Nehushtan

This morning, I preached on Hezekiah, and a part of my sermon was devoted to Nehushtan -- the bronze serpent.

The children of Israel were griping, complaining and doubting (again) -- a poison in the soul. God responded by sending poisonous snakes!

God then instructed Moses to create a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole. Whoever looked up and saw the bronze serpent was healed.

Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up."

Later, in II Kings 18, Hezekiah breaks the bronze serpent into little pieces, calling it "Nehushtan." Nehushtan is a Hebrew blend of "bronze serpent" and "wicked thing".

The children of Israel had forgotten their Healer, and had begun worshipping the snake!

Nehushtan: Anything that becomes too important and gets between us and God.

I then challenged the congregation: "What is your Nehushtan?

I gave a few examples:
* the past
* music preferences
* recreation
* My own personal "Nehushtan" was my guitar -- and God took it away from me for a while.

What is your "Nehushtan"?

At the conclusion of the service, my good friend, Ron, came up to me with a protest:

"Why do you always pick on the stuff I like? How about it you went after the older ladies and preached about knitting or quilting?"

I smiled and replied, "I'll do that next week."