Why did the law require a hanged man to be buried the same day?
The law required same-day burial because one hanged on a tree is accursed of God; leaving him overnight would defile the land the Lord was giving Israel as an inheritance. This also prefigured Christ, who hung on the tree and was taken down before sundown.
Les explains that the command in Deuteronomy 21:23 required the body not to remain all night but to be buried that day, because a hanged man is accursed of God and the land must not be defiled. He connects this to Israel’s urgency to get Christ off the tree before sundown, noting that Christ hung on the tree. Les then ties it to II Corinthians 5:21, where God made Him to be sin for us, showing that the law’s requirement was a preview of what Christ accomplished in our behalf.
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.