The bronze snake

“[Hezekiah] removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)” 2 Kings 18:4
The bronze snake was made by Moses during one of the many events where the Isarelites grumbled against the Lord when they were wandering in the desert. He sent serpents which bit the people and many of them died. The people repented, and God told Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” (Num. 21:8). The bronze snake was also referred to by Jesus as a symbol of Himself (John 3:14-15) – the serpent being the symbol of sin, and bronze being a symbol of judgement. Thus as Jesus was lifted up on the cross, He bore God’s judgement on our sin.
Despite these origins and the symbolism that the bronze snake embodied, it became an idol. For 500 years, the snake had existed – long past its original intent. It had been made specifically for those people who had been bitten by snakes in the wilderness. But later generations saw it as having healing powers, and were worshipping it. It was not until the time of Hezekiah that it was destroyed. This means that it existed through the time of Joshua, Samuel, and even David.
Here is the pinch: how many things do we have, carried over from a past experience, that we look on with such fondness that we forget the circumstances from which they came? Have those things become idols to us? If this verse shows us nothing else, it shows that something intended for good purposes can become a hindrance and an idol, when it is taken out of context.