Here is a unique feature of the law of God in the Bible. In every other ancient Near Eastern nation there were laws, and, in some cases, they bear similarities to the biblical law. But in other law codes the king (who is often the one that is said to have received the law from the deity) is the lawgiver and is always above the law. But we see here in Deuteronomy 17 that the king more than anyone was accountable to the law and there were even specific laws that applied to him aside from everyone else. It is hard to read this list of stipulations for kings in this chapter and not think of Solomon who transgressed so many of them. Solomon began well but soon became obsessed with wealth, power and success. Many of his policies went against these laws, but, at the time, his policies seemed to be working well as the nation grew ever more prosperous. How could it be wrong? It is not up to us to work out what is right and wrong. Only God sees the bigger picture and there was a reason why God limited the king as he does here in Deuteronomy 17. In the end, Solomon’s kingdom would implode and be split in two. He should have taken God at his word. And so should we, always.
Think about where you might be pushing the boundaries of what God says is right and wrong for you.
Read Deuteronomy 17
