As a child, I was constantly told to wash my hands. Every time I would use the bathroom my parents would later ask, “Did you wash your hands?” Though annoying, I knew my parents were trying to instill good hygiene habits so I would not get myself or others sick. Handwashing is a healthy practice that prevents illnesses and the spread of infections. There are a surprising number of benefits for children who wash their hands. Educating children on handwashing and having access to soap in schools can improve attendance, and it may help improve child development. It’s a healthy practice that only 19% of the world consistently acts upon after using the toilet (if you’re a part of the 81%, please wash your hands). However, though it is a healthy practice, studies have shown that frequent handwashing over a long period of time can cause permanent changes to skin like chronic skin damage, dermatitis, and eczema.
Why am I writing about this? Because there are a lot of good things that, if not appropriately used, can become dangerous.
Hezekiah spots this negative trend in the Israelites. The Israelites were prone to idol worship, and most of the kings promoted such atrocities. Such worship ends (temporarily) with Hezekiah. In 2 Kings 18:3–6, Hezekiah is described as one who “did right in the sight of the LORD,” a description seldom used for Israelite kings. Hezekiah removed the “high places” where the people would worship both God and idols, depending on the allegiance of the people at the time. In his purge of unaccepted worship, Hezekiah rid Israel of Moses’s bronze serpent.
The serpent is an important piece of Israelite history. In Numbers 21, the Israelite people are journeying to the Promised Land when they become impatient. Because of their lack of trust in God’s plan, they complain, longing to return to Egypt, the place of their captivity, for the sake of food. God sends “fiery serpents” (v. 6) on the people, only providing them a means of salvation from these snakes after they cry out to Him in repentance. Moses creates a bronze serpent, and those who travel to Moses’s creation and look at it will survive the punishment (v. 8). In the days of Hezekiah, this salvific artifact had become tainted by their idol-worshiping tendencies. An object that should remind them of God’s mercy and their own need to trust in Him became an object of false worship to a God they thought they knew. The serpent was to be a holy reminder, yet became an idol.
Their abuse of the bronze serpent, used for the salvation of the people, became a reason for their condemnation. Nothing about the serpent changed, but the people’s treatment of the serpent resulted in Hezekiah needing to destroy it. Concerning us, there are things in our lives that are inherently good, healthy things. Yet, even good things can be abused. What was at one point a blessing can become a curse depending on your usage of what God has entrusted you with. The lesson we learn from the Israelites is to not allow opportunities, careers, people, or any other blessing from God to take God’s place in our lives.
Nate Kidwell
Dalraida church of Christ is a congregation of Christians that meet in the mid-town area of Montgomery, Alabama. Our goal and purpose is to seek and follow God and His Word in everything that we do in life.