We are now on the first path of Deuteronomy
21:22. It is set
within the context of domestic relations which talks about
the capital punishment of hanging on a tree being that for sin worthy of death
as recorded in Deuteronomy
21:18-23.
Before
we look at the verse proper, there are precious nuggets of truth that can
be unearthed from the context passage of Deuteronomy 21:18-23. Let us
take a closer look.
Domestic
Firstly,
the word “domestic” means:
1. Relating
to the running of a home or to family relations; or
2. Existing
or occurring inside a particular country; not foreign or international.
This
points to God putting His beloved children in order as part of the family
affairs in His Kingdom. We, the beloved
children of God, have committed a sin worthy of death because of Adam, our
representative. We were to be put to
death. But in His great love for us, God
has already prepared a way to set us free from the penalty of that sin. He has prepared a physical body for His
beloved Son as Jesus of Nazareth to be hanged on a tree as we have seen from Hebrews
10:5. The sacrificial system of the Old Testament points to that; God
has prepared a body to be indwelled by His beloved Son to be offered as the
penalty for our sin that is worthy of death!
In
this is love, not that we love God but that He first loved us by sending His
beloved Son to die for us as stated in 1
John 4:10. Why did God do that?
And
what is it about Him that He wants us to know?
He loved us. This is revealed in John
3:16 and emphasized by Romans
5:8 where it says that Christ crucified was the demonstration and proof
of the great and everlasting love of God the Father for us.
An
Overpayment
The
other thing to note about the context passage is that the sacrifice of the
beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth was an overpayment for the
penalty for our sin. How so?
Notice
that the offender was to be put to death first and then be hanged on a tree. In the case of Jesus of Nazareth, He was
first scourged by the Roman soldiers before He was hanged. If Jesus of Nazareth
had died and then hung on the tree, He would have already paid the penalty of
our sin. However, He survived the
scourging and was then hung on the tree.
Why was that?
Galatians
3:13 provides the answer. “It is to purchase our freedom
and redeem us from the curse of the Law”.
Christ crucified was an overpayment for the penalty of our sin.
Public
Example
The
last thing to note about the context passage is the phrase “public example”. This immediately brings to mind Colossians
2:15.
Christ
crucified has disarmed the supernatural forces of evil operating against us. He
has made them a public example; exhibiting them as captives who have been
defeated through the cross. Those
supernatural forces of evil are prisoners of war. They lost the battle to
Christ. We won the battle in Christ. We
are the conquerors in Christ, they are the defeated foes.
“Hanging on a tree was capital punishment for sin worthy of death”.
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