“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself…must not take many wives for himself…must not accumulate large amounts of wealth…for himself…he must copy for himself this body of instruction…He must always keep that copy with him and (must) read it daily…That way he will learn to fear the Lord…This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud…It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way…”
Deuteronomy 17:16-20
God shifted the concept of what it means to live like a king when He made the king responsible for himself. Instead of the king giving the orders, God gave the king commands to obey.
The three must not commands struck at the very core of a man: Horses…a matter of where he put his trust. Wives…a matter of who stole his heart. Wealth…a matter of what made him proud.
The three must commands all had to do with God’s Word…copy it, keep it, and read it. And even though the king had power to command everything else to be done FOR him, when it came to relationship with God, HE was responsible to act for himself!
As always, God had a purpose for these commands. In fact, every must not command could be overcome by heeding the must commands for God’ Word. Instead of trusting horses, the king would learn to trust and obey God. The Word would prevent his heart from being turned away by women and prevent pride in his wealth. In fact, obeying the Word would secure real wealth…his descendants ruling for generations! (v. 20)
Daily life in the Word is a must for me as well.
And if I devour the Word for myself, I too will live like a king!
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