God, in order to chastise them, sent in fiery or copper looking serpents. After some of the people got bit and died, they went to Moses and confessed. They confessed to their murmuring against God and himself. They asked Moses to go to God to pray for the removal of the serpents from the camp. God instead told Moses to have a brass serpent made and placed on a pole and set up in the middle of the camp. He also told Moses to tell the people that anyone who got bit was to look towards the middle of the camp and look upon this brass serpent. Anyone who did this would live.
