May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 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." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. (Numbers 21:4-9)

In Christ's name and to his glory, dear friends: By faith alone is one of the three great themes of our Reformation heritage. The other two great themes are by grace alone and by Scripture alone. Today's readings focus in on faith. In the Gospel we hear that whoever believes (whoever has faith) shall not perish but have everlasting life. And in this Old Testament reading the Israelites are promised that whoever looks on the bronze snake will live. To look on the snake is the same as looking to it believing, having faith that God would keep his promise about healing.

Faith is a simple thing. It is merely trusting, believing, that God will do what he promises. Faith is a simple thing, but I fear that often we Christians are baffled by it. Often we analyze, even over-analyze this simple, wonderful thing called faith until we confuse ourselves or get ourselves all worried about faith. Faith is not an easy thing to describe. God only describes it in one passage in all the Bible. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1). Rather than describe faith, God mostly tells us stories or accounts of faith in action. And whether we realize it or not, every time we look at these stories about faith in action God is building faith inside us as we listen. One such story is before us today. Let's look at it under the central thought LOOK and LIVE.

The story takes us back to the time of Moses and the Children of Israel wandering in the desert for 40 years. All these things had happened previously - God rescued Israel and led them out of Egypt. He had adopted them as the people from whom the Savior would come and gave this people special rules at Mt. Sinai making them a unique people with a unique purpose. God led them to the Promised Land but after hearing the report of the spies, the Israelites grumbled and rebelled against God. Israel refused to believe that God could deliver the powerful Canaanite nations into Israel's hands. The Lord sentenced his unbelieving children to wander in the wilderness for 40 years while the while adult generation died off. Our story brings us something that happened during these 40 years of wandering.

We are told that the Israelites became impatient with God's leading and spoke up against God and Moses. Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert (as if this were God's plan all along - destroy Israel - rather than to bless her). There is no bread. There is no water. Now that just wasn't true at all. God had been supplying food and water miraculously, regularly. And we detest this miserable food (commenting on the miraculous manna that covered the ground every morning while they wandered). The Lord is angry and rightly so over these words accusing him of plotting evil for Israel and mistreating her. He sends poisonous snakes in among the people. The bite of the snake injects poison and many Israelites die. In their anguish and fear they finally cry out to the Lord. The Lord provides the unusual cure. God asks Moses to make a bronze replica of the snake, set up for all to see and repeat God's promise - look and live.

Here God teaches us about faith by showing us its opposite. It is not faith to expect bad from God. The Bible says, O Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. In another place it says, O taste and see that the Lord is good. God is good. Faith expects good from God. Faith does not accuse God of hurt or evil. When the people of Israel accused God of plotting their demise in the desert, when they complained about their daily bread as evidence that God was stingy this was the voice of unbelief. Their complaints just were not true. And such unbelief deserved the chastening had of God. There is food for thought here. Remember, it is not faith to expect evil from God or to expect that God would do anything that was not in our best interest.. We can see that we have far more in common with old Israel than we might like to admit. It is a familiar voice that says to God, I believe; help me overcome my unbelief. (Mark 9:24) Do you see this? God is setting it clearly before us today

Here God also teaches us about faith by showing us its source. Faith comes not from within the human heart but comes from God who places it inside the human heart. The Bible says, By grace you are save through faith - and this not from yourselves - it is a gift of God not by words so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8) Faith came when God opened Israel's eyes to the error of their thinking. The snakes and their burning poison, the repentant thoughts that followed, and the anxious cries to the Lord - all these came from God's hand who was working faith in the heart. Remember, faith is something God gives, not something you conjure up in the heart. Do you see this? God is setting it clearly before us today.

Here God paints a picture of faith and thereby plants faith in our hearts. Look and live. Would looking make poison already in the blood stream benign and harmless? No, says the rational mind. Yes, says the powerful Lord God. And so God creates faith by repeating his promise. God promises and people believe the impossible. The impossible happens because nothing is impossible for God. (Luke 1:37) Do you see this? God is setting this clearly before us today.

Here God gave his Old Testament children a foretaste of the great rescue. Look and live. Will looking make sin already flowing in our veins benign and harmless? No, says the rational mind. Yes, says the powerful Lord God. And so God creates faith by repeating his promise. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God promises and people believe the impossible. Do you see this? God is setting this clearly before us today.