The success and posterity of a king is based on 3 things he should not do. Let’s discover these 3 things as we look at Deuteronomy 17:14-20
the tools we would use for this study are
- Who, What, When, Where, and How tool
- What does it mean?
- How does it apply to me today?
So let’s dig in and turn the bible to Deuteronomy 17:14-20
Who, What, When, Where, and How tool
Using the who, what and how tool,
God has predicted there would come a time when the nation of Israel would ask for a king to rule over them.
This section of the law is for every king in Israel, and the law is;
- The king shall not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more horses.
- The king shall not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.
- The king shall not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
- The king shall write for himself a copy of this law
- The king shall read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to reverence God and obey all the words of this law
What does it mean?
While we look at what this all means, we would parallel it with one of the kings of Israel Solomon.
Horses.
- The king shall not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more horses
If we read 1kings 4, we see that king Solomon gathered and bred horses for his kingdom. He even got some from Egypt. This was a direct disregard to the commands given to kings.
But why? Horses and chariots are used to measure military might in those times. The gathering of horses is to show the military might of a king and his nation. It is to ward off enemies and an assurance of security. God wanted the kings in Israel not to put their security or trust in horses. Their 1st strategic plan is to trust God. It was for the king to look to God for the strength of the army and not to horses.
It shifted his focus from God to the number of horses acquired for self protection.
Wives. The king shall not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.
The kings of Israel were not to marry many wives as they will turn the kings’ heart away from God. Kings married many wives and foreign royal women to build allegiance. But why do they need allegiances? It creates a form of security. An agreement of peace between the two nations. Again it is looking to flesh rather than God for security.
We see in 1 Kings 11:3
And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
Solomon took many foreign wives and thy influenced him in the worship of idols
gold and silver
The 3rd thing the kings of Israel were commanded not to do was the accumulation of gold and silver. Gold and silver are not bad in themselves. It’s just most often those that have excess of it are sometimes owned by the said gold or silver. Do they own the wealth or does the wealth own them?
King Solomon attributed his wisdom and wealth to the works of his hand while in 1kings 3: we see God bless Solomon with the wisdom and wealth.
If not careful one can begin to look to one’s selves as the source of wealth instead of God.
How does it apply to me today?
Revelation 1: 6: says
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen
We are kings and priests to the Lord God. So these laws for kings should be paid attention to.
To whom do we look for security?Is it in technology, countries, human wisdom? Or is it in God? Psalms 127:1b unless the LORD keeps the city, the watchmen watch in vain.
Where does our security lie?
How are you as a king influenced by the things and people around you? King Solomon surrounded himself with people that influenced him to turn away from God. So who are the people in your circle? Do they encourage or challenge you in your walk with God or do they lead you away from God?
Solomon was not led away from God in one day, it was something that happened over time, gradually. If we were to ask Solomon, when he just made king over Israel and God gave him wisdom and wealth, would he worship idols? His answer would have probably been a capital NO. But many years after that is exactly what he did.
Who are those, media, entertainment, text and people we surround ourselves with?
Wealth Proverbs 30:9
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
Wealth in itself is not bad. But if the wealth shifts one’s focus from God as the supplier of the wealth, that is when trouble starts. We see this in the life of Solomon. As God blesses us, we should never think it is by our hands that we have acquired wealth by ourselves. As 1 Corinthian 3: 7
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
In order to help the kings of Israel obey these shall not laws, God gave them a guide. A shall do. Which applicable to us as we are kings and priests to the Lord.
They are:
The king shall write for himself a copy of this law. This ensures the king knows the scriptures for themselves. We too as kings should possess a copy of the Holy Bible and know what is written in it.
The king shall read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to revere God and obey all the words of this law – For us to read the bible daily and observe it. In James 1:23-25 it says
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
The king does not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites – For us not to look down on others. We should not create a false sense of self-importance.
Romans 12: 3 says
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
If kings obey the shall of these laws God has given especially for kings it would help obey the shall not thereby bringing them success and posterity. Are you a king?
I hope you have been blessed by this study.