"[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 (NIV).

Seven hundred years earlier, God had instructed Moses to erect that bronze serpent so that Israelites, bitten by poisonous snakes, punishment for lack of faith, could look at the pole and live (Numbers 21:8-9). Over time, the pole became an object of worship, instead of a "sin reminder" from their wilderness transgressions. Hezekiah brought down the idol worship of Nehushtan. God, with infinite mercy and forgiveness, provided transgressor's a way to eternal life. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told Nicodemus, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him" (John 3:14-15). Look to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).