Brazen Serpent

          King Hezekiah of Judah went on a mission from God. The second book of Kings records Hezekiahs reforms—going around and demolishing things and places that were used for idol worship. One of the things he destroyed was the bronze snake that Moses had made.
          If you remember the story, the Israelites had sinned and God had punished them with venomous snakes. After many people had died, the nation repented of their sin and God instructed Moses to build a bronze snake so that everyone who looked on it would live, even if they had been bitten.
          There are churches today where people have been using the same method for years and years. That method may have been successful in the past, but there is a limited life cycle on any method. Church members often defend old methods by saying, “This is the way we have always done it”. Do you realize, for instance, that it is not recorded that Paul ever gave an invitation for people to come forward in a service for salvation? That kind of invitation was an invention of the evangelist Dwight L. Moody. That is only one method that God has given us. God led Moody to do it, with great success, but that doesn’t mean everyone should do it.
          We are often tempted to hang on to past successes even when God has already moved on. The brazen serpent was once by God to deliver Israel from judgment, but after that it was just snake on a stick. Sometimes God uses methods and means that at one time serve a purpose and are mightily used by Him, but then their usefulness comes to an end. Anything God has successfully used in the past can become a present day idol.
-Pastor Dino Griffin