Deut. 21: 23 "...anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse..."
Deuteronomy is a book of laws. In chapter 21, it is said that a man executed by hanging should be buried the same day because "anyone hung on a tree is under God's curse." And if someone (or something like a dead body) is under God's curse-well you want that to disappear real fast!
This statement is referred to in Galatians because Jesus was also "hung on tree" so to speak. So Jesus, on the cross, was under God's curse. God's wrath was on Jesus. That's orthodox Christianity 101 I guess. So God is pretty pissed, he takes it out on Jesus, and Jesus saves us from...God? Is that how it works? Rob Bell poses this question (as well as others) in an upcoming book due out end of March that has caused some serious controversy. I can't wait to read it! Did Jesus really save us from God? Is that what God is like? I could list 50,000 more questions that snowball from here.
Dear Jesus, help me today to put my faith in you even though I don't have all the answers. Amen.
