“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.” (v22-23)
This fascinating text describes an executed person as being “cursed by God”, and commands Israel to ensure they are buried on the same day they are executed. Many of God’s laws around death (including the sacrificed animals) include details about proper handling of the remains. In God’s eyes, death (both physical and spiritual) is a result of sin, and therefore it is against God’s moral will. Not only would there be physical uncleanness involved, there was also ritual uncleanness. Death and the remains were to be taken very seriously, even if death was a punishment.
Back to cursed people being hung from trees, this theme repeats itself throughout scripture. One example is Haman, an evil adviser to the king: Haman ends up being executed on the gallows on which he intended to execute Mordecai, an innocent follower of God (Es 7:7-10). Another example is Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus, who hanged himself after attempting to return his “blood money” (30 pieces of silver) to the priests (Mt 27:1-10).
The most important example of someone hanging on a tree is Jesus – He was executed “by the Romans” (really, executed by the Jews) by being hung on a tree. Jesus was cursed by God (abandoned / forsaken by God) as He took the sin of the world upon Himself. In the evening (later that same day), Joseph from Arimathea buried Jesus in a tomb he had purchased for himself.
In all of these examples, it’s clear that the people hung from trees were cursed – two of them because of their own sinfulness, and one of them because He was innocent and paid the price for everyone else’s sinfulness. In the case of Jesus, the BIble tells us He was buried on the same day He died, exactly like God commanded Israel through Moses.
My takeaway today is sin and spiritual death are a curse – they separate us from our intended relationship with God. Sin is an enemy, a divider, barrier, preventing us from communing with our Lord and Creator. Jesus broke the power of that curse when He died for our sin, so I challenge us to live as if that is true. Let’s believe we are free from that curse, we are no longer slaves to sin, and we can live in that freedom. Let’s ask God for forgiveness, and move on in obedience to Him, not allowing our past sin to become an excuse for not following God today. Let’s act as is our sin died on that cross, and we are free to worship and obey our King, with whom we have a restored relationship.
Father God, our Creator and Lord, we come before you a broken and contrite people. Please forgive us our sin, and please help us to move forward in the truth that we are free from that bondage. Jesus broke the yoke of slavery to sin, so please help us to live in that freedom today. Father please help us to worship and obey without hesitation, and without living in the past. We acknowledge learning from our past is important, and it helped shape who we are today, but it does not limit the future You have in store for us. We praise You for the work you have done, are doing, and will do through Your Spirit within us. In the name of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training