Deuteronomy 21:22-23 – Living a leaven-free life

How to make sense of Deuteronomy 21:22-23? What applicable principles can we see in these two verses? To help us make sense of the drift of these two verses we need to bear in mind that Israel as a nation described in the Old Testament was God’s covenant community. And being the covenant people of God, they had covenant obligation. God must be at the center of their existence. Hence, their social life and spiritual life were not separate entities. Their relationship and experience with God would best be seen in the way they lived out their lives. Factoring God into every aspect of their life was not a choice but a necessity because they were accountable to God. As Christ’s redeemed people we share the same sentiment. While we must obey the law of the land, we are ultimately accountable to God. Hence, we must live our lives responsibly to please Him. Remember that God's instructions were given to enforce good social behaviors. 

Now to the two verses in focus. These verses presupposed that punishment by death was already a practice then. The construction of verse 22 tells us that hanging to death was not the mode of the sentence. A person was hanged on the tree only after he had been put to death, most likely by stoning. In a God-centric community, a person who had committed a capital crime was not just a social problem. It was a spiritual one too. And God did not want the crime to be emulated. The person must be executed usually by stoning. After that, he would then be hanged upon a tree publicly to be a lesson on the seriousness of the crime. The objective was to deter the commitment of such crimes. In these verses, we also see that even in capital punishment God’s mercy and value of life could be seen. He would not allow the dead body to decompose, pollute the land and harm His people. Hence the instruction was for the body to be taken down on the same day to be buried and not left overnight.  

Interestingly, Paul quoted this verse in Galatians 3:13. The quotation was made in relation to Christ's death at Calvary. Paul's point, however, was not on Christ’s death by being hung on the tree. His emphasis was that our Lord was hanged on that cursed tree to bear the curse of our sin. He bore our sin on Calvary’s tree to free us from its polluting influence. God wants us to be a holy people, living free lives. And Christ died to enable us to live that kind of sin-free life. And only in Him that the polluting effect of sin can be halted. Just like God wanted the promised land He gave to His people to be free from the pollution of the decomposed body, God wants the life He has granted us to be free from the pollution of sin.    

The objectives of these two verses are firstly to tell us that God wants a righteous people free from sinful activities. The death sentence and public display of the dead body were prescribed as a deterrent. It was a visual message to the people on the seriousness of sin. This is what Calvary would do for us. Whenever we think of Christ on Calvary’s tree,  we should feel the gravity of sin. It should motivate us to want to live a sin-free life. Thinking of Christ’s tormenting death on our behalf should disincentivize us from wanting to commit sin ever again. Secondly, the removal of the dead body to be buried on the same day was to prevent the decomposition of the body to pollute the land and harm the people. It is a grim reminder to us of the polluting effect of sin that must be removed. Symbolically, this tells us that God does not want the curse of sin to pollute the community and harm His holy people. Hence at Calvary, Christ took away the curse of sin. It is only in Him that the polluting effect of sin can be dealt with. By the grace of God, let us live a leaven-free life to glorify Him. It can be done by the power of the Holy Spirit in us!