Too Simple?

Read Numbers 20:1 through 24:25

At Vienna General Hospital in the mid 1800s, about 12 percent of new mothers died from puerperal fever. Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis observed that the doctors were spreading the disease by not properly cleaning their hands. He began a system of hand washing that drastically cut the death rate. Prominent physicians opposed Semmelweis’ ideas, claiming his solution was too simple.

Years earlier, many of the Israelites were dying—not from puerperal fever, but from the venomous snakes sent as punishment for their sins. Moses prayed and God gave him the answer.

The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” (Numbers 21:8).

The Israelites could have thought the answer was too easy. However, the dying people who obeyed and looked, recovered.

Jesus took all our sins to the cross. Some people reason that the cure for sin is too simple. They want to perform a religious rite, do a kind deed, or pay a fee. However, like the snakebitten Israelites who were healed by looking at the bronze serpent, one look at the Savior brings us eternal life.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

The gospel message is uncomplicated: look to Jesus in faith and live forever.