He took my curse

"If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God. – Deuteronomy 21v22-23

I’ll be honest with you. Sometimes when I read through the genealogies or the list of laws I don’t catch every single word. Sometimes I just skim over these passages. I know that if I were spiritual I would not do this, but…

Anyway, Deuteronomy 21 is part of that list of rules and laws and regulations. But something caught my eye at the end of the chapter. It is a passage quoted by Paul in the book of Galatians - Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),

This tie in is astounding. It seems almost just a cursory mention in the Law. If a man commits a crime worthy of hanging don’t leave his body on the tree overnight, because anyone who is hanged is cursed.’

In this passage the hanging is referring to a garrotting, the kind of rope around the neck hanging that we are familiar with. But the Holy Spirit in Galatians applies it to Christ hanging on the cross.

‘Christ became cursed for us’ is an amazingly powerful statement. Look back at Deuteronomy - ‘he who is hanged is cursed of God.’ Think about that for a minute. Jesus, God Himself, the ‘curser; if you will, became the ‘cursee.’

What kind of love would send the Creator and Controller of the universe to the cross as one who is cursed? The innocent Lamb of God hung for sins He did not commit. He became cursed for me.

When I take that into account I need to ask myself – ‘In the light of this, what have I really done for Him?’