Rules for Rulers (Deuteronomy 17: 14-20)

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Episode Notes: "Rules For Rulers" (Deuteronomy 17:14-20)

Episode Overview:

• Exploration of guidelines for rulers as outlined in Deuteronomy 17:14-20.
• Discussion on the relevance of these ancient rules to contemporary leadership in civic and corporate life.

Introduction:

• Pose the question: If you could establish rules for rulers, what would they be?
• Suggest basic principles such as:
  • "Do your duty"
  • "Obey the laws"
  • "Treat people fairly"
  • "Don’t cheat or steal"

Contextual Background:

• Reference to Deuteronomy, where Moses provides future kings with a set of do's and don'ts.
• Emphasis on the anticipation of Israel wanting a king once settled in the land.

Key Themes:

1. The King Must Be Chosen by God:
   • Emphasize that rulers should not be foreign but should come from among the people.
   • God's involvement in the selection process.
2. Prohibitions for Kings:
   • Do Not Multiply Horses:
     • Reliance on military strength vs. dependence on God.
     • Connection to Egypt as a source of horses—a reminder of past slavery.
   • Do Not Multiply Wives:
     • Avoiding political alliances that could distract from devotion to God (e.g., Solomon's downfall).
   • Do Not Accumulate Wealth:
     • Maintaining dependence on God rather than becoming greedy or self-sufficient.
3. Positive Directives for Kings:
   • Write and Read the Law:
     • A personal engagement with the law to cultivate reverence for God.
   • Stay Humble and Obedient:
     • Importance of humility and servitude rather than tyranny.

Conclusion:

• Summary of the five key points for rulers:
  1. No large military organization (horses).
  2. No multiple wives.
  3. No excessive wealth.
  4. Write a copy of the law.
  5. Read the law daily.
• Application to contemporary life:
  • Importance of daily engagement with Scripture.
  • The role of believers and leaders in applying biblical principles in governance.

Call to Action:

• Encourage listeners to engage with the Word of God daily.
• Highlight the potential impact of biblical principles on society and leadership today.

Transcript

Rules For Rulers.  (Deuteronomy 17:14-20)

 Transcript 

If you could establish rules for rulers, would you do it? Imagine you were on a committee, and the committee job to come up with a set of rules for anyone who was in charge, rules from a national level down to regional level, to local level, both in civic and in corporate life.

Clearly leaders need to rule but what should the rules be? 

Well, I'm not sure it would be very difficult. How about saying something basic things like, do your duty, follow the code. Or "Obey the laws"? How about, "Treat people fairly"? And I think I might add something like, "Don't cheat or steal to the list."

How is your local and national govt is doing at the moment in this regard?

I wonder if we just applied those rules how it would affect people in positions of authority from top to bottom—political and otherwise. 

The reason I bring this up is that there is a passage of scripture in Deuteronomy where the whole point is about guidelines for rulers. In this case, they call them kings, and Moses gives future kings a set of do's and don'ts.

So day we are going to think this all applies to our current Kings, Queens, Presidents or Prime Ministers. Welcome TBPDP….

Rules for Kings, "How in the world does that relate to me? I'm not a king, I am not a ruler, and I'm not even on a committee to establish rules for anything n, never mind rulers.

You might think I don’t even live in a country with a king. So, what does that have to do with me?"

Well, as we go through this, you will see that it has everything to do with us. These principles are universal, and that why we are going to look at them today.

In the first part of todays passage, Moses first tells us what the requirements of a ruler are not.

By that, I mean there are certain things the ruler must not do. Then, in the latter part of the passage, he gives a couple of things the ruler is to do. The outline or structure of this passage is rather simple, but the content is what makes it interesting.

Let's begin with verse 14. He says:

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite.

(Deuteronomy 17: 14-15)

Alright, the first thing you should not do is not choose a foreigner to be your king.

The children of Israel are told if they select a King, they must select a king from among those that God will choose. So, God is involved in the process, and so are they. 

What's even more interesting is that it tells us they are not in the land yet—they are in a sort a waiting period. When they get in the land, settle down, and see that all the other nations have a king, then they will want a king. 

It's interesting because it was not apparently God's original intent for Israel to have a king. But He says it's going to happen—when you get into the land, you will desire a king.  So this means this is about 400 years before that actually happened.

So, in this passage, the Lord is anticipating what Israel is going to do. 

Sure enough, they get into the land, and they conquer it under Joshua, then they entered a period of the judges, which lasts for several hundred years. After the end of that period of judges, they decide they wanted a king. 

When Moses was leading the people, he and the priest were the leaders. But after that will come the period of the judges.

In the Book of Judges, the judges led the people, but the book records the failure of the people and the leaders, again and again. In fact, the Book of Judges says that during that time….

“Every man did what was right in his own eyes because there was no king in Israel.”

So, everybody dismally failed during that period.

Then after this appalling period in their history Israel could no longer tolerate the unique position of being without a king and they ask for and receive a king. 

Deuteronomy Ch 17 in  forethought speaks of the king’s qualifications, his behavior, and his education. 

The king was to have two qualifications: 

First, he had to be chosen by the Lord. Later history made it clear that the prophets, speaking on behalf of the Lord, would declare His choice. The people could be sure that God would place no one on the throne whom He had not gifted. Therefore, if a king failed, the reason for his failure would not lie in his lack of ability, because Gods choice demonstrated that, therefore the  failure would be in his moral life. 

Second, the king must be an Israelite. An Israelite, raised from childhood in the tradition of the Scriptures of Israel, would be a far better choice than a foreigner and would also protect the purity of Israel’s religion.

This simply says the Lord is going to choose the person, and don’t choose a foreigner. What this validly points out is that there are moral ramifications and this was so they would protect and keep pure Israel’s religion.

Now, are there ramifications for why you should choose an Israelite and not a foreigner? You have to dig deeper into the passage to find that out. But at this point, we're talking about the qualifications for a ruler—in this case, a king—and so far these are the things you are not to do: not appoint a foreigner.

But there is more, look at verse 16:

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.

(Deuteronomy 17: 16)

Why would he say you shouldn’t multiply horses, of all things? Well, as you can imagine, this had to do with an army. In those days, armys had horses in fact a mounted military force was the best way for a people to protect themselves.

So they were not to depend on the normal natural military means for victory over their foes, the point being is that they were to depend on the Lord for their protection.

As someone who pointed the multiplication of horses would inevitably lead to increase the dealings economically with the foreign nations around them, and in the case of horses especially with Egypt. 

An obedient Israelite king was to depend not on military strength but on the Lord alone.

He had already demonstrated His ability to crush a large, superior chariot force, as seen in Exodus 14 and 15. Acquiring horses would mean that the people would go to Egypt, where many were available, returning to the nation's former land of slavery—an unthinkable act. 

This prohibition wasn't merely logistical; it had deep spiritual and moral implications.

The text also prohibits the king from having multiple wives, as seen in verse 17

He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

While it might include a stance against polygamy, it more likely in the context here to be addressing the issue of making political alliances through marriages. Thus, depending on human strategies instead of the Lord. This was the very issue led to Solomon's downfall, as his many wives turned his heart away from the Lord.

Verse 17 also states: "he mustn’t get greedy for material wealth.

This was intended to prevent the king from developing a sense of independence and material lust. By refraining from accumulating excessive wealth, the king would remain dependent on the Lord. Ignoring these commands had dire consequences.

This passage anticipates that when the Israelites enter the land and observe other nations with kings, they will desire a king themselves. However, God emphasizes that they must choose the king, using prophets. 

The real issue here was the people's motive behind their request for a king—they were turning away from their true King, the Lord, in favour of a human monarch.

The principles in this passage resonate with the message in 1 John 2: 

"Do not love the world or the things of the world. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." 

These temptations distract believers from focusing on the Lord. 

Many believers today still get sidetracked by these worldly desires, whether it's accumulating wealth, seeking pleasure, or striving for power.

These rules for rulers have broader applications for all believers. They remind us to keep our focus on the Lord and avoid the distractions of worldly pursuits.

As Moses outlined negative prohibitions here, he also provides positive directives for leaders, which he begins to explore in verse 18, onwards.

When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests.

(Deuteronomy 17: 18)

This implies he was to create a personal copy of the Mosaic Law. 

Essentially, the king’s education consisted of copying, reading, and carefully following the law. This practice would ensure a proper focus and attitude on the part of the king.

This would protect the king form gradually falling away from the Lord.

That's also the point made in the Parable of the Sower. Some people become a Christian and blast of like a rocket, then burn up on re-entry when they come back down to earth. Other continue to grow steadily as they build on their early immature underdeveloped faith. I've witnessed both cases many times in my life.

I believe are modern day equivalent of applying the principle taught here today, is to simple do what we are doing here now. Studying the bible every day. That practice I believe is the single most important thing you can do to profoundly impacted your spiritual growth.

The king was to write, read, and obey the law daily. The purpose was not merely to gain knowledge but to cultivate a deep reverence for God and a commitment to His commandments. 

Regularly engaging with the Scripture would ensure that the king would know and obey God's law.

As Joshua will very soon say when opening his account.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth.

(Joshua 1: 8)

“he king would talk about it, and in doing so, he would become a model for the people.

Verse 20 continues:

It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

(Deuteronomy 17: 19-20)

The intent is to keep the king humble, obedient to God's commandments, and to ensure his longevity as a ruler.

Remarkably, nowhere in the Old Testament is the king represented as a lawmaker. Unlike other nations where kings were considered gods and made their own laws, Israel’s king was to obey God's law. 

Moses here turned the conventional notion of kingship on its head. The king was not a god but a servant of God, tasked with focusing on the Lord and modelling obedience for the people thereby avoiding the risk of him becoming a dictator or tyrant.

The king's primarily role was to write, read, and obey the law daily, serving as a humble, God-fearing example for his people. This not only ensured his righteousness but also reinforced the divine hierarchy where God is the ultimate lawgiver and the king His obedient servant. 

What I want to do now is sum up this passage and remind you again of the five key points from this passage in the revealed role of any potential future king.

Firstly, the king must not build up a large military organization by multiplying horses. This would lead to a false sense of security and power. Egypt there former slave-masters was a major horse supplier in the ancient Near East, and horses were the main military machines of the day.

Secondly, he was not to multiply wives since these women would tend to turn his heart away from devotion to and concentration on the Lord. Moreover, the Lord's standard for marriage was always monogamy.

Thirdly, he was not to amass large personal fortunes, accumulating gold and silver. This was to prevent the king from developing a false sense of security and divided allegiance.

Fourthly, the king was to transcribe a copy of the law personally. This practice would encourage his thoughts and mental interaction with the Lord. 

Finally, fifth, he was to read the law throughout his lifetime, as the text says, "all the days of his life." Constant reading and studying of the law would lead to two outcomes: he would get to know the Lord personally and thus be in awe of Him, and he would be able to obey the Lord’s will.

I’ve chosen to divide this passage into two parts: what not to do and what to do. The prohibitions are straightforward: do not appoint a foreigner as king, do not multiply horses, do not multiply wives, and do not multiply gold and silver. 

The positive command is also clear: read the Scripture every day to obey it.

These commands serve a purpose: to avoid a despotic rule and ensure the king’s dependence on the Lord. The king was to have undivided allegiance to the Lord and be a model Israelite, a reflection of how every Israelite should live.

So, how does this apply to us? 

We probably don’t have horses, multiple wives, or piles of gold and silver in our backyards. But the principle remains: we need to study the Word of God every day. 

The key lesson here is the importance of Scripture in our lives. If you want to grow spiritually and guard yourself against the temptations of power, pleasure, and possessions, you need to be in the Word.

This passage teaches us that both rulers and the ruled must daily engage with Scripture. How many do that, how many ministers of religion even do that these days.

Well, you my friend are doing it by being here today.

There are a great many problems before the people of our nations today. But I believe are leaders could find many solutions to these problems just by being faithful in their study of the Word of God.

I also believe that if were simply to abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our countries would prosper. But if we neglect its instruction and authority, no one can tell how suddenly a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury our previous glories in obscurity.

Living in a democratic society these days means maybe it too much to expect the government to make the Bible its official guidebook. However, it would greatly benefit our nations if just the professed Christians and churches focused on preaching, teaching, and obeying the Word of God, as revealed in the Bible.

That’s what you can do, and that’s not a bad place to start.