The Bronze Serpent - A Type of Sacraments?

[Sam Jer]

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. (‭‭Numbers‬ ‭21:8‭-‬9‬, ‭NKJV‬‬)

Is this a sacrament / sacrament-like rite? The parallels I have noticed are:
- It offers grace (everyone who is bitten shall live)
- That grace is acquired through faith (when he looks at it)
- It is graciously given from God to his people (Then the Lord said to Moses)

The main diffrence I noticed is that the grace given is not salvation, but healing.

 

[JTB.SDG]

I always took it as a type of Christ himself because of Jesus' words. Sacraments in and of themselves don't save.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I suppose you could say that it is a "limited purpose" sacrament. The sacrifices instituted along with Passover and Circumcision were OT sacraments.

The whole idea of a sacrament is that there is a sign/seal component. The serpent served as the sign, and the Lord provided deliverance through the seeing of it.

 

[MarrowMan]

A sacrament has an ongoing nature. The serpent was a “one off” of sorts, representing the need for faith in the object of the cure. Given its “one off“ nature, it is not a sacrament. It was not a sign and seal.

 

[TheInquirer]

These recent questions leave me despairing. I cannot understand how what was once basic has become controversial

We have a worldwide audience and there are people here that are new to the Reformed faith and/or young. A question asked here isn’t necessarily a point of controversy as some do not have other communities to ask the questions.

Be encouraged, at least there is a place like this where answers can be given. Expressing frustration in the way you did does not make the situation any better. An elder needs patience in answering the questions of others, especially if they are well meaning and merely trying to understand.

 

[MarrowMan]

We have a worldwide audience and there are people here that are new to the Reformed faith and/or young. A question asked here isn’t necessarily a point of controversy as some do not have other communities to ask the questions.

Be encouraged, at least there is a place like this where answers can be given. Expressing frustration in the way you did does not make the situation any better. An elder needs patience in answering the questions of others, especially if they are well meaning and merely trying to understand.

What you've said is fair enough and well received. I should clarify that it is not so much that the questions are being posed here, as much as it is that they must be asked. My frustrations are much more directed at Christian leadership in the broader world that does not seem to be equipped to answer these types of questions.

 

[Ploutos]

What you've said is fair enough and well received. I should clarify that it is not so much that the questions are being posed here, as much as it is that they must be asked. My frustrations are much more directed at Christian leadership in the broader world that does not seem to be equipped to answer these types of questions.

But Christians ARE equipped, and in such a way that they can share that knowledge, as this board demonstrates.

This - ignorance and lack of education - is not a new problem in the church's history as you would no doubt already know. What is new is your enhanced ability to be aware of it beyond the confines of your immediate surroundings thanks to our technological age.

And, you should be encouraged that people are asking these questions, rather than maintaining their ignorance in silence.

 

[MarrowMan]

But Christians ARE equipped, and in such a way that they can share that knowledge, as this board demonstrates.

This - ignorance and lack of education - is not a new problem in the church's history as you would no doubt already know. What is new is your enhanced ability to be aware of it beyond the confines of your immediate surroundings thanks to our technological age.

That's also a fair point. I stay off of social media largely for this very reason. I don't want to derail this thread, though. I'll delete and leave this post as a standing apology for allowing my frustration to win out in this instance.

 

[Ploutos]

That's also a fair point. I stay off of social media largely for this very reason. I don't want to derail this thread, though. I'll delete and leave this post as a standing apology for allowing my frustration to win out in this instance.

On principle (personal quirk, nothing more) I avoid the use of "Like" buttons or any equivalent, but I would like to state my appreciation and respect for this post. Thank you.

 

[Sam Jer]

To clarify, by "type of sacraments" I intended to mean either,
A. A sacrament of sorts, or
B. A non-sacrament that either helps understand how sacraments work, or
C. possibly even a type for sacraments in a similar way to the flood being a type for baptism (I am aware this is far-fetched, and least likely of these questions to be true). I wanted all these meanings to be covered by one question and guess I wasn't as clear as I should have.

 

[Charles Johnson]

If something has some sacramental qualities but is not a proper sacrament, like baptism and the Lord's Supper, we can call it "sacramental."