Destroying the Nehustan

Even if you don't know the name or the origin of this image, chances are you've seen it before. The name for this symbol is the Nehustan. The original Nehustan was built by Moses on orders from God. In Numbers 21:4-9 the Jews tired God with their complaining and ungratefulness. When God had heard enough he sent a brigade of serpents into the camp. At the behest of Moses, God called off his serpentine troops and ordered Moses to construct a pole with a bronze serpent wrapped around it; the Nehustan. Anyone who looked upon the Nehustan was instantly healed. The Nehustan was an instrument of God's power.

After the snake bites healed and the Jews left the wilderness, what happened to the Nehustan? In God's eyes the Nehustan became obsolete. It was a vehicle for Him to show His power and mercy, but the Nehustan had served its purpose. To God it was nothing more than a pole with a snake on it, but to the Jews it became a relic, a holy object worthy of worship.

Many of us of Nehustans in our lives. I don't think many of us have actual snakes on poles, but we have objects and rituals that we worship because of times in the past where God used those things to further His will. What we tend to do is use those things in an attempt to compartmentalize God. We hold up our Nehustans as though they are God's only vehicle to work in our lives.

The truth about or Nehustans though are that they impede our Spiritual Growth. Consider, for instance the use of Tongues and Prophecy. On the day of Pentecost, God allowed his followers to speak in tongues for the benefit of all listening; so that they may hear the truth in their own language. In Acts 10:44-46 the Holy Spirit was poured out onto Cornelius and his household and they magnified God. Acts 19:6-8 shows the Holy Spirit being poured out on believers and once again the Truth being magnified. In God's word he tells us to test every Spirit and know that the one that testifies that Christ in the flesh is God is from God. The scriptures do not tell us that God's spirit will make us speak in tongues. Using tongues as a Nehustan has caused many Christians to feign holiness and others to stumble in their attempt to walk by faith. An insistence for all to speak in tongues openly contradicts the bible's guidelines for tongues, prophecy, and orderly worship.

For some Christians, the objects we associate with God the most are often the biggest Nehustans in our lives, sometimes including pastors and the very churches we worship in. Ask God to identify the Nehustans in your life, and ask Him to break you free from their grasp and artificial sense of Holiness. Embrace the fullness of Christ as sufficient for all things and continue to give yourself over to the Cross, that it's foolishness maybe manifested as power in your life.