Lord, Jesus, Be Lifted Up As We Bow Down.

"Be lifted up" is a phrase we hear a lot in Christian circles but what does it really mean for us to lift Him up?

The term comes from the book of Exodus when Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness.

Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient along the way, and they began to murmur against God and Moses. "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?" they complained. "There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this wretched manna!"
So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them, and many of them were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and cried out, "We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes." So Moses prayed for the people.

Then the Lord told him, "Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to the top of a pole. Those who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!" So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Whenever those who were bitten looked at the bronze snake, they recovered!
Num 21:4-9 (NLT)

If an Israelite had been bitten by a serpent they would die from the poisonous bite unless they were able to look at or "see" the bronze snake "lifted up". We need to understand here that in the Bible the serpent was the first thing God ever cursed. So the serpent symbolizes cursedness, and being bitten by a serpent meant you were under a curse.

All of this sets the stage for what Christ did for us:

Christ took away the curse the law put on us. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. It is written in the Scriptures, "Anyone whose body is displayed on a tree is cursed."
Gal 3:13 (NCV)

"As we bow down we lift you up" should not just be the posture of our bodies in worship, it is to be the attitude of our hearts in life. In our lives we are called to become less [to bow down] so that He will become more [be lifted up] so others can see Him lifted up in us and they too can live.

Father God, help me become less today so that Christ would become more in me. Let others see the Savior lifted up in me that they might live.

Lyrics:

Be lifted up, be lifted up
As we bow down, be lifted up
Be lifted up, be lifted up
As we bow down, be lifted up

Chorus:
Let the heavens rejoice, let the nations be glad
Let the whole earth tremble, for you are God
Come and worship the Lord, in the beauty of holiness

Bridge
As we bow down, be lifted up
As we bow down, be lifted up

Chorus