Many of us have heard of or at least seen this symbol before: A snake on a pole or a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings. If you start looking for it, chances are that you’ll find it almost everywhere that’s health-related. In fact, if you search up the flag for the World Health Organization, what you’ll get is that very image — a snake on a pole. Why is this? And where did it come from?
Despite being such a unique and well-known symbol, it seems as if the real history behind it has been long forgotten. If you were to do some digging through the internet, you’ll notice that the symbol of the snake on the pole has been called many things: the Caduceus, the rod of Asclepius, or simply the symbol of medicine. Hidden behind these names, however, lies a fascinating story, one that is far more profound than what meets the eye.
If you were to do a quick surface level dive into the Caduceus or the Rod of Asclepius, you likely won’t find anything that pertains to Christianity. In fact, what Google will lead you to is man-made mythology and idolatry.
The Caduceus refers to the staff carried by Hermes from Greco-Egyptian mythology, while the Rod of Asclepius refers to Greek mythology regarding healing and medicine. That is what people think of now, when they see the snake on the pole. They see made-up stories along with made-up gods. Idolatry.
Now, what about truth? What of the true origins of this snake on the pole symbol? Spanning far before the time of ancient Greece, recorded in the fourth book of the Bible: Numbers, which is our earliest account of a snake on a pole. In Numbers 21:4–9, we can read this short and simple story:
“From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” (Num 21:4–9)
This tells the story of the Israelites after they were miraculously saved by God from slavery in Egypt. While they travelled to the land that God graciously promised them, God provided for them in the desert with food, water, and even heavenly manna. “Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31). Despite God’s goodness, these people had the audacity to spit in the face of God. “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die…there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Look at the nerve of these guys!
What the Israelites got was justice. They were corrupt people, without a shred of gratitude. They treated the King of kings with scorn and were rebellious against the God who gave them everything. Their very lives were gifts from the Lord of lords, and yet they treated Him with arrogance, bitterness, and blasphemy. The sad news is that we aren’t much better than the Israelites. Think about it. How many times have we, too, been ungrateful, rebellious, arrogant, bitter, and blasphemous towards God?
Despite being more privileged and blessed by God than any other people, the Israelites were wicked in thought and evil at heart. Those snakes were doing the world a favour by ridding it of them — yet God showed mercy beyond understanding. This was not the first time He forgave the Israelites, and it sure wasn’t the last. God’s mercy is shown time and time again, always to those who don’t deserve it.
How were these people saved? All they had to do was look. They didn’t need to pay, and they didn’t need to work. They didn’t need to make up a single bit for what they did. Not only that, there were no extra conditions attached either. It didn’t matter who looked, whether they were the worst Israelite or the best. It didn’t matter if they were rich or poor, healthy or sick. If anyone of them were dying from being bitten, all they had to do was look.
Now, it’s important to remember, that serpent on the pole itself did nothing for them. It was neither magical nor did it have healing properties. All it was, was a man-made snake on a pole. The only thing that made it special, was that it symbolized God’s mercy towards them. To accept and receive God’s forgiveness and healing, all they had to do was look at it, and they would live.
The story doesn’t end there, however, and what happens next is tragic. Many years go by, and the Israelites keep the serpent on the pole, but instead of remembering it as a symbol of God’s grace and mercy, they corrupt it into an object of idolatry. We see this after a time skip into the days of King Hezekiah, when he starts his reign. It’s written that he was a king who trusted God, followed Him, and kept His commandments. As he begins his rule, 2 Kings 18:4 says that “he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).” This short verse speaks volumes about what happened after that time in the desert. The people of Israel had forgotten the true meaning behind the serpent on the pole.
The true story behind the serpent on the pole became lost to the Israelites, and they forgot about it, along with the grace and mercy that they were shown by God. They then gave the mere object a name, fabricated false mythologies about it, and even proclaimed it to be divine and worthy of worship. Are you starting to see the parallels yet? What was once a symbol of mercy had become an object of idolatry.
As history tends to repeat itself, we see what happened with the Israelites again in our very day, with the Caduceus and the rod of Asclepius. But that’s not all, haven’t we as people also turned personally to idolatry? So often in our lives, we tend to turn our worship away from our Creator and worship His creation instead. Because of that, we also find ourselves in the same plight as the Israelites: the wrath of God is coming for us.
The cure for the poison of the snakes wasn’t the bronze serpent on the pole. That object had no power to save anyone. In the face of death (the rightful punishment that we deserve as sinners), the only one who can save us is God. There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything else that can save us from death. Not a false deity from mythology, not a piece of brass on a pole, and certainly not modern medicine. True salvation from the death that we deserve comes from the Lord. And by His mercy, we know that He has made a way.
That one and only way is through Jesus Christ. That snake on the pole foreshadowed a greater salvation from death, a greater healing, and the ultimate sign of grace and mercy. The snake on the pole foreshadowed the coming of Christ, and the full atonement for sin. Jesus speaks of Himself in John 3:14–15 and says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” This is the hope that we have, that in Christ we can be forgiven. In Him, we can find mercy. In Him, we can find life… and all we have to do is look. Look to Jesus… And live!
This is the story that the world has forgotten. The great story of God’s unconditional love and goodness for us in Christ Jesus. That He who was perfect and innocent suffered in our place, paying the cost for us, even if it meant being likened to a serpent or a criminal. Jesus compared himself to the snake on the pole, knowing that He would be treated as a curse, as “anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse” (Deuteronomy 21:23). He did this for our sake, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The world suppresses this truth, because the world hates Jesus (John 15:18), and does not know God (John 16:3 & Romans 1:18). Yet no matter how wicked the world is, this unchanging truth will not be snuffed out, for not even death could defeat Him. Jesus said with absolute certainty, that “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32), and we as Christians know this to be true.
So the next time you see the serpent on the pole, remember the truth. See past the idolatry that the world has made it, and remember God’s grace and mercy. The world may have forgotten, but may it be that we never do. The world might try to hide the truth, but may we proclaim it instead to the ends of the earth, and in all of it, may God receive His glory.
