2 Kings 18:3–4: “And [Hezekiah king of Judah] did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden images and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan.”

August 12th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

King Hezekiah of Judah turned out to be like his great (x4) grandfather King David and the exact opposite of his father King Ahaz. He was greatly influenced by the prophet Isaiah, who led him away from the idol worship of his father. This resulted in a revival in Hezekiah’s life, which in turn led to spiritual revival throughout the nation. The first thing Hezekiah did was destroy the hilltop-idol-worshiping sites and then the bronze serpent Moses had made during the exodus, which the superstitious Israelites had turned into an object of worship.

Moses had fashioned the serpent 700 years earlier. The people were complaining and wishing they had never left Egypt, so God disciplined them by sending deadly serpents into the camp. They quickly changed their tune, and God instructed Moses to make a bronze snake and lift it up in the middle of the camp. Anyone who believed and looked at it was saved (Num. 21:5–9). 1400 years later, Jesus Christ took on our sin when He was crucified and lifted up on the cross. And if we believe and look on Him, we too will be saved (John 3:14). The serpent was a symbol of God’s healing power, it had no healing power of its own. So when Hezekiah called it Nehushtan, he was calling it a worthless piece of brass. Not only was it valueless in the worship of God, but the people had turned it into an actual hindrance to true worship.

Hezekiah no doubt shocked Israel when he called Moses’ serpent a worthless piece of brass. We would shock religious people today by calling the tomb in which Jesus once laid, just a hole in the ground or the sheet in which He was wrapped, just a piece of cloth. But that’s all they are. To make them of any spiritual significance is to be in danger of idolatry, a subtle tool of Satan that we need to run from. Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). For authentic followers of Jesus Christ, this means we have removed from our lives all the superstitions regarding days, holy places on earth, religious relics, symbols, or signs.

“LORD, show us anything we have made into an idol in our lives so we can remove it.”