people complained against Moses and Yehovah, accusing them both of not caring. Yehovah sent poisonous snakes to bite them. The people confessed their sin, Moses prayed. God gave instruction to fashion a bronze snake, put it on a pole, and tell the people that anyone who looks to it will be healed. later they had forgotten the history of the brazen snake on a pole and since it was such a long time since the meaning was taught, they had been worshipping it as a pagan symbol.

Numbers 21:5-9, 2 Kings 18: 1-4 (1,000yrs later, destroyed)

pic 1) Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius, Symbol of medicine Asclepius is the son of Apollo- the god of light, the Sun, truth and also a god of healing. Hippocratic Oath which all physicians have taken for centuries is dedicated to the same four deities, namely Apollo, Asclepius, Hygieia and Panacea.-- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4190767/