father. While leading his troops, Ab salom charged through the thick woods. His mule went under the bough of a great oak and his hair was caught in the branches. His hair had been the source of his pride. “Pride goeth before a fall.” That wherein he gloried, was the means of his destruction. But still, this was not the biggest hanging. A woman was the cause of the hang ing of eleven men. Her name was Either, a beautiful queen. Haman had 10 sons that conspired to bring about the death of the queen and all her people. No one could make profit- against Israel without bringing down the wrath of God upon him. The plot in this case was discovered and made known to the king. Haman was hanged on his own gallows (Either 7:10; 9:14). But again, this was not the biggest hanging. Judas, the traitor, hanged himself after he betrayed Jesus. The sad end of this man is told in Matthew 27:5. Judas had been close to Jesus but never loved Him; he had served Christ but never accepted Him; he had been in Christ’s company but never let Christ into his heart. He followed the money instead of the man. But Judas’ hanging was not the biggest. On Calvary, two thieves were hanged. These were really nailed to the cross. They suffered for their sins as every one must do. Unless you have the Lord Jesus to put your sins away, you must suffer for them yourself. But now, let’s think about the big gest hanging of all. It is the first hang ing recorded in the Bible. Job, who lived in Abraham’s day, wrote this, “God stretcheth out the north over the empty places, and hangeth the earth upon nothing” (Job 26:7). God made the earth out nothing, them He hung it upon nothing. Only a real, personal, individual, living, intelligent G o d could make the myriads of things that are on the earth out of nothing and then hang them over an empty space. God took nothing and made something out of it. Then He took the something and hanged it upon nothing. “God quickeneth the dead and calleth those 24
Hangings by Dr. W alter L . W ilson T h e su b jec t of “hangings” makes an interesting theme for a mes sage. Man has 'been hanging his fel low man for centuries. It has been a common mode of execution and punish ment. I want to tell you about the most unusual hanging found in the Bible. Can you guess which one that would be? In the 40th chapter of Genesis the event of Pharaoh hanging his chief baker is recorded. The servant had been guilty of conspiracy against the throne. Perhaps the most serious of all crimes is that of being a traitor. But this was not the biggest hanging. Joshua, the great general of the armies of Israel, executed his enemies by hanging, “He hanged the King of Ai” (Joshua 3:29). He also hanged five great kings on trees after he had whip ped their armies and conquered their kingdoms (Joshua 10:26). But this was not the biggest hanging. An accidental hanging is recorded in II Samuel 18:10. A soldier came to Joab, David’s commander-in-chief, and said, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” This young man was the son of King David. He had been en gaged in a war of rebellion against his
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