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Numbers 21 · Grade 5

As Moses Lifted Up the Serpent

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Read and Think

Numbers 21 marks a turning point. The new generation began to win battles, starting at Hormah, the place where their parents had been defeated in chapter 14. Yet on the detour around Edom, the soul of the people was impatient. They spoke against God and against Moses: Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, there is no water, and our soul loathes this disgusting food! They despised the manna God sent each day.

Yahweh sent venomous snakes among the people, and many died. The people came and confessed, We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh and against you. Pray to Yahweh. Moses prayed. God's remedy was surprising: Make a venomous snake, and set it on a pole. Everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. The image of the curse became the means of healing for anyone who looked to it in faith.

Israel journeyed on. At Beer, God said, Gather the people together, and I will give them water, and Israel sang. They defeated Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, the first lands east of the Jordan. Jesus said in John 3:14-15, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Later, 2 Kings 18:4 records that King Hezekiah destroyed the bronze serpent because people had begun to burn incense to it.

Show What You Know

  1. Why was Hormah significant?

  2. What did the people confess?

  3. What was surprising about God's remedy?

  4. Which kings did Israel defeat?

  5. Why did Hezekiah later destroy the bronze serpent?

Crossword

342651

Across

  1. The snake was put on a ____.
  2. God gave water at a ____.
  3. The snake was made of ____.

Down

  1. They looked and would ____.
  2. Whoever would ____ at it lived.
  3. Lifted up like the snake (John 3:14-15).

Think About It

  1. Why do you think God asked people to look rather than do something?

  2. How can good things become idols, like the bronze serpent did?

Memory Verse

Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a venomous snake, and set it on a pole. It shall happen that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

Numbers 21:8 (WEB)

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Prayer

Dear God, thank You for Jesus who saves. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

  • Why did God give a cure instead of taking the snakes away?
  • What does it look like to trust God when you have sinned?
  • What is one way you could live out this chapter this week?

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.