Deuteronomy 17:14-20: a reflection

14When you have come to the land which the LORD your God gives 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,” 15you shall surely set him whom the LORD your God chooses as king over yourselves. You shall set as king over you one from among your brothers. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; because the LORD has said to you, “You shall not go back that way again.” 17He shall not multiply wives to himself, that his heart not turn away. He shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 18It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write himself a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the Levitical priests. 19It shall be with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them; 20that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he not turn away from the commandment to the right hand, or to the left, to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the middle of Israel.

When God gives instructions for a future king, they are remarkable for how they restrain him rather than exalting him. The king is not to multiply horses, wives, or gold; and above all, he is to write for himself a copy of God's law and read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD, and that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers. Even the king, the highest in the land, was to remain under God's word, reading it daily, kept humble, his heart not lifted above his brothers. The high position did not exempt him from humility and submission to God.

Notice how the king was kept humble and under God's word. He was not to amass horses and wives and gold, the trappings of grandeur; and he was to read God's law all his life, so that his heart would not be lifted up above his brothers. The point was humility: even the king, at the top, was to stay under God's word, to fear the LORD, to regard himself not as above his brothers but as one of them, subject like them to God. His authority did not lift him above humility or above God's word; it placed him, if anything, more firmly under them. High position was to be held humbly, under God.

That is worth taking to heart, for whatever authority or high position we hold, we are to hold it humbly, under God's word. Authority and high position can lift up the heart, tempting us to think ourselves above others, above the ordinary rules, above submission; but the king was to read God's word daily precisely so his heart would not be lifted up above his brothers. High position is to be held humbly, under God, not as license to exalt ourselves. If you hold authority or a high position, do not let it lift up your heart above others or above God's word; hold it humbly, under God, as the king was to read the law daily lest his heart be lifted up. Hold whatever authority or high position you have humbly, staying under God's word and not lifting your heart above others, as the king was to read God's law all his days lest his heart be lifted above his brothers; for high position is no exemption from humility, and even the greatest are to remain under God and his word.

Lord, when you give instructions for a future king, they are remarkable for how they restrain him rather than exalting him. The king is not to multiply horses, wives, or gold; and above all, he is to write for himself a copy of your law and read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear you, and that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers. Even the king, the highest in the land, was to remain under your word, reading it daily, kept humble. Show me how the king was kept humble and under your word. He was not to amass the trappings of grandeur; and he was to read your law all his life, so that his heart would not be lifted up above his brothers. The point was humility: even the king was to stay under your word, to fear you, to regard himself not as above his brothers but as one of them. His authority did not lift him above humility or above your word; it placed him more firmly under them. Take that to my heart, for whatever authority or high position I hold, I am to hold it humbly, under your word. Authority and high position can lift up the heart, tempting me to think myself above others, above the ordinary rules, above submission; but the king was to read your word daily precisely so his heart would not be lifted up. If I hold authority or a high position, keep me from letting it lift up my heart above others or above your word; help me hold it humbly, under you, Lord, as the king was to read the law daily lest his heart be lifted up.