Numbers 21:6 (WEB)
The LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died.
Catechism · 1
“Nevertheless, already in the Old Testament, God ordained or permitted the making of images that pointed symbolically toward salvation by the incarnate Word: so it was with the bronze serpent, the ark of the covenant, and the cherubim.” — Catechism footnote: Cf. Num 21:4-9; Wis 16:5-14; Jn 3:14-15; Ex 25:10-22; 1 Kings 6:23-28; 7:23-26.
Fathers and councils · 2
Tertullian
“…anything,” set forth a brazen serpent, placed on a “tree,” in a hanging posture, for a spectacle of healing to Israel, at the time when, after their idolatry, they were suffering extermination by serpents, except that in this case he was exhibiting the Lord’s cross on which the “serpent” the devil was “made a show…” — editor's note: Their sin was “speaking against God and against Moses” (Num. xxi. 4–9).
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Augustine of Hippo
“This was done: men were bitten; they looked and were healed.” — editor's note: Num. xxi. 6–9.
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