The
Saraph
Mounted
On
A Pole...
In punishment the Lord sent among
the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Numbers 21:6
Then the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you.
Pray to the Lord to take the serpents from us."
Numbers 21:7
So Moses prayed for the people, and the Lord said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and whenever anyone who has
been bitten by a serpent looks at it, he will recover."
Numbers 21:8
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it
on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at
the bronze serpent, he recovered.
Numbers 21:9
This story is a prefigurement of Christ on the Cross.
The saraph serpents are none other than the devil and
demons sent
among us to 'bite' us at every opportunity.
Whoever looks at the raised saraph recovers and is saved.
Whoever follows the raised Christ, is healed and has everlasting life.
Hmmm, for those who accuse the Catholic Church of idol
worship,
how do you explain this story?
Interestingly, the graphic at the top is called 'The Sign
Of Aesculapius'.
It is the symbol of the medical profession,
and was patterned after this story of the saraph.
Written by Bob Stanley, August 31,
1998
Updated March 7, 2001
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