"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." (vv.1417)
I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me: Here God looked forward – some 400 years forward – into Israel’s future, to the time when they would demand a king. God warned them to set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, and that person had to be an Israelite and not a foreigner.
I will set a king over me: It is interesting to consider whether or not God wanted an earthly king over Israel. 1 Samuel 8:6-9, the record of Israel’s demand for king, puts the request for a king in a negative light. One might ask if God really did want Israel to never have an earthly king, and if He wanted them to recognize Him alone as king. It is a debatable issue; but consider that Israel’s history without a king (the time of the book of Judges) was not a period of national glory. Perhaps we can say that God wanted Israel to have a king, but of His choosing, and at His timing. Saul is a perfect example of a king out of God’s will, chosen by the nation and at their timing; and David is a perfect example of a king chosen by God and in His timing.
However, it is very clear what the future kings (which God knew would exist) were not to do. He shall not multiply horses for himself: The future king of Israel must not put undue trust in military might. Neither shall he multiply wives for himself: The future king of Israel must not put undue emphasis on physical indulgence and personal status. Nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself: The future king of Israel must not put undue emphasis on personal wealth. Lest His heart turn away: Each of these issues is a matter of balance. The king had to have some military power, but not too much; one wife and certain comforts, but not too much; some personal wealth, but not too much. Such balances are often the hardest to keep.
Solomon was a notorious breaker of these commands. He had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots (1 Kings 4:26), and Solomon had horses imported from Egypt (1 Kings 10:28). He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart (1 Kings 11:3). He surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches (1 Kings 10:23). He knew the commands of Deuteronomy 17, but he was self deceived into thinking he could handle it, which did not work out to well in the end, “all is folly.”
Each of these three areas reflects the places where many modern Christian leaders fall: In regard to power, pleasure, or money. God’s commands for leaders have not changed; and neither has the need to be on guard against the self-deception in these things which felled Solomon. Staying in the word of God would have kept the king properly humble and helped him to not think of himself as above God’s Laws.
As Christians we would save ourselves much of the same deception by staying in His Word daily.
The Truth: "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee." (Psalm 119:11)
