Exposition of the Laws of Moses, Exegesis 1 · Part 33
EXERCITAT. XXXIII. A ceremoniall appendix for the breach of all the Commandements.
Deut. 21.23. Curſed be he that hangeth upon a tree.
THere are two parts in this puniſhment, a judiciall part, and a ceremoniall. The judiciall is this,A judiciall and ceremoniall part in the Law. to put the malefactor to death; the ceremoniall part is this, to hang him upon a tree, but not to ſuffer him to hang all night, for then he defileth the Land.
When the adulterer is commanded to be put to death, the judiciall part of the Law, had but reſpect to the breach of one Commandement, to wit, the ſeventh;The malefactor that was …anged under the Law, was accu ſed for breach of all the Commandements. but when the Law commanded to hang up the malefactor upon a tree, then the malefactor is accounted accurſed, becauſe he hath broken the whole Commandements: Therefore the Apoſtle addeth, Curſed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written, and Deut. 27.26. Curſed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to doe them, that is, who hath not continued in them to doe them, Heb. 8.9. Iere. 31, 33. This tranſgreſſion of the law is called the quarrell of his covenant, that bringeth on the vengeance of God, Levit. 26.25. And I bring a ſword upon you that ſhall avenge the quarrell of my covenant, ſo Iere. 50.28.
We are naturally accurſed for breaking of all the Cō mandmēts, & Chriſt by imputatiō was really accurſed for the breach of all the Commandements, ſo was the malefactor typically accurſed, being a type of Chriſt.
No malefactor was a type of Chriſt but he that was hanged. Secondly, none hanged out of Iudea, The malefactor typically accurſed.the forme of their death made them accurſed, but onelyonly the ſinne it ſelfe;No Malefactor was a type of Chriſt, but he who was hanged in Canaan. as when Haman's ſonnes were hanged upon a gallowes; thirdly, whatſoever forme of hanging upon a tree they uſed in Iudea, it made them accurſed, whether they were hanged upon one tree, as Sauls ſonnes were; or upon a croſſe tree, which forme the Romanes brought in amongſt them,No death made a man accurſed, but hanging on a tree. foreign Crux, patihulam a foreign erigere crucifigere Why the theefe was not to hang all night. the Iewes called Zekephah, and the Greekes called foreign lignum geminum. Fourthly; they might not ſuffer them to hang all night upon the tree becauſe it defiled the land; the Chaldee Paraphraſt giveth this to be the reaſon, why they ſhould not be ſuffred to hang all night upon the tree, becauſe man was made to the Image of God, and as it is a diſhonor for a Prince to ſee his Image miſregarded; ſo the Lord would not have man to hang, all night upon a tree, becauſe he was made to his Image; but the text giveth this reaſon that he ſhould not hang all night, leſt he defile the Land, Deut. 21.22. And Ioſh. 10.26. it was not for the honor of the party hanged, that hee was cut downe before night, but that the Land might not be defiled, and in deteſtation of this death,The tree buried with the Malefactor. they tooke the tree upon which the malefactor was hanged, and buried it with him; and the Iewes adde that they did not hang him upon a growing tree, leſt they ſhould have ſpared the growing tree, and not cut it downe, and buried it with the malefactor.
Queſt. It may be asked how David cauſed the young men to kill Rechab, and Benah who killed Iſhboſeth, and to hang up their armes and legges over the poole in Hebron, 2 Sam. 4.12. ſeeing the malefactor was to be cut downe before the ſunne ſet?
Anſ. Why David ſet up the legs and armes of Benah and Rechab.The bodies of the malefactors might not hang all night, but they were to be taken downe and buried before the Sunne ſet; but the legges and hands of thoſe malefactors were ſet up there, to teach others to abſtaine from cruell murther.
Fiftly, they were accurſed who hung upon a tree rather than upon any other thing, becauſe Adam ſinned eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.
Laſtly, obſerve that no forme of mans death,All ſorts of deaths now are alike. now maketh him accurſed, for all ſorts of death now are alike, providing that he die penitently; it is the dying in ſinne onelyonly that maketh a man accurſed now, it is not the forme of the death that maketh a man accurſed.
There were three things which did accompany him, who was hanged upon a tree, firſt ſhame, ſecondly paine, and thirdly a curſe.
Firſt,The death of the Croſſe an ignominious death. it was a moſt ignominious and a ſhamefull death, Num. 25.4. Take the Princes and hang them up before the Sun, that is, publickly; the Seventy tranſlate it, paradigmatize them, and make open ſpectacles of ſhame, and Suidas ſaith, when any dyed an infortunate death, they put a croſſe upon his grave, and Plinie reporteth, that the Romans ſet up certaine Croſſes where upon they did hang thoſe dogges which gave no warning when the Gaules did ſcale the capitoll; they counted this ſort of death, a dogges death, therefore Seneca called it ſtipem infamem, and others called it lignum infoelix, and becauſe it was ſuch an infamous kind of death, therefore the Chriſtian Emperous changed, Crucem in furcam, in honor of Chriſt; becauſe he was hanged upon the Croſſe they would have it no more uſed; and Cicero ſaid, it was an hainous thing to bind a Citizen of Rome, a villanie to ſcourge him; and in a manner parricide to kill him; what ſhall it be then to hang him upon a croſſe?
This death of the croſſe was a moſt painefull death, Pſal. 22.14. All my bones are out of joint, foreign disparant ſ omnia oſſa mea foreign ſeparavit diſiunxit.in the Hebrew it is Hithpardu are ſundred, this was but the outſide of the paine; but if we ſhall conſider what was the paine and griefe upon his ſoule, then we may ſay, was there ever griefe like unto his griefe, Lament. 1.12.
Laſtly, the death of the Croſſe was a moſt curſed death; When the Iewes object to us, as the greateſt opprobry, that we worſhip Chriſt crucified who dyed ſuch a curſed death; we ſhould rejoyce in this, and count it our greateſt happineſſe, that he was made a curſe for us hanging upon a tree, for his lifting up upon the Croſſe draweth many to him. Ioh. 3.14. And Bernard ſaid well, Non pigeat videre ſerpentem pendentem in lign…, ſi vis videre regem in ſolio reſidentem; let us obſerve how the theefe beleived in Chriſt when hee was hanging upon the Croſſe, if Eſay beleived he ſaw the Lord ſitting upon a throne, Eſay. 6.1. If Moſes beleived he ſaw the Lord in a flame, Exod. 3.2. If the three Diſciples beleived they ſaw him betwixt Moſes and Elias, and his face ſhined, Matth. 17. but the theefe ſaw him hanging upon a tree, and betwixt two theeves, and not betwixt two Prophets, he ſaw him not ſitting upon his throne, but hanging upon the Croſſe, and yet he beleived in him.
The concluſion of this is, bleſſed is he that heareth the Word of God, and doth it. Luc. 11, 20.