Article September 18, 1965 Issue

Healing for All Times

SIETSKE L. CURRY

When the king of Edom refused to let the children of Israel pass through his country, Moses had to lead his people the longer way around Edom. "And the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way" (Num. 21:4).

Unhappiness and discontent grew among the people because the water supply was limited, and the manna seemed tasteless. Under these trying circumstances, past experiences did not seem so difficult as the present experience and as the uncertainty of the future. The children of Israel blamed God and Moses for their misfortunes. They even wished they had stayed in Egypt.

When poisonous serpents appeared in the wilderness, and many people, died of serpent bites, they began to realize what they had allowed themselves to think and say about God and Moses. They asked Moses to pray to God to remove the serpents. The story says that Moses prayed, but the serpents were not removed right away. The Lord told Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole for all to see, "and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it shall live" (verse 8).

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