Leading to Jesus - Clint Davison - 2025_11_16
Teachers
Lesson Summary
Clint Davison led the class through Numbers 21:4‑9, illustrating how the bronze serpent prefigures Jesus and demonstrates God’s mercy toward a complaining Israel. He described the Israelites’ impatience during their 40‑year wilderness trek, their grumbling about “wretched” food, and the resulting punishment of venomous snake bites. When they humbled themselves and asked Moses to intercede, God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and mount it on a pole, promising that anyone who looked at it would be healed. The teacher connected this ancient narrative to contemporary frustrations—traffic, technology failures, and daily inconveniences—emphasizing that believers often view God‑given blessings as insignificant. He urged the class to trust God’s plan and obey Him even when the consequences seem harsh, echoing Adrian Rogers’ insight on faith. By focusing on the simple act of looking at the bronze serpent, Davison highlighted the essential Christian truth that salvation comes through looking to Christ, the ultimate “lifted serpent,” for healing and hope. Overall, the session called listeners to examine their own responses to life’s “bites,” encouraging a posture of humility, faith, and reliance on the promised deliverance found in Christ, as foreshadowed in the Old Testament.
Key Scriptures
Then the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food." The Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us." Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord said to him, "Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover." Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten and looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.