A.
B. Simpson and the Serpents in the Wilderness
“And
the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us
up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is
there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the
people; and much people of Israel died.” (Numbers 21:5-6)
Did
God, using His divine power, actively place and irresistible influence upon
these poisonous serpents to harm His people? Many believe that He did and some
even believe that it is justified. This is an understandable conclusion from
the text but it certainly does not give us the best picture of the God who
commanded us to love our enemies as He loves His (Matt. 5:44-46).
The
Bible is the divinely inspired and inerrant Word of God so the passage itself
is not in dispute. However, our interpretation of such passages are always
subject to scrutiny. A better interpretation of Numbers 21:5-6 which is more in
sync with our Lord Jesus’ revelation of the Father-heart of God can be
determined how the word “sent” is correctly translated.
“Sent”
is from the Hebrew word “shâlach”
which, according to Joseph Rotherham, “It often takes the modifications
expressed by permit, to declare or hold and, to help.”[1]
When the people spake against Moses and God they literally moved themselves out
of the realm in which God could legally protect them. He had no other choice
but to permit Satan to have his way and influence these snakes to attack God’s
people (see 1 Cor. 10:8-10).
I
have dealt with this subject in several of my books but recently while browsing
through one of my favorite Bible commentaries by one of my favorite classic
preachers, Albert Benjamin Simpson (1843-1919), I found these fascinating
comments on Numbers 21:6:
The venomous snakes,
which were permitted to torment them on account of their murmurings, represent
the Satanic visitations of spiritual or physical evil which come as the result
of disobedience and unbelief. “The LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they
bit the people and many Israelites died” (Numbers 21:6).
There is such a thing as
temptation befalling the spirit through the divine permission on account of
sin. The Scriptures speak of persons being delivered over to a reprobate mind
(Romans 1:28), and souls that have been delivered unto Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, “and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord” (1
Corinthians 5:5).
No path is so beset with
temptation as the path of cowardice and disobedience. And no souls walk in such
a victory over the power of the enemy as those who dare to go forward in full
obedience to all the law of God and trample on the power of serpents and
scorpions. The only place where we can have power over Satan, is beneath our
feet. Our attitude must be constant victory and defiance, or it will be
constant harassment and torment.
This terrible visitation,
however, led ultimately to a more glorious manifestation of the grace of God.
And so, often, the temptations of life can be overruled for spiritual
discipline and final victory. So Christ refers especially to the temptations in
the wilderness, as the result of sin (1 Corinthians 10:9-10), and uses their
example for our warning against all evil. But at the same time He encourages us
with the most gracious promises of deliverance and protection, if we abide in
humble, vigilant faith and obedience (10:12-13).
Simpson
taught that this serpent attack was not instituted by God but permitted by Him
when the people removed themselves from under God’s protection. He compares this
to how Christians today sin and then open the door for the devil in their
lives. God delivers people over to the master they choose to follow if they
insist upon rejecting Christ and following another.
When
we submit to God, Simpson points out that these things can be overruled by God
for the purposes victory in our lives. God neither instigates or desires these
things to come upon us but when we open ourselves up to them, and repent after
seeing the error of our ways, God can then teach us from them.
Finally,
Simpson emphasizes the truth that we can walk in constant victory over Satan
and his attacks if we will remain obedient to God’s Word. We can then exercise
our authority over evil forces. Excellent teaching from one of God’s great servants
of bygone days.
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