caduceus

59. Numbers 21:4-9

It surprises me how often in our culture you can find references to biblical stories or people. Here in Numbers 21 there is another. After the Israelites have left Egypt they go through many difficult times and often grumble against Moses and God. They often wish they could go back to Egypt and become slaves again. During one of these times of grumbling, God sent venomous snakes among them. The passage says that the snakes bit them and many of them died. Nice right? So the people did what all of us do when we realize that we are wrong, they begged God to help them. Moses prayed on their behalf and here is what happened:

8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

This symbol of the bronze snake on a pole has been adopted by medical professionals to indicate that hospitals and medical clinics are places where you can get healing. The symbol is called a Caduceus. When you see it, remember that its origin is in the Old Testament and that true spiritual healing is found in another symbol we often see today, the cross.