“And why was the Son of God lifted up on the dreadful cross?” asked her mother.
“That we—that all who believe in Him shall have eternal life,” replied Amy Temple.
“It was indeed as a type of this great salvation from eternal death that the brazen serpent was lifted up by Moses,” said the lady. “Do you remember what had happened to the Israelites to make the raising of the brass serpent needful to save them from destruction brought on by sin?”
As Amy did not immediately reply to the question, Elsie eagerly put in her word.
“You told us all about it last Sunday, mamma; I remember the story quite well. The people had been wicked, very wicked, and so fiery serpents came amongst them and bit them; and many—I don’t know how many—Israelites died, because no doctor knew how to cure them.”
“Were those deadly bites a type of sin whose wages are death?” asked Lucius.
“They were so, my son,” said his mother. “Man had no way of saving those who had received the deadly wound, so God himself showed Moses a way. The Lord bade him lift up on high a serpent of brass, and promised that whoso looked upon it should live.”
“I cannot imagine how mere looking could do the least good to a person dying of the poison of a snake-bite,” observed Agnes.
“The Almighty willed that it should be so,” said Mrs. Temple; “He willed that the look of faith should bring healing to a sick body, as the look of faith at a crucified Saviour still brings healing to the sin-wounded soul. When I read how my Lord says, through the prophet Isaiah, ‘Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth’ (Isaiah xlv. 22), I think of the brazen serpent, and know that I have but to believe in Christ and be saved.”
“What do you mean by the look of faith?” inquired Agnes.