Key Verses: Deuteronomy 17:15, 17:18, 17:19
Moses gives laws for the administration of justice and leadership. Idolaters are to be judged carefully on the evidence of witnesses. Difficult legal cases are to be brought to the priests and the judge at the central sanctuary, whose decision is binding. Then, anticipating the day Israel will want a king “like all the nations,” Moses lays down the law of the king: he must be one whom the LORD chooses, an Israelite, not accumulating horses, wives, or wealth for himself, and — most strikingly — he must write out a copy of the law for himself and read it all the days of his life, “that he may learn to fear the LORD his God... that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers.”
The provisions for a supreme court and for kingship reveal God’s concern for ordered, righteous governance among His people. Most remarkable is the law of the king, which subordinates the monarch to God’s word: unlike the absolute god-kings of the surrounding nations, Israel’s king is to be a humble student of the law, ruling under God rather than over the people as a tyrant. The requirement that he personally copy and daily read the Torah makes him first among the obedient, guarding against pride and self-exaltation. This portrait of a law-shaped, humble king that Israel’s monarchs so often failed to embody points forward to the true King, Jesus, who perfectly delighted in and fulfilled the law of God and rules His people in righteousness.
Key Terms & Words:
- מֶלֶךְ (melek) - Deuteronomy 17:15 - “King”; the ruler God will choose, subject to His law
- מִשְׁנֵה הַתּוֹרָה (mishneh hattorah) - Deuteronomy 17:18 - “A copy of this law”; written out by the king
- לְבִלְתִּי רוּם־לְבָבוֹ (levilti rum-levavo) - Deuteronomy 17:20 - “That his heart not be lifted up”; humility before his brothers
Cross-References:
- 1 Samuel 8:4-20 - Israel’s later demand for a king “like all the nations”
- 1 Kings 10:14-11:8 - Solomon violating the law of the king
- Deuteronomy 17:19 - The king reading the law all his days
- John 18:36-37 - Jesus, the true King, whose kingdom is not of this world
Discussion Questions:
- How does the law of the king differ from the kingship of the surrounding nations?
- Why must the king personally write out and daily read the law?
- How does this portrait of a humble, law-shaped king point to Christ?