May turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 16. We covered this material this past Wednesday evening. Thought it would be appropriate for us to look at it again this evening. We're going to focus primarily on the latter half of the chapter, chapter 17, rather.
We'll be looking at chapter 17, verses 8 to 20 this evening. We'll spend most of our time considering the principles governing kings. But I want to pick up reading in chapter 16 at verse 18 because this is the larger context. What we are finding here in this section of Deuteronomy is leadership in Israel, specifically here in chapter 16 and 17, judges and kings.
There are rules here. for judges at the local level, or the lower courts, and then there are rules for judges at a higher level, a central tribunal, or what we might call a supreme court. So I'll just pick up reading in chapter 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 host 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. 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.
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 has given you, possess it, 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 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. Amen.
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for this, Your Word. We pray for the ministry of Your Spirit now. We know there is not a direct correlation in some of these instances to our current situation, but certainly there are principles we ought to take away from a study. in this book of Deuteronomy.
God, we know and oftentimes consider that political leaders have no responsibility to the living and true God. We often think it's legit for them to rule and reign according to their own whim. We pray that that would not be the case. We know that men are appointed to office based on a sovereign God.
We pray that you'd put the fear of the Lord in their hearts. We pray, as David instructed the judges and the kings in the earth in his day, that they would kiss the sun lest he be angry and they perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. We as well, Father, appreciate biblical law. We appreciate justice and the judgment and the fairness and equity that we find in passages like these.
We pray that you would give us the mind of Christ now as we study Holy Scripture. We pray for the forgiveness of sins and anything that would prejudice us against appreciating your word. And we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as I said, this particular section begins to deal with government within Israel. Remember, they're on the plains of Moab, they're getting ready to go into the Promised Land, and so certainly they need to have structures in place to adjudicate specific issues, to deal with criminal offenses, to deal with situations involving the community, involving Israel. As I said, there is an appointment of judges at the local level. Chapter 16 verses 18 to 20 deal with lower courts, those things that are done within the city gates in a particular community.
That is legit, it is just, it is righteous. And then we see certain cultic offenses. And by cultic, I mean that which pertains to Israel's religious life. He deals with that in chapter 16 verse 21 to chapter 17 verse 1.
I think there's a particular reason why it's inserted there. I think it is to show the progression of idolatry. And then idolatry or apostasy serves as a model case with which to judge, or with which to look at the criminal justice system. In chapter 17, verses 2 to 7, there is judicial procedure given for judging offenses.
The particular crime, as I've said, is idolatry. It is rejection of the First Commandment. It is a rejection of the Second Commandment. And as we look at this judicial procedure, we see that in fact a criminal activity has taken place.
Remember when we looked at Deuteronomy 13. Idolatry wasn't just a private offense. Idolatry wasn't just an individual experience. Idolatry could jeopardize the entire covenant community.
So it must be dealt with effectively. So there is a criminal act that has taken place. There is, according to verse 4, an investigation. You see, justice in Israel was conducted after a thoroughgoing investigation.
And it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. So there is the weighing of evidence, there is procedure, there is talking to witnesses, all those particulars are involved. If it is the case that the person is guilty, then that person must be punished, and that is specified in verse 5. 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 stone.
So there is a punishment inflicted upon breach of the covenant. And then notice there is a specific requirement in cases that are capital in nature. If it is a death penalty case, persons could not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. There had to be a plurality.
There had to be two or three witnesses in order for a capital case to be effectively prosecuted. And then note the manner 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 see in this particular requirement, if I as a witness realized that I would cast the first blow in terms of execution, I had better make sure that my story is accurate.
I had better make sure that I am not rushing into this in a haphazard fashion. The hands of the witnesses. This would bear upon their own testimony, upon the weightiness of it, and how important it was that they be found true witnesses. So the hands of the witnesses are the first against him to put him to death, and then afterward the hands of all the people.
So the community, in fact, was involved in the execution of justice or in righteousness. And then notice we have the function of the higher court. And we'll spend a little more time here and then a little more time with the principles governing kings.
The Higher Court's Function
Notice verses 8 to 13. Notice in the case of difficult issues, if there is a problem that cannot properly be determined in the lower court or at the city gates, there will be a central place, there will be a tribunal, there will be a supreme court, if you will, that is established in the land. Remember God's insistence on worship being conducted in that central sanctuary in Deuteronomy chapter 12. Well, here the same thing is emphasized.
But notice, verse 8, "...if a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of guilt for bloodshed..." That would be a difficult one, at times, at the local level, to rightly determine. The scripture makes it clear that there is a difference between murder, which includes malice of forethought, it includes premeditation. There is a difference, however, between murder and accidental manslaughter. The scripture gives the particular illustration that if a man is chopping wood and the axe head flies off and hits his neighbor in the head so that the neighbor dies, then the man is guilty not of murder, but rather of manslaughter.
And if that is the case, then he can go to the cities of refuge and there find safety from the slayer. But if the man lies in wait, if he hates his neighbor, he despises his neighbor, and he hides in his neighbor's closet so that when the neighbor comes home to hang up his coat, he's standing there with the axe and he buries it in his head, that is murder and therein the man is to be punished with death. So there would be those instances, degrees of bloodshed or degrees of guilt for bloodshed that might be difficult to determine at the lower level. And so this central tribunal functioned in such a way as to be able to deal with difficult cases, specific judgments or punishments.
It might be questioned, what is legit? What is righteous in terms of punishment for this particular person? It has to do with controversy within the gates. Somebody might think they weren't getting a fair shake at the local level, and so they would appeal to go to this higher court.
In sum, Harmon says the general principle is that if problem cases could not be solved satisfactorily at the local level, then they could be referred to a central tribunal, which met at the central sanctuary. So later it would be Jerusalem, to be sure. Up until that point, remember, they were a bit transient, but when Jerusalem is consolidated as the capital, it is there that the central tribunal functions. The type 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 there was deliberate intent to cause harm or even death.
So it functions similarly to what we have today. You can't get justice at the local level. If there's problems or there's difficulties, you take it to the next level. That's what's prescribed here.
And I think, brethren, we ought to appreciate what is going on in the book of Deuteronomy. We are not looking at a barbaric law code. We are looking at a highly developed law code. We are looking at something with built-in checks and balances.
We are looking at something that is destined and purposed to achieve justice and judgment. Again, because sinners are involved, it's not always foolproof. But the structure exists so that men who are guilty will be punished. But as well, the structure exists so that men who are innocent will be protected.
That's why these laws are in place.
New Testament Parallels to Deuteronomy
So much of the New Testament reflects this model as well. Not in the civil sphere so much as we read with reference to church life. Church life. What happens in the case of church discipline?
If someone sins against you, go to him. If your brother hears you and he repents, you have won your brother. If he refuses, what do you do? You take two or three witnesses.
Where do you think that concept came from? It comes right out of the book of Deuteronomy. When Paul says in 1 Timothy 5, verse 19, do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses, where do you think Paul got this number? Is it arbitrary?
Is it something that he cooked up in his head? No, he is taking this good principle of sound judgment and ethical determination and he brings it into the New Covenant Church. So what we are finding in our studies in the book of Deuteronomy is not a barbaric law code for a renegade nomadic people, but what we are finding is a highly developed code that has things to say to our current generation with reference to the way that we engage in these particular matters. So there are difficult cases.
They're brought to the central sanctuary. You shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses. I think the implication is that God is the supreme judge. He rules and reigns over this entire process.
Yes, there's priests. Yes, there's Levites. Yes, there's human judges that make up this tribunal, but it's at the place that the Lord your God chooses, and it indicates or is suggestive of the reality that He is in the midst of Israel, guiding with His wisdom and His Spirit the people and the proceedings therein. Now notice the verdict rendered at the Supreme Court level.
Remember, this is not an appeals court. This is the highest court in the land, and it's instructive for us to see what happens. 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.
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. There was to be obedience. There was to be careful obedience. In other words, when you were heard at the Supreme Court level, and they issued this verdict, and it was a guilty verdict, and they prescribed certain things, you didn't have the right to say, well, I just don't like that.
I just don't agree with that. I just feel that I got the short end of the stick. No, this is the final court in the land superimposed by God the Lord and this is His marching order. Verse 11, 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. This idea of turning to the right or turning to the left means deviating from the accepted course. If they say, go this way, you don't have the prerogative to take a right turn or to take a left turn. We'll see that the king must obey the law in the same sort of manner.
He doesn't have the prerogative to tailor it and to fit it to suit his particular needs. No, you are to be careful. Now notice in verse 12, 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 if you're found in contempt of court, if you reject the findings, if you reject the sentence, if you do not believe you got a fair shake and you challenge the authority of this central tribunal, then you shall die.
And again, what's the principle that we ought to appreciate in this particular situation? The Fifth Commandment matters. Authority in God's world matters. God is about authority.
If you want to be an anarchist, if you want to be a rugged individualist, if you want to be a maverick and go it alone, You do not have the sympathetic nod of God the Lord. He has given the fifth commandment, not just for parental and child authority. Remember on Sinai, the word was spoken to adults. The principle is rightful submission to lawful authority.
Romans 13 and Governing Authorities
This is Paul's point in Romans 13. verses 1 to 4, let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. So while there might be some differences in terms of our Supreme Court and their Supreme Court, the underlying principle is the same. You need to be submissive to the governing authorities. Insofar as they do not command you to sin against God, you are to offer up lawful obedience to sin.
So notice, that man shall die, so you shall put away the evil from Israel. And then in verse 13, there was to be a remedial effect upon all of Israel. And all the people shall hear and fear and no longer act presumptuously. We noticed this the other night.
There is a great deterrent effect when the law is properly executed, when there are sanctions, and they are attached, and there are punishments. We hear the objection that the death penalty never deters crime. I totally and absolutely disagree with that. It deters the criminal who is executed.
He'll never go out and molest, or rape, or abuse, or murder again. But the apostle indicates in Romans 13, 1 to 4, that there is a deterrent effect when the law is properly enforced. So I've already quoted verse 1, I'll get to verse 2. Therefore, whoever resists the authority, resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Now, I realize there's a lot of questions. What about wicked governments and about oppressive regimes and about all that godlessness that we face? That is a sermon for another time.
We're looking at the fundamental principles underlying what is going on in Deuteronomy 17 and illustrating the deterrent effect when crime is properly punished. I have some thoughts on those other things. God willing, another time we'll investigate that. But if you look here, rulers, verse 3, are not a terror to good works, but to evil.
I think the implication is evil works, not evil in your head. But if you flesh out that evil, if you engage in works that are ungodly, if you engage in lawlessness in society, then rulers are a terror to those evil works. He goes on in verse 3, do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good.
When that RCMP pulls up behind you and your heart is pounding and you're freaking out and you're shaking, just go the speed limit and you won't have to fear. Right? That's roughly the principle. You do what you're supposed to do, and you shouldn't have to worry about the police.
You shouldn't have to worry about judges. You shouldn't have to worry about criminal courts. You shouldn't have to lawyer up. Just do what you're supposed to do.
Again, I understand there's a myriad of difficulties and challenges with this idea, but I'm just looking at the specifics in Romans 13. This is Paul's argument. Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same." Notice in verse 4, "...for He has God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil..." Here it is.
Here's the deterrent. "...be afraid..." See, I would argue that there isn't a deterrent because punishment isn't consistently applied. Right? Ecclesiastes 11 says that, and we'll look at that in just a moment.
But Paul says, he is God's minister to you for good. If you do evil, be afraid, 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. If you do evil works in society, you ought to be afraid. Why?
Because the civil government is the avenger of God's wrath in history. He has been given the sword to execute God's vengeance upon you. You ought to be afraid. There ought to be a fear.
There ought to be a trepidation. You shouldn't go into a store and steal things. You shouldn't cheat on your taxes. You shouldn't engage in unlawful practices.
You ought to be afraid because the minister of God will execute vengeance upon you.
Deterrence and Swift Punishment
Ecclesiastes 8.11, I've already mentioned this or referred to this. Solomon puts the principle this way. 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. Just read that again.
Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. Because a man does something and he is not punished accordingly. He is not punished speedily. He is not dealt with promptly.
Therefore, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. With our attempt at rehabilitation, we are making these men harder. with our attempt to fix them, with our attempts to enhance them. We are only making it such that their hearts are more set to do evil. If we punish them, if there's retribution, that stops the ungodliness and the wickedness.
I think that's the idea behind Deuteronomy chapter 17. and verse 13, and all the people shall hear and fear and no longer act presumptuously.
Principles Governing Kings
So let's look at the principles governing kings. I guess I just assume everybody gets as excited about biblical law as I do. It's just beautiful. We, to our error and to our demise, think we know better than God.
God knows what's best. God has spoken. Notice the principles governing kings, verses 14 to 20.
The Request for a King
God acknowledges that they'll go into the land and they'll request a king. 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. Now, oftentimes we read Deuteronomy 17, 14 in light of 1 Samuel 8. Remember in 1 Samuel 8, the people say to Samuel, we want a king just like all the nations around us.
And so we take that idea from 1 Samuel 8, we look at Deuteronomy 17, 14, and we say, wait a minute, what's the deal? God is not saying it's a bad thing to go into the land, to ask for a king, and to be like the nations around them. In fact, in Genesis 17, the promise to Abraham that in him all the nations, all the families of the earth would be blessed, he says, from your loins kings shall rise up. When the promise is ratified to Jacob, we see the same thing.
From your loins kings will arise. So what's the difference between Deuteronomy 17 and 1 Samuel 8? If we compare 1 Samuel chapter 8 and specifically look at 1 Samuel 12, we will see the issue. Specifically, the issue is this.
It wasn't the request for a king. It wasn't even the request for a king so that we could be like the nations around us. It was a trust in the king over and above God. That's the point. 1 Samuel chapter 12 verses 6 to 12 indicates that in every issue, in every trial, in every difficulty, in every problem, God the Lord has delivered you.
Except when you saw Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, then you freaked out and said, we need a king to protect us. So you see the issue there wasn't the monarchy per se, it was a trust in the monarchy rather than in the god of the monarchy. Dale Ralph Davis says, 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.
It was that Psalm 146 thing that we read. Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth. In that very day, his plans perish.
The monarch functioned in a particular capacity, but he was not God. The nations surrounding Israel, their kings functioned as God. But within Israel, the king was to be servant of the Lord and ultimately servant of the people himself. So the request for a king isn't that.
But notice, they will request, but it is the Lord God who will choose. It is the Lord God who will indeed appoint. Verse 15, you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. Now this is something we discussed briefly on Wednesday night.
You keep flipping from Deuteronomy and what do you find? Some not so great kings, right? Remember there was that split in Israel that happened at the time of the son of Solomon? You had ten northern tribes and you had two southern tribes.
Throughout the existence of the northern kingdom, there was not one good king. Never. Do you find there was this king and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord? You don't find that.
They're closed down in the 8th century. They are judged. They are taken away by Assyria. Southern tribes, there are some kings that did what was right in the sight of the Lord.
You say, wait a minute, why in the world would God give the northern tribes Manasseh? Why in the world would God give the northern tribes Ahab? Why in the world would God give wicked kings to this people? Well, remember that God the Lord does all things well.
And while he may give a righteous people a righteous king, he may give a wicked people a wicked king. He may use that man as a scourge. He may use that man as a judgment. He may use or employ that man to cause the people to quit trusting in monarchy and to look to the high king of heaven himself.
So you see, God the Lord says that there is no authority except from Him. So in this instance, in verse 15, 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. So he must not be a foreigner over you, one who is not your brother. The principle is simple.
You're going to reign in Israel, you've got to be born in Israel. Right? You're going to reign in Canada, you've got to be born in Canada. You're going to serve in America?
You've got to be born in America. That's not outlandish. It's legit. You're not supposed to get a cracked political figure from Philistia and set him on the throne of Israel.
You're not supposed to get that ingenious leader of the Ammonites and install him on the throne. No, he must be one of your brethren. He must be an Israelite. He must be from among the tribes.
And of course, as we go through, we see how God does that in the history of the monarchy.
What the King Is Forbidden to Do
But then notice the specific instruction given for the king. Verses 16 and 17. What is he forbidden to do? He's not to multiply weapons, he's not to multiply wives, and he's not to multiply wealth.
Easy enough, right? You say, well, why would I want to be a king? Isn't that what being a king's all about? Now, of course, brethren, a king will have a standing army.
I mean, if the civil government, according to Romans 13, is equipped with the sword for the punishment of evildoers in society, I don't believe it's a stretch to say they ought to have a standing military to protect them from foreign invaders. But the principle is he is not to trust in horses. He is not to put his confidence in those things. He is not to put those above the God of Israel.
Yes, he'll have a standing army. but he is not to put his confidence in that standing army. That is the emphasis of verse 16. 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. So you mustn't trust ultimately in military strength.
You must trust ultimately in the God of Israel. But secondly, he's not to multiply wives. We see an instance of this in the life and the reign of Solomon. It's a very unfortunate case.
In 1 Kings 1-2, we see Solomon upon the throne. We see Solomon start to implement policy. We see Solomon start to deal with his enemies. And in 1 Kings 3-3, it says that Solomon loved Yahweh.
And then we get to 1 Kings 11, and it says that Solomon loved his wives. What happened with those wives? They took his heart from God. Probably the multiplication of wives here, yes, for carnal reasons, but as well for political alliance.
If I marry this particular woman, it will put me in a good posture with this particular group. Do not multiply wives to get political gain. Do not multiply wives to get political leverage. And certainly do not multiply wives because they're going to lead your heart from the living and true God.
So you see, the king is prohibited from multiplying military warfare. Again, not none. He's prohibited from multiplying wives and he is prohibited from gathering wealth to himself. He's going to have wealth.
Remember when the Queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon? She didn't walk into a hut. She didn't walk into a havel. She didn't walk into a one-bedroom flat.
She was amazed and dazzled at the royalty. So the idea that a king has no money is not to be found in the text, but notice, neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. He will certainly have some of that, but when he greatly multiplies it, and it's for himself, in sum, what is being prohibited is seeking your own advantage based on these particular means and not from God Most High.
The King's Primary Orientation
Now notice verses 18 to 20, the primary orientation of the king. And this is where we come to a close. Please don't do that. Let's just pay attention here.
Notice verses 18 to 20. First things first. What is the king supposed to do when he sits upon his throne? There are certain important duties that a king has, to be sure.
He needs to appoint his cabinet. He needs to execute his enemies. Well, not always execute. He can possibly just remove them.
Remember when David took the throne? Benaiah goes out and he starts swinging swords and cutting off heads. Solomon, same thing, when he sits upon the throne, they start dealing with the enemies. That's not the first order of business for the king in Israel.
Notice in 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. Could be the whole Pentateuch or it could be specifically the book of Deuteronomy. Either way, He is to take his own hand, his own pen, and he is to write out in detail a copy of the law. He is then to take that copy of the law, and he's supposed to put it in his breast pocket, or in his back pocket, or in whatever pocket he might have had.
And he is to take that law out and he is to scrutinize it. He is to examine it. He is to search it. He is to realize that he functions subordinate to that law.
You see, he is not the final authority in Israel. God is the final authority. This man operates under the law of the Lord his God. 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." What principle can we possibly extrapolate from a statement like this?
Well, simply this, that the highest functionary political leader in a commonwealth is still subordinate to the final authority of the written constitution, or whatever the case may be. He is not a law unto himself. He is not the maverick. He does not govern or rule in a willy-nilly fashion, but rather he is a man submissive to a final authority.
So the king, when he occupies his throne, He writes a copy of the law, he carries the law with him, and he shall read the law all the days of his life. It is a beautiful statement. Notice in verse 19, it shall be with him, and 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. Christopher Wright says, as is so often the case, Deuteronomy mentions only what matters.
In this case, it avoids the small print of an exhaustive job description for royalty and concentrates on the fundamental priority. That's what men are supposed to do. They're supposed to enforce the law of the land. They're not supposed to serve themselves.
They're not supposed to multiply horses and wives and wealth so that they can be exalted. They are to function under God's authority, under God's rule. He says, the law is to permeate the king's behavior in every sphere, whether political, administrative, judicial, or military. He shall prosper as a result of his obedience to the law.
Notice verse 20, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren. It's a tough one to square. Know that we've seen political leaders who function in this capacity, where they seek really to be servants, where they seek really to humbly serve, where they seek legitimately to exercise the God-given authority entrusted to them in a responsible and diligent and righteous manner. That was supposed to be the way the monarchy functioned in Israel.
It is amazing. 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 reference to he and his children doesn't just mean that he'll have a happy family life in the land. No, if the king obeys, if the king is upright, if the king is faithful, he will secure the throne for his children. There will be successive generations serving from that particular family.
And thus, the principles governing the kings of Israel.
Joshua, David, and the Law
When we get to the instruction, or when we get to the end of Deuteronomy, we open the book of Joshua. And while Joshua is not a king, Joshua is more the military commander. What does God say to him? What's the key to success for Joshua?
What's the key to prosperity for Joshua? Horses? Wives? Wealth?
No, you shall study this law. You shall put your nose in this book. You shall let its precepts, its judgments, its ordinances, its statutes so permeate your soul, your mind, and your heart that then you will be prosperous and then you will secure success. The passage in Deuteronomy 17, the principles governing kings are best exemplified by David, king of Israel.
David wrote Psalm 1. Remember? What does he do? What does the righteous man do?
He meditates upon the law day and night. Well, this was in David's job description. This was what made David happy. David pens Psalm 19, a tribute to the law of God.
David, more than likely, though it's not ascripted to him, ascribed to him, probably pens Psalm 119. What is Psalm 119 but a celebration of the law of God? David exemplifies what we find in this particular section of Scripture. David wasn't perfect.
David had his issues. David sinned. But David's commitment to the law of the Lord is that which secured the testimony, he is a man after my own heart. You see, the commitment to the Word of God is what is in the focus here.
As well, the passage is ignored by other kings. How would the history of Israel look if the kings actually obeyed this command? What happens? There are times when it's as if there is no law whatsoever.
Remember in about 640 to 609, there was a man by the name of Josiah that reigned as king in Judah. They went to renovate the temple, and while Hilkiah was in the temple, he found something. He found the law. And he brings it to Josiah, and what does Josiah do?
He rends his garments and he humbles himself under God. This law that we are supposed to operate according to has now been found? The history of Israel would have been markedly different if the kings in Israel actually took seriously this particular command. We notice as well the primacy of God's law.
That was to be his orientation. Christopher Wright again says, it is a model, this model of submission to the authority of God and His written law. 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."
The Ideal King and His Gospel
And then finally, we need to understand the ideal king and his gospel. It's an interesting statement, 1 Chronicles 29. When Solomon sits upon the throne, you know how it describes that throne? He sat upon the throne of the Lord.
Yahweh's throne was in Jerusalem. Solomon sits on it to execute justice and judgment within Israel. These men were types. These men looked forward.
These men pointed forward to the ideal king. Pastor Kim read Psalm 2 this morning. What we find there is a description of the ideal king, the one that the king of Israel was to typify. Psalm 2 speaks of this one who says, I will declare the decree.
The Lord has said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron.
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel." This is the ideal king. This is the one that Deuteronomy 17 ultimately shines forth to. Dale Ralph Davis describes this section this way. He says, the appointed king with worldwide sway to be established an overwhelming force.
That is the decree that is controlling history. And this ideal king has a gospel. And that's how this particular psalm ends. Notice verse 10.
Now therefore be wise, O kings, be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the sun. What is that but a gospel plea?
David, king of Israel, the typical king, pointing forward to this glorious king, says to the judges and the kings around Israel, he tells them to be wise, he tells them to be instructed, he says, serve Yahweh with fear, rejoice with trembling, and he says, kiss the sun, do homage to the sun, bow down to the sun, believe on the sun. lest he be angry and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. The psalm ends with a command, blessed are all those who put their trust in him. And that is, I'm sorry, the command is, kiss the son. The argument is, and you perish in his way.
And the benediction is, blessed are all those who put their trust in him. So Deuteronomy 17 prescribes the rules or the principles governing kings. We see a miserable failure on the part of Israel, but ultimately one assumes the throne. One sits upon the throne of David at his resurrection, at his ascension on high, and he rules and he reigns, and he always lives to make intercession for his people.
So brethren, please look at Deuteronomy and see in it the wisdom of God Most High, his interest in things concerning men in this lower world, his specific procedure in dealing with those particulars, and see how all of this ultimately finds its glorious fulfillment in the person and in the Word. of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this section in Deuteronomy 17. We thank you that you've given us your truth. And God, give us the mind, give us the heart to imitate something of these kings, to take the law, to write it, to study it, to search it, to carry it with us, to know your word and to know how it speaks to issues concerning our lives.
We thank you that you've not left us alone in this world. We thank you that you've given us the truth of Holy Scripture. We thank you for the ministry of your spirit. And we pray that you would go with us now, watch over your people, cause your face to shine upon us in this coming week.
And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord,