Daily Devotionals

Voice of the Lord

Devotional: 7th of Av

The Messiah redeemed us from the curse pronounced in the Torah by becoming cursed on our behalf (Galatians 3:13).

This plain statement must not be watered down. The Messiah has become a curse for us. It is not enough that he died. There is the additional fact that he hung publicly as a dead man.

Messiah's death was painful and agonizing. With the blows inflicted, he suffered immeasurably. His death was not pretty. He underwent the penalty prescribed for covenant-breakers: "A curse on anyone who does not confirm the words of this Torah by putting them into practice" (Deuteronomy 27:26). Though he never broke the Torah himself, still he became a curse, "because a person who has been hanged has been cursed by God" (Deuteronomy 21:23).

The Jewish commentator Rashi compares this statement in Deuteronomy to the execution of a certain bandit who was convicted and hanged for his crimes. It was soon discovered that the convicted man was the twin brother of the king! It was impossible for the people who observed the hanging not to see the king's character as tarnished too! It was as though the king had become accursed for the crimes of his brother! It is dishonoring to God when one of his children, created in his image, is hanged from a tree.

God's sense of justice demanded that Messiah become a curse to redeem us. Yeshua carried out his mission unflinchingly. Are you awed by the price God paid to set you free? Are you inspired by Messiah's example of loving obedience? Are you willing to be considered accursed for identifying with Yeshua?

...reflect God's love, even to those who treat me harshly.

JEF