"When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,' you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, 'You shall never again return that way.' He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself." -Deuteronomy 17.14-17
In the book of 1 Samuel the people get to the point where they want a king to rule over them. At that time God warns them of what a king will do and be like, and tells Israel that they do not need a king because He is their King. The people refuse to listen and so God appoints for them a king. Here in Deuteronomy 17 God lays out some guidelines for a king to follow.
The king Israel appoints is to be one of their own, and chosen by God. He is not to use the position to acquire wealth and possession. He is not to take multiple wives, not even to secure treaties with other nations. With these instructions we can learn a few things about God's intention for a king.
Primarily, being king is about serving the people you lead, not the other way around. A king is not to oppress his subjects to make his own life comfortable, but rather subject himself to them, doing whatever he can to better their lives. A foreigner doesn't care about people they aren't part of.
Because a king's primary purpose is to serve others, he is not to use his position to increase his wealth or his possessions. He is not to compromise the security, or freedom, of his people to advance himself. His role is to protect his people, not his rule. His focus is not to be on bettering his own life, but the lives of his people.
A king is not to take the easy way out. The simplest way to secure a friendship with a foreign nation was to marry a relative of another king. But in doing this it welcomed pagan influence into the home of the king. A king is to trust God and lead his people in trusting God. He is to provide for the security of his nation by protecting his integrity and the worship of God.
Look over the past few centuries, how many kings/presidents/leaders like that have their been?
Men, what kind of king are you? last year in the study of The Way of the Wild Heart we looked at the stage of king that every man is born to play, and as we've stated here, a king is in place to serve those he leads. Are you using your position to better the lives of those who are leading? Or have you taken advantage of your position to better your own life?
All men have been chosen by God to be kings in some capacity. Let us strive to be good kings who serve the people.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
No comments:
Post a Comment