So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. (Numbers 21:6)
Jewish tradition teaches that the venom from these serpents, not only made the victims to feel as if they were burning, but also eliminated the sense of taste. If true, that is very interesting because of why the serpents were allowed into the camp in the first place — the people disdained the taste of the manna. It is also interesting that it was serpents God allowed into their camp; interesting because, in the beginning, the Adversary is introduced to us as a serpent who used his tongue to inject poisonous ideas into the heart of God’s people. By refusing what God had for them, they were consequently infected with an ugly and deadly alternative.
This is a principle that we see from the very beginning — in turning away from the Tree of Life to gaze upon the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, mankind was infected with the opposite of what God had intended for them. Later when Cain refused God’s admonition to do what was right, sin pounced upon him and he went out and murdered his brother. The point is this: no one should think that they can reject God and His Word and expect to do his own thing. No, when we reject God, by default, we embrace the Adversary and death.
This is why it is so important that we be filled with the Spirit and the Word. Obviously, we know that it is to our advantage to do this, but I want you to see what will most definitely occur if we don’t — we will be filled with something else. According to Yeshua, the house (which is emblematic of a man) that had been cleansed, swept and empty was eventually filled with the same unclean spirit and seven of his friends, and why? Because it remained empty. Everyday we must be filled with the Word and refilled to overflowing with the Spirit of God that we may be empowered to withstand the wily strategies of the Adversary. Instead of him infecting us, let us, by the power of God, advance against the kingdom of darkness and crush the serpent’s head beneath our feet.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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