3; 7:9, 10, 15), the
serpent likely symbolized Egypt and its gods. In that episode, the power of God
triumphs over the power of the gods of Egypt. In our passage, then, perhaps
snakes represented God’s punishment of Israel by a symbol of their object of
desires – life back in Egypt under the rule of the snake, Pharaoh, and the gods
of Egypt. “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt?” is part of the people’s
complaint. They seem to prefer life under the power of Egypt, the serpent
rather than life under YHWH. There, their freedom, vocation, and worship of God were prevented, but at least their stomachs were filled.
The other key reference in the Pentateuch is to “the serpent
[who] was more crafty than any other wild animal,” who tempts Adam and Eve in
the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1,2,4,13,14). God’s judgment and punishment of Adam
and Eve is a result of their failure to resist the temptation of the serpent.
The punishment of Israel by God in Numbers might also reveal that they have
succumbed to the poisonous lies of the deceiver, who tempts them to both doubt
that God’s provision and ordering are really for their good (as seen in this
passage) and creates envy in them for the power of God to morally order the
world (as evidenced in the other rebellions.) … In sum, the serpents can be
seen to be a judgment upon Israel that reveals and symbolizes their sin...
The bronze serpent represents to the people all that the
fiery serpents represent. In it they can see the sufferings of their journey.
But in it they can also see the judgment of God about them. Like the raising of
a battle standard, this action ironically represents who the people are truly
following: the serpent, rather than God…It is a fitting symbol for all the
rebellions of the people.
But the raised serpent is more than a sign of judgment. It
is also a sign of God’s victory over the serpent. Like the head of an enemy
placed on the tip of a spear and shown to the people, the serpent lifted up
shows that God is more powerful than the serpent. God is able to cure the
physical effects of the serpents’ poison. By offering to the people this symbol
of victory over the serpent, it also becomes a symbol of God’s compassion and
desire to heal them and do them good. It is a symbol that God did not send
Moses to his people in Egypt to condemn them, but to save them and bring them
to life…
The act of turning and looking at a symbol recognized as a
symbol of their sin and God’s judgment on them amounts to a confession or
acknowledgement of their sin. Furthermore, turning to this symbol of sin and
judgment in order to live required faith in God, in God’s mercy and desire for
their good…
The bronze serpent lifted up suggests that, for those bitten
by the serpent in the wilderness, the way to the promised land is one of
confession, repentance, faith, and recommitment to God’s difficult yet healing
ways.
