Ei hi'o 3:14, Ua parau Iesu, e a faateitei ai o Mosesa i te vahi i roto i te medebara, i, E ti'a anei ia faateitei i te Tamaiti a te taata: ia ore te feia atoa e faaroo ia'na ia pohe, e ere i te mea. Why was the serpent of brass on the pole a foreshadowing of Jesus’ death on the cross?
Why were the people of God attacked by fiery serpents?
The people of God were attacked by fiery serpents because they sinned: by speaking against God: And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 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.
Therefore the people came to Moses, Ua parau, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived (Ua numera 21:4-9)
God led His people in a way they didn’t want to go, e te parau, they became discouraged. They were not satisfied; āre'a, they murmured and complained against Moses and God and came with the familiar ‘why’.
The Israelites were not satisfied and were not excited about God’s plan and all the things that were coming.
They didn’t trust the Lord and relied on His words, but they were dissatisfied with God’s plan, God’s leading, and God’s provision.
They complained about not having bread and water and they loathed the light bread, which God provided for every day.
Due to all their complaining and murmuring and speaking against God and Moses, they brought mischief (aio) i nia ia ratou.
Because of the fact that God’s people turned against God, God turned against His people and took away His protection and gave them up to their ruler; te ophi, te enemi o te Atua, to whom the people listened and were led.
When God sent fiery serpents among the people and the people were bitten by the serpents and many died, the spiritual was revealed in the natural.
The wicked have sharpened their tongues like a serpent
Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? o ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yeah, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely (Psé 58:1-5)
Deliver me, Auê ïa te here, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war. Ua faaoi ratou i to ratou arero mai te hoê ophi ra te huru; adders’ te vai ra te poison i raro a'e i to ratou utu. Sela (Psé 140:1-3)
God’s people were not transformed and had not renewed their minds with the words and commandments of God and had not delighted themselves in the law and made the law of God their own
Instead of submitting to God and being led by His words and by His will, the people were led by the will and the nature of the devil aka the serpent, and turned against God and sinned against God through their words.
The serpent of brass was lifted by Moses in the wilderness
But the Israelites repented of their sins, that they had spoken against the Lord and against Moses, and they asked Moses to pray unto God that He would remove the serpents from them.
Moses prayed to God for the people, and God heard Moses’ prayer and answered his prayer, and brought deliverance for the people.
God commanded Moses to make a fiery serpent and put it on a stake. Moses obeyed the words of God and made a serpent of brass and put the brass serpent on a pole, so that the serpent of brass was lifted in the wilderness.
Everyone that was bitten and looked upon the serpent of brass would live
Everyone that was bitten by a serpent and looked upon the serpent of brass on the pole, didn’t die, but lived.
And so God brought salvation (faaoraraa) through the serpent of brass and those, who believed and obeyed the words of God and looked upon the serpent of brass, stayed alive.
Why did God command Moses to make a serpent of brass? The serpent is the father of (ōfa'i) mā'ohi. The generation of fallen man has the evil nature of the devil (serpent).
The serpent of brass on the pole, would remember the people of their rebellious behavior and their sin, how they spoke against God and Moses, and the fiery serpents and how God brought salvation (faaoraraa) ia tatou, who obeyed His words and looked upon the serpent of brass on the pole.
The moment, when the serpent became the father of fallen man
Although Adam walked with God in the garden of Eden, there came a moment when Adam became disobedient to God and believed the words of the devil, which had come to him through the serpent and through Eve, above the words of God and obeyed the words of the devil by eating from the forbidden fruit.
Through his obedience to the devil (serpent), he yielded to the devil and death entered and his spirit died (and came under the authority of death) and lived in the power of the devil.
Through his deed of disobedience to God, Adam had fallen from his position and was (i te) separated from God and had become an adversary of God.
The serpent, te diabolo, had become the father of fallen man and everyone, o te fanauhia ïa i roto i te huero o te taata, would be born as a sinner and live in the power of the devil and darkness.
From that moment sin and death reigned as king in the lives of fallen mankind (te feia hara).
But God had already a plan of redemption for fallen mankind, to deliver mankind from the power of the devil, e te hara e te pohe. God promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent and the serpent would bruise his heel (i 3).
Tera râ,, this didn’t happen immediately, but it took a long time, before God sent His Son Jesus Christ out of love to the earth to deliver fallen mankind from the power of the devil and reconcile man back to Himself (A tai'o atoa: What does it mean the head of the devil was bruised because the heel of Jesus was bruised?)
Jesus came to the earth to redeem the sinners from the power of the serpent
Hi'o, My Servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men: So shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider (Isaiah 52:13-15)
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Ua amo mau Oia i to tatou mau oto, e ua amo i to tatou mau oto: tera râ, ua mana'o matou e ua tairihia Oia, ua tairihia e te Atua, e te mauiui. Tera râ, ua pepe Oia no ta tatou mau ofatiraa ture, Ua hamani-ino-hia oia no ta tatou mau ino: Ua tuuhia te faautuaraa no to tatou hau i ni'a Ia'na; e ua faaorahia tatou na roto i To'na mau pepe.
Ua ere tatou paatoa mai te mau mamoe; Ua fariu tatou tata'itahi i to'na iho e'a; e ua tuu te Fatu i ni'a ia'na i te hara o tatou paatoa. Ua hamani - ino - hia oia, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not His mouth: Ua afaihia oia i te taparahiraa mai te arenio, e mai te hoê mamoe i mua i to ' na feia kutii iri, so he openeth not His mouth.
Ua faaruehia oia mai roto mai i te fare auri e te haavaraa: e na vai e faaite i to'na u'i? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: ua tairihia Oia no te ofatiraa ture a to'u nunaa.
And He made his grave with the wicked, e te moni rahi no to'na poheraa; no te mea aita oia i haavî i te haavîraa u'ana, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Tera râ, ua oaoa roa te Fatu ia'na; Te faatura nei oia Ia'na no te oto: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, E ite oia i To'na huero, E mea maoro to'na mau mahana, e te oaoa o te Fatu i roto i to'na rima. E ite oia no ni'a i te tereraa o to'na aau, e e ti'a ia'na: by His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; e mea ti'a ia'na ia tape'a i to ratou mau hoa.
No reira, e faataa vau i te hoê tuhaa e te mea rahi, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; no te mea ua ninii Oia i te pohe i To'na varua ia pohe: e ua numera oia i te mau taata; e ua faaora Oia i te hara o te mau mea e rave rahi, e ua faatupu i te hoê taairaa no te mau melo o te fenua (Isaiah 53)
And so Jesus came in the likeness of man to earth to redeem man from the power of the serpent (te diabolo).
Jesus became equal to mankind and was tempted in all things, Ati, so that Jesus could become the Substitute for fallen mankind. Because if Jesus would not become equal to mankind, and had to be tempted in all things, Jesus couldn’t take the place of mankind and couldn’t become the Substitute for mankind and bear the sins and iniquities of mankind (Isaiah 53, Heberia 2:14-18 (A tai'o atoa: The peace restored between fallen man and God e Ua riro o Iesu ei taata hope roa?)).
Iesu, the Son of Man, was lifted on the cross
Jesus was scourged in such a horrible way, that his face was so marred and His appearance was no longer human. I muri Jesus was lifted on the wooden cross and carried all the sins and iniquities of humanity, which the Lord laid upon Him. Jesus was made sin and became a curse on the cross.
Although Jesus did the will of God and pleased the Father, and this was all part of God’s redemptive work for fallen man, the people esteemed Jesus stricken, ua tairihia e te Atua, e te mauiui (a.o.. Isaiah 53:4)
Jesus finished His work on the cross, entered Hades to take the power of death and Hell (au) and redeem the prisoners of death, and rose from the dead with the keys of Hell and death (Tō'o'a 1:18).
Jesus was highly exalted by the Father
A vaiiho i teie feruriraa i roto ia outou, i roto atoa ia Iesu Mesia: O vai, i roto i te huru o te Atua, Ua mana'o oia e e ere i te eiâraa ia au i te Atua: Tera râ, aita oia i faaino ia'na iho, e ua rave oia i te huru o te tavini, e ua hamanihia oia i te hoho'a o te taata: E te itehia ra oia i roto i te ahu ei taata, Ua faahaehaa oia ia ' na iho, e ua haapa'o ratou e tae roa'tu i te pohe, e tae noa'tu i te poheraa i ni'a i te satauro. No reira, ua faateitei rahi atoa te Atua Ia'na, and given him a name which is above every name: Ia pi'o te mau turi atoa i mua i te i'oa o Iesu, o te mau mea i te ra'i, e te mau mea i ni'a i te fenua nei, e te mau mea i raro a'e i te fenua; E ia faaite te arero atoa e, o Iesu Mesia te Fatu, no te hanahana o te Atua te Metua (Philippines 2:5-11)
I muri mai 40 mahana; mahana, Ua haere o Iesu i te ra'i, where Jesus was highly exalted by the Father and took place on the throne at the right hand of the Father, i ni'a a'e i te mau mea atoa, mana, ha'amaitai, e te faatereraa (Ephesia 1:19-21).
Te mau taata atoa, who believes in Jesus Christ and His redemptive work and repent and become born of water and Spirit, shall no longer live in the power of the devil (serpent) and the power of sin and death, no te faaroo i te Atua, but shall be transferred from the power of the devil to the Kingdom of God, i reira Iesu Mesia te Arii e te mau mana'o, and shall be reconciled with God and be made righteous and inherit eternal life.
Through the disobedience of man to God, the serpent became the father of fallen man, but through the obedience of Jesus Christ to the Father, and Jesus being lifted on the cross, man would be reconciled with God and God would become the Father of the new man (Roma 5 e 6).
The serpent of brass points to Jesus Christ, Who brings salvation and eternal life
E a tatara ' i o Mosesa i te vahi i roto i te medebara, e tae noa'tu i te Tamaiti a te taata: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, e ere i te mea. Ua here roa te Atua i te ao nei, ua horo'a'tu oia i To'na Tamaiti hoê roa, o te ti'aturi atoa nei i ni'a ia'na e eita e ti'a ia pohe, te ora râ. Aita hoi te Atua i tono mai i Ta'na Tamaiti i te ao nei no te faahapa i te ao nei; ia faaora râ te ao nei na roto ia'na. Eita te taata e faaroo ia'na e faahapahia: area o te ore e faaroo ra, ua faautuahia ïa, no te mea aita oia i tiaturi i te I'oa o te Tamaiti hoê roa a te Atua (John 3:14-18)
Jesus didn’t come to the earth to condemn man, but to save man Because every man is fallen. Every person is a sinner and is affected by evil (Ma'ohi), i roto i te tahi atu mau parau, is bitten by the serpent, and therefore every man needs salvation. God has provided for the salvation of mankind through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus came and gave (e te horoa noa ra â) man a choice for life or death.
Because as the serpent of brass was lifted in the wilderness by Moses, brought deliverance from death, and gave life to those, who believed in the words of God and looked upon the serpent, i, does Jesus Christ, who was lifted on the cross on Calvary, brings deliverance from the power of the serpent (te diabolo), pohe, and darkness and gave eternal life to those, o te ti'aturi Ia'na e o te fanau-faahou-hia i roto Ia'na.
And so Jesus became the Substitute, Deliverer, Saviour, Ta'ita'i, Author, and Lord of the new man, who submits to the Word and listens to Jesus and obeys and does His words and lives in the will of the Father.
'Ia riro ei miti no te fenua’
