Deuteronomy 17, our focus will be on verses 8 to 20, but I do want to read the chapter, but we'll actually pick up in chapter 16 at verse 18. Remember the connection, Deuteronomy, this section deals with community relations, the things that go on in the life of Old Covenant Israel, and here specifically at the end of chapter 16 and through 17 are issues concerning the maintenance of justice in the body politic in terms of courts, and judges and kings and those sorts of things. And then Deuteronomy 18 are ecclesiastical matters, rules specifically with reference to the priesthood and to the prophetic ministry. So I want to read beginning in Deuteronomy 16 at verse 18.
You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not plant for yourself any tree as a wooden image near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God. You shall not set up a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates. You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God. If there is found among you, within any of your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing his covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshipped them, either the sun or moon or any of the hosts of heaven, which I have not commanded, and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently.
And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses. He shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people.
So you shall put away the evil from among you.
The Higher Court: Jurisdiction
If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses. And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them. They shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the Lord chooses.
And you shall be careful to do according to all that they order you, according to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they tell you. You shall do. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you.
Contempt of Court and Capital Sanction
Now the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel and all the people shall hear and fear and no longer act presumptuously. When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it, and dwell in it, and say, I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me, you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. One from among your brethren you shall set as king over you.
You may not set a foreigner over you who is not your brother. but he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, you shall not return that way again. Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. Also, it shall be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book from the one before the priests, the Levites, and it shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord is God and be careful to observe all the words of this law in these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel, amen. So as I said, matters of justice within the civil polity in Old Covenant Israel.
Last week, we saw the appointment of judges at the local level in chapter 16, verses 18 to 20. And then there was a prohibition against cultic offenses in 1621 to 1701. Remember that they had not only a religious, a political aspect in Old Covenant Israel, but a religious aspect as well, and so certainly violating the law of God at whatever level would bring judgment from God through the civil government. And then thirdly, we saw the procedure for judging offenses in verses 2 to 7.
So basically you have a crime committed in verses 2 and 3. You have an investigation conducted in verse 4. Punishment meted out in verse 5. A particular requirement in verse 6.
If it's a capital offense, there must be two or three witnesses in order to execute capital punishment upon a criminal offender. And then the procedure is indicated in verse 7. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.
That would underscore the seriousness involved and would hopefully reduce the amount of false charges levied by one person to another. If you knew you were going to be the one who had to inflict death by stoning, hopefully it would sober you up such that you wouldn't throw around careless accusations that had no merit nor any warrant. We'll see specifically at the end of chapter 19 that there was built into the law a specific piece of legislation that would militate against false witness, but we'll see that, God willing, when we come to it.
Introduction and Overview
So tonight, verses 8 to 13, we have the function of the higher court, and then next is the principles governing the monarchy in verses 14 to 20. So notice in verses 8 to 13, you have the situation outlined in verses 8 and 9a, and then instructions given in verses 9b to 13. So note the problem in verse 8. If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, Now if you go back with me for just a moment to Exodus chapter 18, I mentioned this passage last week as sort of the backdrop for what we found in terms of the lower court.
The lower court was appointed so that they could hear matters concerning issues that took place within the gates of a particular city. It was typically the elders in that city that would give ruling and that would give judgments concerning matters that took place within the city gates. And this has its tap roots in the instruction of Jethro to Moses in Exodus chapter 18 and it evolved into what was called in the New Testament the Sanhedrin. So basically it was a political and religious council of elders and of those who had some degree of authority and knowledge that they would adjudicate matters that were affecting the body politic.
So notice in Exodus 18 at verse 19, listen now to my voice, I will give you counsel and God will be with you. Stand before God for the people so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, sort of like what we saw in Deuteronomy 16 in terms of the lower court.
They needed to make sure they didn't pervert justice. They were not to take bribes. They were not to show partiality. They were rather to be faithful men that had a regard for the law.
Well, that's got, as I said, its tap roots here. So moreover, verse 21, you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, and let them judge the people at all times. "'Then it will be that every great matter "'they shall bring to you, "'but every small matter they themselves shall judge. "'So it will be easier for you "'if they will bear the burden with you.
"'If you do this thing and God so commands you, "'then you will be able to endure. "'And all this people will also go "'to their place in peace.'" So the same sort of a construct that we find here in Deuteronomy chapter eight. We'd like to think that lower courts could handle everything and that once a judgment was given or a verdict was rendered, then everything would be peachy king. Well, that's not the way life works.
Sometimes there are difficult matters, sometimes there are challenging matters, and so there is a higher court necessary. The way that Moses was supposed to function relative to that group of men that took the charge of the lower courts, so we have it here in Old Coven in Israel. So the particular problem is very well stated, if a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge. And then it gives various examples.
Notice, between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses.
Types of Cases for the Higher Court
Now, the guilt for bloodshed. The Bible authorizes killing in three instances. It authorizes killing in self-defense, as long as it can be proved that it was legitimately self-defense. It authorizes killing in a just war, and it authorizes killing by the civil state with reference to the death penalty.
So there are three instances of lawful homicide given to us in the scripture. But with reference to unlawful homicide, there's distinctions within the law. Notice again between degrees of guilt for bloodshed. We use that same convention nowadays.
We call it first-degree murder and we call it second-degree murder. First-degree murder is a planned, premeditated, lying-in-wait intentional killing or taking the life of another human being. Second-degree murder is usually classified as a crime of passion. It's still intentional killing of another person, but there's no lying in wait and there's no premeditation.
And then of course there's involuntary homicide where you accidentally kill somebody. And the law makes a distinction between an involuntary homicide and it makes a distinction with reference to degrees of guilt relative to the blood that has been shed. And so the higher court would need to rule in those particular matters, especially with the sorts of intricacies that happen when it comes to the commission of crime. And so when we see this higher court, it's giving us an example of things that they're going to hear with reference to those particular cases.
When it speaks of one judgment or another, probably reference to civil law or property rights or contract disputes. Again, something that may be difficult in a lower court situation within the city gates. The higher court may need to speak to that particular situation. And then one punishment or another. personal injury, physical assault, liability for the harm of another.
And remember, the Pentateuch deals with that sort of a thing. In the Lex Talionis, or the Law of Retribution, we have eye for eye, tooth for tooth, wound for wound, stripe for stripe, burn for burn. Lacan, the higher court, would need to speak on certain matters with reference to the degree of guilt, to judgments that were to be rendered in favor of the plaintiff, and those that were to be rendered against the accused, and then there would need to be those sorts of punishments that were meted out. And then the necessity for outside help of the local situation.
So after giving those three specific examples, the latter part of verse 8 says, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses. So this is example. There could be other reasons, there might be other things that you would need to involve in Exodus 18, Moses, or in Deuteronomy chapter 17, the higher court. Then note the specific location.
Again, an emphasis on the central sanctuary. So Jerusalem eventually, with reference to the temple, with reference to the Levites, with reference to the priest. So notice that that is described in verse 8. At the end it says, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses, and you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them.
They shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. So the supreme judge is obviously God Almighty. God has orchestrated both the lower courts, and He has orchestrated the higher court as well. And so what makes up that higher court?
Priests, Levites, and judges. Again, all these things we should be very familiar with, and while there's not a direct one-to-one transfer of Old Covenant Israel into modern-day Canada, the principles that are operative in this particular chapter are certainly principles that we ought to be praying for with reference to our own civil polity. We need just judges. We need harsh punishments.
We need criminals to get their due. We need victims to be to not be doubly penalized. We need victims to have their items returned, or to have the criminal that did harm to them punished in some form or another. And basically, the general principle, according to Harmon, is that if problem cases could not be solved satisfactory at the local level, then they could be referred to a central tribunal, which met at the central sanctuary.
The types of cases which required referral to this tribunal were complex cases in which it was hard to determine whether an accident had taken place or whether it was deliberate intent to cause harm or even death. Again, it's understanding the human condition. It'd be great if all our problems had simple fixes. If you've ever had to deal with the judicial system, you realize that's not the case.
If you've ever had to deal with a family conflict, you realize that's not the case. If you've ever had any difficulties or issues in the life of the church, or at work, or wherever you find yourselves, it's not usually the case that every specific confrontation always ends up with happily ever after. there would be those cases that would need some higher authority and this is built into the structure so that persons could find redress under the law of God for the punishment of criminal offenders and for the vindication of the helpless and the victimized in Old Covenant Israel. Now then,
The Higher Court: Verdict and Obedience
notice in terms of the instructions in verses 9b to 13. Notice that they render the verdict. I think this assumes that they did an investigation. I think that's a good assumption from verse 4.
At the local level, if an inquiry is conducted, if an investigation is done, we can assume and suppose that the higher court would have done the same thing. So notice 9, verse 9, you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them. They shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. So the inquiry has been made, the investigation has been conducted, and then the verdict is pronounced.
And so it deals with, specifically, the finding of a higher court, and then what happens subsequent to that, after they sentence the criminal offender, in this particular instance. And then notice the response. In verses 10 and 11, the criminal is supposed to obey. The criminal is supposed to take his punishment.
The criminal is supposed to do what he's told by the higher court. Verse 10, you shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the Lord chooses. And you shall be careful to do according to all that They order you. You don't have the right to say, well, you know, that's not fair.
This is it. This is the Supreme Court. There's no higher court than this. God set it up.
God put Levites. God put priests. God put the judge. God put it in the place he chose.
This is all of God in his providence. You have been found wanting in a lower court. You've been found guilty in a higher court. It's time to pay the ferryman. it's time to take the punishment for your particular crime so the necessity of careful obedience in the standard ultimately by which the verdict was rendered is given us in verse eleven notice according to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you according to the judgment which they tell you you shall do you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left from the sentence with which they pronounce upon you Notice it's not their whim, it's not their fancy, it's not their desire, but it's according to the law.
We're not to suppose that the High Court in Old Covenant Israel was shooting from the hip. They were entrenched in the Word of God, they were entrenched in the law of Moses, they understood all too well the Ten Commandments and the the judicial laws of Moses, they would apply that to the particular case after hearing the evidence, after hearing the defense, after hearing the cross-examination, they would render a verdict. And at that time, the person who got that verdict was supposed to submit. He was supposed to take his lumps.
He was supposed to pay his penalty. Now notice the violation of this in verses 12 and 13. verse 12, now the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there, notice, before the Lord your God or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel and all the people shall hear and fear and no longer act presumptuously. So this idea of presumptuousness, we all know what that word means, the modern equivalent would be criminal contempt of the court.
You've heard that before. You're in contempt of the court. Well, this would be criminal contempt of the court, and that's what's being addressed here in verse 12. The man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest, who stands to minister there before the Lord your God or the judge, that man shall die.
Now, we might question the reality of the death penalty in this particular instance, but a bit of thought on it should cause us to see the ingenuity and the wisdom of that. Now with reference to this whole situation, what you have is that the penalty is strict as it's a failure to comply with the higher court, which would ultimately be an act of treason against God himself. It's the place that God chose, it's the priest that God installed, it's the Levites that God installed, and it's the judge that God installed. So if after all that, you've been through the lower court, you've now stood before the higher court, the investigation has been conducted, and you have been found guilty, you are not to question at that point, you are not to act presumptuously, you are not to engage in criminal contempt.
Now, this as well depended upon or rather was hinged upon the fidelity of the entire body politic. Most crimes, most issues could be solved at the lower court level. Most things that happened within the gates were able to be adjudicated by the elders in those particular cities. But if not, and they went to the higher court, if a man acted presumptuously and stood in rebellion against the higher court, what might that instill in other criminal Israelites?
It might instill like conduct. They might be inclined to defy at the lower court level, and should they ever find themselves at the higher court, they may defy that as well. And I think that's the emphasis in verse 13. And all the people shall hear and fear and no longer act presumptuously.
Again, that seems so harsh to our delicate sensitivities in the modern era. But may I remind you, if you don't commit a criminal offense, you won't have to worry about it. If you don't go out and murder people, you're not going to have to have this particular problem. If you don't go out and rape or commit pedophilia, if you don't go out and rob, if you don't go out and do the horrific things that God's Word obviously condemns, then you should have no worry whatsoever in terms of these particular penal sanctions inflicted upon the criminal element.
And last week I had mentioned with reference to the death penalty, sometimes people say, well, the death penalty, this is an argument against, the death penalty doesn't deter anyone from crime. And I would say, first and foremost, who cares? The primary purpose of the death penalty is not a deterrent. The primary purpose of the death penalty is punitive.
It's retribution. It is punishment. It is judgment. That's the primary emphasis.
But I'd argue based on verse 13 and other statements like that scattered throughout the Pentateuch that there would in fact be a deterrent effect because that seems to be the implication of verse 13. And all the people shall hear and fear and no longer act presumptuously. In other words, if you want to imitate the conduct of that man who just acted presumptuously and see that man then executed, hopefully it would go a long way to quiet your own heart of rebellion such that you would never arrogate to yourself defiance against the highest court in Old Covenant Israel. I'd also argue with reference to the deterrent effect of the death penalty, as I mentioned last week, it always deters at least one person.
If you execute a murderer, he will never murder again. I'm not a scientist, but I know that to be the case. Once he's dead and buried, he cannot go out and gun people down anymore. But as well, it has a deterrent effect upon others.
Civil Government and the Death Penalty
Paul says this in Romans 13, 4. He says, 4, he is God's minister to you for good. Talking about the civil authority who's been given the sword, which includes up to the death penalty in terms of a penal sanction against criminal offenders in a civil polity. He says he is God's minister, literally a deacon, Civil government is a deacon in the civil realm to God, just like deacons in the church are deacons to God in the ecclesiastical realm.
It's the same word, different application in terms of sphere. So the magistrate is a servant. Again, this is something lost on us because it's like we have to pay fealty and tribute constantly to the kings and queens who rule over us, but they're actually supposed to be servants or ministers and wield the sword for ultimately our good. So, for he is God's minister to you for good.
Notice what Paul goes on to say in verse four, but if you do evil, be afraid. Simple. If you do evil, be afraid. Why?
Well, Paul answers. For he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is God's minister and avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. In other words, be afraid, because the sword that the magistrate bears isn't simply an ornament. It rather represents his power and authority given him by God to execute criminal offenders for transgressing law within the civil polity.
So there is a deterrent effect built in. And I would argue, finally, if we abolish the death penalty, then we abolish any motive with reference to the lawless and the wicked to restrain themselves from evil. Solomon says as much in Ecclesiastes 8.11. He says, because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
It's pretty obvious if there's no punishment, there's no retribution, there's no punitive damages, there's no infliction of any sort of pain, suffering or loss relative to the commission of crime, what are criminals going to do? They're gonna criminal. It's pretty simple. That's what Solomon says.
Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed, and I love that word, speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. It emboldens them. When they see that others get away with it, they're more likely to feel privileged to get away with it also. So, at first glance, we look at passages like these, and again, 21st century Canadian Christianity, we say, horror of horrors, I can't believe somebody would actually advocate the execution of a criminal offender.
Yeah, because they're criminal offenders. I'm not suggesting executing all criminal offenders. There's lesser punishments to be sure, but there is that punishment for those who transgress in a way that is forbidden, prohibited by God Almighty.
The Monarchy: Request for a King
And then we move on to principles governing the monarchy in verses 14 to 20. Notice in verses 14 and 15 there will be a request for a king and then in verses 16 to 20 there are instructions given for the king. Notice the request, verse 14, when you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you and possess it and dwell in it and say, I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me. You shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you.
You may not set a foreigner over you who is not your brother. So in terms of the request of the people in verse 14, they're going to ask for a king. Now, the fact that there are principles here governing the monarchy does not argue that monarchy is necessarily bad. God regulates it.
God mandates it. In fact, in the promises to the patriarch, as he speaks to Abraham, as he speaks to Isaac, as he speaks to Jacob, he speaks not only of giving them a land, but a great seed. And he says to those patriarchs that kings will come from your seed. I think ultimately it's pointing to, typologically, to the great king, that seed, our Lord Jesus Christ.
But with reference to kingship or monarchy, scripture doesn't condemn that. The request of the people, verse 14, when you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you and possess it and dwell in it and say, I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me.
Israel's Request in 1 Samuel 8
Turn to 1 Samuel 8. This might be the passage that some of you would think of in terms of this passage. So it's probably good for us to spend a little time in 1 Samuel 8. 1 Samuel 8, verse 1, it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah, and they were judges in Beersheba.
But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. They departed from that paradigm of Deuteronomy 16. They didn't function the way that Jethro told Moses they should function in Exodus chapter 18.
Again, this shouldn't be shocking. What do you mean? We should have judges that don't pervert justice? We should have judges that aren't on the take?
We should have judges that don't show... This is like natural law stuff. This is built in. This is not something that needs argument.
So Samuel's sons were not bueno. Verse four, then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, look, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. So notice, this is precisely what we see in Deuteronomy chapter 17 at verse 14.
When they get into the land, there's going to be a time when they say, we want a king like the other nations around us. So what's the problem in chapter 8 and 1 Samuel? Notice in verse six, the thing displeased Samuel when they said, give us a king to judge us. So Samuel prayed to the Lord and the Lord said to Samuel, heed the voice of the people and all that they say to you for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me that I should not reign over them.
I think that tips the hand in terms of its interpretation. They wanted a king for the wrong reasons. Kingship or monarchy isn't necessarily bad. Kingship or monarchy because you'd rather have help in princes or kings and monarchs is bad instead of having help from God.
The issue is one of priority, the issue is one of allegiance. Davis makes the observation, their help now was not in the strong name of Yahweh, but in a new form of government. It is not monarchy, but trust in monarchy that is the villain. Again, it's Deuteronomy 17, 14 announcing that, yeah, they're going to ask for a king.
You get to 1 Samuel 8, they ask for a king and God says, but they're rejecting me, they're despising me. How do we explain that? Because they're asking for the wrong reasons. We've got issues, we've got problems, we've got difficulties.
The thing that will help us most, God, is not us repenting before you, seeking your favor, seeking your mercy, seeking vindication from on high. Just give us a new form of government and then we'll be able to negotiate our way through the messes we face with these various nations. The psalmist says, it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.
He says in 146.3, do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man in whom there is no help. Again, the psalmist was a king, right? David wrote the Psalms, made sure they were all written accordingly with reference to God's word and God's specifications. He's not anti-king.
He's not anti-David. But where's your trust? Where's your hope? Where's your confidence?
That seems to be the issue in 1 Samuel 8. And before we move on, look at how Samuel responds to them, or God tells Samuel to respond to them in verses 10 to 18. Notice. So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king.
And he said, this will be the behavior of the king will reign over you. He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen. And some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks and bakers. And he will take the best of your field, your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. He will take a 10th of your grain and your vintage and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men and your donkeys and put them to his work.
He will take a 10th of your sheep and you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves and the Lord will not hear you in that day. So notice, the king will exploit families. Notice, they want a king.
God says, okay, tell them they're gonna get a king. It may not be all that you're bargaining for. You better be prepared and you better understand what you're getting into. Again, they're asking from the wrong motive.
They're trusting in the monarch to protect them from the enemies. They're not trusting in the monarch as a conduit to bring the judgment of God through him to their enemies. He will exploit their sons, verse 11, their daughters, verse 13, and their servants in verse 16. He will exploit their property, their goods, verses 14 and 15 and 17.
And the reasons why is for the benefit of the king and to support the bureaucracy. Verses 12 and 14 to 15. His captains and his officers, they got to eat. Cough up your sheep, Israelite.
My bureaucrats have to eat. Notice the king will enslave through taxation, according to verse 17. He'll take a tithe of your sheep. Samorah says, this is a royal tax on agricultural products.
It is different from the tithe for religious institutions. The king will reduce you to slavery. You will be his servants. Again, Samorah says, all that the people have and they themselves, all that the people have and they themselves are subject to arbitrary use by the king.
This will cause Israel to cry out, according to verse 18. If you look at the passage, you'll notice the primary verb that is used by the author. It's take, take, take, take, take, take, take. That's what the king is gonna do.
That's what you want, Israel? Again, monarchy's not bad. Deuteronomy 17. Much of the Old Testament was monarchical.
Obviously, a theocratic monarchy, God ruling through the monarchy to the civil polity and old covenant Israel. But it's not gonna be a walk in the park. There's certain, you know, liabilities involved with this whole king thing. And then notice, after having heard all that.
You'd like to think that they would have certainly said, okay, we don't want that king after all. If all he's gonna do is take, take, take, take, take, he's gonna take our sons, he's gonna take our daughters, he's gonna take our baked goods, he's gonna take our perfume, he's gonna take our sheep, he's gonna take all of us, he's gonna reduce us to slavery. Yeah, let's abandon that thought. Let's repent, let's get on our faces before Yahweh and let's invoke his presence among us so that he can kill our enemies.
No. Verse 19, nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, no, but we will have a king over us that we also may be like all the nations and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. There's nothing new under the sun.
Sometimes you look around, you wonder, why is it that certain persons get voted into political office? How in the world could anybody ever vote them in? How in the world could these people have just heard what the king is going to do and said, nah, we want a king. What are you crazy?
Did you just hear what I said?
God's Choice of the King
So when we go back to Deuteronomy chapter 17, it speaks to the eventuality of kingdom or kingship rather in old covenant Israel. Verse 15 stipulates, you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. Again, he chose Saul. He chose Manasseh, he chose Ahab.
Nothing happens apart from the providence of God. He governs all his creatures and all their actions. Why does he raise up bad kings? Well, judgment, chastisement, to bring the people to repentance, to an acknowledgement of their sin against the Most High, such that they cry out to him instead of their earthly prince or king, or just so that we can learn what it is to suffer, to sorrow, to trial and prevail.
Whatever our God ordains is right. But the specific stipulation of verse 15, one from among your brethren, you shall set as king over you. You may not set a foreigner over you who is not your brother. Again, that's one of those, you know, basic fundamental things.
You wouldn't choose, you know, one of the Philistines to come and lead Israel. That would just be a no-brainer. Hey, find one of the worst Amalekites and let's get them into the monarchy and old covenant. No, no, of course not.
You don't get a foreigner, you get someone that is among your own brethren, that knows your laws, that knows your customs, that understands your purpose and sees your vision. You're supposed to be a light that mediates the blessings of Yahweh to the nations around you. You need to have someone like-minded on the throne.
Instructions for the King
And then notice the instructions for the king in verses 16 to 20. There are prohibitions in verses 16 and 17, and then exhortations in verses 18 to 20.
Prohibition: Horses and Military Power
Note the prohibition against multiplying horses. Verse 16a, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. Now, I do not believe this means no horses. I don't believe this means he cannot have an army on horseback.
I think the emphasis is on the multiplying of horses, the multiplying of women, the multiplying of wealth. He's not condemning a king having horses. He's not condemning a king having a woman. He's not condemning a king from having wealth.
It's the multiplying. What do you think the multiplying suggests? trusting in, if we've got more horses, I've got more women, usually for political alliances, that's probably the marriages envisaged, and I've got more wealth, well then we're gonna beat all comers. So the prohibition for the king in Israel is don't misplace your trust in weapons, women, or wealth, because that will lead to apostasy, It leads to a defection from God. If your trust is in your army, or your trust is in your political alliances, or your trust is in the amount of gold that you have, guess where your trust isn't?
It's not in God. So again, do not read verses 16 and 17 as a prohibition against any horses, against any, you know, yeah, against multiple wives, not one wife, and then multiplying wealth. So in terms of the statement in 16a, it's a prohibition of dependence on military power, lest they ultimately trust in that power. And it's the prohibition of dependence on a foreign power, namely Egypt.
And there are several passages that indicate this. Look at Deuteronomy 20 at verse one. When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them. Go out and multiply more horses and then you'll best them on the field of battle.
That's not the instruction. Don't be afraid of that. Notice, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. In other words, don't think that the way to victory is to simply have more horses.
The way to victory is to trust in God, to live humbly before him, to be in a faithful covenant relationship with him. Don't misplace that. We're gonna see it in our Psalm on Sunday morning, Psalm 20, you can turn there. Psalm 20, specifically in verse 7, the psalmist sets up a contrast in verse 7.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Again, the psalmist is saying, not saying, we can't have horses, we can't have weapons for war, we can't have the means necessary to engage Philistines on the field of battle, but it's about trust, it's about priority, it's about alliance and allegiance. Where is yours? Is it in God or is it in your horses?
As well, you've got it in Psalm 33. You can turn there, 16 and 17. Psalm 33, 16 and 17. No king is saved by the multitude of an army.
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety, neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Proverbs 21, you can turn there. You've probably heard the old adage of Oliver Cromwell, pray and keep your powder dry.
What's he mean? Use means, but understand it's all under the blessing of God. I don't think he got that just on a whim. 2131 in the book of Proverbs, the horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord. It doesn't say don't prepare the horse for the day of battle.
Just lay underneath the tree and watch the thunderbolts come down and hit your enemies. It assumes that the horse is gonna be prepared for the day of battle. It as well assumes that deliverance is ultimately of the Lord. I think there's a correspondence with Paul in 1 Corinthians 3.
One waters, one sows, another waters, but who gives the increase? It's God. Use the means by all means. Keep your powder dry, but pray.
That's the issue. If the King of Israel is trusting in the multitude of horses, the King of Israel is not trusting in the God who gave him the ability to wage warfare. Isaiah 31.1, a specific prohibition again with reference to Egypt. Isaiah 31, 1.
You have to see that's the emphasis in Deuteronomy 17, 16. He's not saying don't have an army, don't have walls, don't train men to battle, don't train men to fight, don't train men how to defend women and children. No, no, that's not it at all. Don't multiply.
Horses don't multiply military might.
Prohibition: Multiplying Wives
The next prohibition is the prohibition against multiplying wives. Neither shall he multiply wives for himself and the specific reason is appended, lest his heart turn away. Again, probably marriages with reference to forging political alliances. You marry this particular or have your son marry this particular one, you link and you have an alliance then with that particular tribe or nation.
That's probably what's in view. The classic example of this who violated this is Solomon. 1 Kings 11 is one of those chapters that it's hard to read, you know. And in fact, you can turn to 1 Kings 11 because you see a contrast between David and Solomon. First Kings 10, kind of almost starts hinting at what we find in 11. 10, 26, Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen.
He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. So again, we're already getting, you know, at least a foreshadowing. He's starting to build wealth, he's starting to build armies, he's starting to do those things, again, within reason, is perfectly acceptable, but the focus seems to be more on the excess that's involved. And then when we get to chapter 11, this is where it really is a gut punch.
Verse one, but King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites, from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, you shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods. Solomon clung to these in love, and he had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines, and his wives turned away his heart. So it might have initially been political alliances turned into, they took his heart away from the living and true God.
And I think the very scariest part of this is verse four. What's Paul say to Timothy? In 2 Timothy, he says, flee what? Youthful lusts.
We tend to sort of categorize certain sins only amongst the younger brethren. But Solomon teaches us that it can happen when you're old. Verse four, for it was so when Solomon was old. You'd like to think he'd grow out of that, right?
We never grow out of sin. We never get to the point where, you know what, I'm 60 now, I never have to worry about that. No, Solomon was old. It was so when Solomon, that's a scary couple of words there, was old.
Younger people, take heed, it doesn't get easier. Older people, take heed, it doesn't get easier. That his wives turned his heart after other gods, and note the comparison, his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father, David. David was not perfect.
David committed adultery. David committed murder to cover that adultery. But you know what David always remained? Covenantally faithful to Yahweh.
It's an amazing thing. In fact, look at 1 Kings 15. 1 Kings 15, verse 3. David is the benchmark all throughout 1st and 2nd Kings. This king wasn't like his father David.
Or this king was like his father David. Very few of them, couple of them. Minuscule amount, kings of Judah. But notice in verse 3, talking about Abijam.
He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him. His heart was not loyal to the Lord as God." That's that idea of covenantally faithful. He was not loyal to the Lord as God. As was the heart of his father, David.
Nevertheless, for David's sake, the Lord as God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by setting up his son after him and by establishing Jerusalem. Now note verse five. If you've ever wondered, how could David be the man after God's own heart and commit adultery and commit murder? Well, verse five tells you.
"'because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, "'and had not turned aside from anything "'that he commanded him all the days of his life, "'except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.'" See, it doesn't whitewash David's sin. It doesn't say, oh, he was perfect. Don't pay attention to 2 Samuel. That was just the rantings and the ravings of Nathan the prophet.
No, no, it doesn't do that. He did sin. The Bible doesn't whitewash that away. But in terms of overall arching, covenant faithfulness and loyalty to Yahweh, David was the man.
And so when we go back to Deuteronomy 17, you're not supposed to multiply wives if you're a king, lest your heart be taken away.
Prohibition: Multiplying Wealth
And then the prohibition against multiplying wealth, 17b. Again, a king's gonna have wealth, nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself, greatly. Of course, inevitably, a king's gonna have silver and gold. That's one of the perks, right?
I mean, and you know, there's a lot of authority in kingship. It's not like these guys aren't earning at least some of it. They're killing enemies, they're defending cities, they're adjudicating criminal matters, they're, you know, threatening, not threatening, but saying, you know, bring me this child, I'll cut it in half, I'll give one piece to you and one piece, you know, there's a lot of wisdom necessary for the task at hand. But you're not supposed to greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.
Again, the idea is when you trust in weapons, in women, or in wealth, your heart's going to be led astray from God. That's the surefire direction of apostasy.
Exhortation: The King and God's Law
And then the exhortations, very simply, verses 18 to 20. The priority of the king, verses 18 and 19a, and then the effect upon the king in verses 19b and 20. Notice in 18, and imagine if every king in Israel ever did this, or did what they were supposed to do. Again, that's a tall order, getting a politician to do what they're supposed to do.
But, you know, verse 18, also it shall be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book from the one before the priests, the Levites, and it shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life. That's a good habit. It's a good, good thing. far above all the other duties that the king has, and he has lots of them, he should first and foremost write down the law, and then he should keep it with him, and then he should look at it each and every day. Isn't this what God told Joshua in Joshua 1, verses eight and nine?
You gotta meditate on my law. You've got to be obedient to my law. You're going on the conquest. Notice Joshua didn't say, you know, it's going to be busy out there in the land of Canaan killing people and breaking things.
I'm not sure I'm going to have time to fit in, you know, my law time. No, you're going to do it, and then your way will be prosperous. The king of Israel couldn't have said, you know, God, I'm pretty busy here adjudicating all the matters of your people. I don't know that I have the time to write it down.
I certainly don't know that I have the time to, you know, to read it. Well, that's what they were supposed to do. And notice the effect it would have had upon the king, according to verses 19B and 20. And it shall be with him, he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord as God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.
The bottom line is it would promote the fear of the Lord in his own heart. It would promote as well or not promote or would promote humility in his heart. He's not going to have his heart above the brethren. It's not going to be the king that walks around in pomp, chomping on turkey bones while his subjects are dying of starvation.
He's not supposed to function that way. As well, he was to be carefully obedient with reference to that law, and there would be a succession plan in place. You want your children to prosper? You want to prolong your legacy in the land?
Well, then obey God. Take that law that you wrote down on day one and make it part and parcel of your rule, of your administration, and of your kingdom in Old Covenant Israel. Again, had the kings in Israel and in Judah done that, we might see different things in 1st and 2nd Samuel, and 1st and 2nd Kings, and 1st and 2nd Chronicles. But alas, we don't.
Application and Conclusion
So in conclusion, we see the priority of God's law in judicial matters and in political matters. Judicial matters in terms of lower courts and higher courts, political matters in terms of monarchy. The monarch was indeed approved by, sanctioned by, and governed by God and His law. And so the priority is always God.
The prohibition against the weapons, the women and the wealth has as its primary emphasis, don't put your trust in them, rather keep your trust in God. And then the wisdom of God's law in terms of generally speaking, it's great. We should see the punishment of criminal offenders, but as well, notice specifically the limitation of power placed upon the monarch. He's not an absolute king.
He's not the sovereign of the universe sort of a king. He is always under God. He is always beholden to the law of God. Christopher Wright says, it is a model that limits military power, prestige, and private gain, and puts all political and executive authority firmly under the authority of the law itself.
The failure of so many of Israel's kings to abide by its standards does not invalidate its moral force. We know how much they failed only and precisely because of the presence of a law like this. That law they penned, that law they were supposed to carry with them, that law which they were supposed to rehearse each and every day was that law which ultimately limited them to doing only that which was prescribed in the law, not coloring outside the lines. not engaging in the sorts of things that we often see in Old Covenant Israel in terms of the monarch. It was to restrain them.
It was to limit them. It was to hedge them in under the true sovereign, which was God Almighty. Well, I'll pray. And if there's any comments, we can talk about those.
Closing Prayer
Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. Again, we think of our own civil polity here in Canada. We pray that you would grant wisdom to those in high places. We pray that you would grant them that recognition that they're ultimately under God and over men for the glory of God and the public good of men.
We pray for justice and peace in our land. We pray against the sins of abortion and made in the various forms of sexual perversion that are everywhere rampant. We pray that you would have mercy upon this land. And we ask God that you would bless the preaching of the gospel.
We know that ultimately politics and good rule and the maintenance of justice isn't going to convert the heart. So we pray for all faithful churches, all faithful preachers, that you would send forth your word in this land to save many from their sins unto our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we pray in his most blessed name. Amen.
Questions and Answers
All right, I'd say any questions, but I don't know that I have answers. So any comments on any of the material? I guess there were no lawyers back in the day. What's that?
No lawyers. Well, I don't know if I'd say that. I'm sure you had advocates. Yeah, I'm sure.
I think that's beyond lawyers, right? Yeah, usually they were experts in the Mosaic law. Yeah, I'm sure that there would have been. I would guess that there would have been.
I don't think there's anything wrong with having somebody that's smarter and more competent. I'd choose somebody more smart than me, smarter and more competent. I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong with that. I think persons are free not to have a lawyer as well.
So, all right.