Well, hello again, tiny theologian. I'm Mr. Truman, and I'm really glad to be with you today

for day 11 of our Jesse Tree journey.

Today's story might be one of the most surprising in the whole Bible.

It's got some grumbling, some snakes, and a rescue that only God could come up with.

Now go ahead and grab your day 11 card and your serpent ornament. I'll wait just a moment.

Got it? All right. Let's begin. The story comes from the book of Numbers chapter 21. God's people

had been wandering in the desert after leaving egypt and let me tell you

things got hard and when things got hard the people got grumbly i wonder if you've ever felt this way

have you ever felt like a grumbling goose when you're hungry or tired or cold when you're playing outside.

I know I have.

Well, that's how God's people felt grumbling.

And they started to complain about the food, about Moses, even about God.

And so, God allowed something serious to happen.

The Bible says fiery serpents came into the camp and started

biting the people, and many of them got sick, and some even died. It was a hard day. But in their

trouble, the people cried out to God, and God in his mercy gave them a way to be saved.

Let me read a few verses from Numbers 21. The Lord said to Moses, make a snake and put it up on a

pole. Anyone who was bitten can look at it and live. So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when

anyone was bitten, they looked at the bronze snake and lived. Now that might sound strange,

tiny theologian, but God was teaching them something important. If they trusted his way of rescue,

they would be saved. Now here's the amazing part. Jesus actually

talks about this story in the New Testament. In the Gospel of John, he says, just as Moses

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