Read Deuteronomy 21-24.
These details concerning Israel 's laws are often skim read
or not read at all. As believers in
Jesus, we do not live under the laws of regarding the priesthood and sacrifices
for sin in order to have and maintain a relationship with God. Yet, these laws contain wisdom and direction
for this nation on how to make judgments, who should make them, and what to do
about wrongs done against each other.
People who want to live by doing what is right in their own
eyes, who believe in victimless crimes, and want to behave without anyone
telling them what to do are truly law-less.
This is nothing new. The Bible
teaches that individual behavior can have influence on the entire nation and how God responds.
One such law had to do with capital punishment. As any student of the Bible knows, Israel 's method
of execution was stoning. So it does
seem strange to have a law regarding hanging the criminal on a tree. Evidently, this was for the most heinous of
crimes. It appears that the person was
probably stoned to death and then hung on display as a severe public
warning. But they were not allowed to
leave the body hanging; it was to be buried the same day. Why?
"You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving
you for an inheritance." (21:23)
Notice how the Apostle Paul wrote about this very verse:
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by
becoming a curse for us-for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on
a tree'." (Galatians 3:13)
Jesus hung on a Roman cross and this verse makes it clear as
to who is to blame. It was for us He
died. He took our "curse", the
eternal punishment for our sin. "So
that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so
that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith." (Galatians
3:14).
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