Requirements For Any Future King (Deuteronomy 17:14-20).
Having been speaking of ‘the Judge' who would have authority over Israel took, and being very much aware of the people's weaknesses and willingness to follow anyone who offered them what they wanted (to look after them and fight their battles for them) Moses' thoughts turned back to the promises of Genesis. There God had said that one day kings would be established who would be descended from Abraham (Genesis 17:6; Genesis 17:16; Genesis 36:31; Genesis 35:11; compare also Exodus 19:6 where a kingdom of priests is mentioned which requires a king), so that he recognised that one day it was inevitable.
He also knew of Jacob's prophecy concerning such a royal personage who would arise from Judah (Genesis 49:10), the coming of ‘Shiloh', and he would have recently been further informed of the words of Balaam in Numbers 24:17 about ‘the sceptre that shall arise out of Israel'. None of this would have escaped his notice as he sought to prepare for the huge event that was about to come. He would have been negligent if it had. And we can understand why he was fearful that such a king, when he arose, would in seeking to promote himself, look to Egypt, the one great earthly power of whom he was most aware. And would not be reliable as a Judge. The one thing therefore that he would want them to avoid was ‘a king like the nations'.
At the time Moses was Israel's ‘Judge' (Deuteronomy 1:17 b) with full powers of ‘kingship' under Yahweh, and he knew that he would shortly be appointing Joshua to have similar supreme authority. He had lived in the light of the revelations of Yahweh and the records of the fathers of old, and he expected Joshua to do the same. And he knew that always over Israel was Yahweh as Great King and Overlord Who had proved His supremity even over the Pharaoh.
But once established in the land he must have recognised that it was very likely that, once Joshua had died and time had passed, the people would want to appoint a king. At present Yahweh was their King with Moses as His deputy. The same would apply with Joshua. But what about those who followed? Moses knew men's weaknesses. They would want to fall into line, and they would want to be looked after. And as Scripture confirmed that kingship was to happen, that made it obvious. But that made it necessary that getting the wrong kind of king was guarded against. When they did seek a king he was concerned that that king should recognise his true position under Yahweh, and be the kind of king that Yahweh approved of. And he knew that the only difference between Joshua and a king would be that Joshua had more authority because Yahweh was supreme king and he was His voice, but had less pretensions. The king, if a bad one, might act on his own authority and in his own name.
So Moses' concern about kingship was fully understandable. He had especially seen what it was like in Egypt. He had seen the frantic efforts to build up the numbers of horses for military purposes, especially for the drawing of the chariots which were so vital a weapon in warfare, so that pre-eminence might be gained. He had himself been involved in the harems of Pharaoh, and experienced the intrigues that were constantly going on. He had noted the great efforts that kings and nobles put into gaining great wealth. And as he considered his people he was afraid lest they find themselves under someone like that. And he was concerned lest such a king might make treaties with Egypt, becoming their vassal in order to obtain horses.
He had also no doubt experienced petty ‘kings' while son-in-law to the priest of Midian, and had noted that although their ambitions were on a smaller scale, they were still there. He had recently had dealings with the kings of Edom, Moab and Ammon who would all have treated him as a king, to say nothing of the kings of the Amorites. He would have noted the harem and wealth of Sihon, king of the Amorites, laid bare in Heshbon. He knew especially of Og, foreign king in Bashan, descended from a ‘super-race' whose very bedstead (or sarcophagus) was the talk of all the nations around. Furthermore Israel were about to invade a country of nations who all had kings. Kingship was very much a current issue. And once they were settled in the land they would constantly be surrounded by kings. But he wanted to save his people from kings like that. It would be better for them to stick with Judges who had no such expectations. But if they would not do that, and he suspected that they would not, for they would soon begin to see them as the equivalent of kings, then let them consider what a king under Yahweh must be like if they were not to regret the move.
So we may take it for granted that an astute leader like Moses would recognise the very good likelihood, indeed certainty, that one day the people would seek to make their Judge a king following a similar pattern to the nations round about. How else could the prophecies be fulfilled? And it was after all only one step on from the overall ‘Judge'. The only difference that there would be between Joshua and a king would be that Joshua would not seek to behave with the bad habits of a king. He thus now gave strict instructions of what any king they considered appointing must be like.
Moses' stress, then, was on the fact that he must not be like the kings round about. Rather he was to be and ‘ideal', one of themselves, chosen by Yahweh, a native of Israel, and a student of Yahweh's Instruction. He was to be a disclaimer of foreign military power and foreign marriage treaties, and spurn the accumulation of treasure for himself. He was to that end to write for himself a book based on the records which were under the oversight of the levitical priests and kept in the Tabernacle, the book which Moses himself had brought together from ancient covenant and other records (Genesis) and from the details of the Instruction (Torah) as directly revealed to him by God (the main basis of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers). And he was to live by them.
Indeed this picture of an ‘ideal' king was so unlike any king that Israel ever knew or would know that it could only have been a theoretical one posited before the reality ruined the whole picture. Once kingship was established no one would ever have dreamed of suggesting a king like this. For it was actually the very opposite of what kings were. Instead they would have turned back to arguing for judges or chieftains or councils of elders. Moses' words would also act as a warning to future judges. But until the coming of Jesus no such king ever lived.
We can consider in this respect how at least one such Judge, Gideon, was pressed to become Israel's king and his refusal may well have been a polite acceptance (Judges 8:22-23). He certainly behaved like a king of the wrong kind (Judges 8:30), and one of his sons was expected to follow after him (Judges 9:2). Indeed he lost the position for his family precisely because he ignored Moses' words here. He incidentally proved the wisdom of Moses' instructions in his ignoring of them, for his family suffered the consequences.
One remarkable thing about this idea of kingship here was that there was no thought within it of the king making the laws. This king was rather to be like his fellow countrymen, he was to be subject to Yahweh's Instruction. He was to be totally unlike other kings. He was to act as a judge under Yahweh. Indeed as he will shortly reveal, there would be priests chosen by Yahweh and prophets raised up by Yahweh to keep him in the right way.
We may note in passing that he expected that the king would write himself a copy of the Law. It is hardly therefore likely that he himself would have failed to ensure that such a book was available for Joshua.
Analysis using the words of Moses:
a When you are come to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and shall possess it, and shall dwell in it, and shall say, “I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are round about me (Deuteronomy 17:14).
b You shall surely set him king over you, whom Yahweh your God shall choose, one from among your brethren shall you set king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother (Deuteronomy 17:15).
c Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses, forasmuch as Yahweh has said to you, “You shall henceforth return no more that way” (Deuteronomy 17:16).
c Nor shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away, nor shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold (Deuteronomy 17:17).
b And it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites, and it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them (Deuteronomy 17:18-19).
a That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside 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 midst of Israel (Deuteronomy 17:20).
Note in ‘a' his expectation and foreboding that when they are established in the land they will want a king over them, thus in the parallel he warns against appointing someone whose heart will be lifted up above his fellow-citizens, who may then not walk within Yahweh's covenant requirements (‘the commandment') and may then not prolong his days in the kingdom. In ‘b' he commands them to set over them only one whom Yahweh will choose, a true worshipper of Yahweh circumcised within the covenant, and in the parallel he declares that once such a one takes up his position he must be totally guided by God's word and covenant (law), and rule by the law provided for him in the ‘book' which was in the hands of the priests and Levites, the scrolls or tablets of the Testimony. In ‘c' he declares that they must not appoint someone who multiplies horses to himself, lest this beguile him to seek to Egypt, and in the parallel that he is not to be someone who multiplies wives to himself or silver and gold. In other words it must be someone whose only concern is to please Yahweh and wants no grandeur out of his appointment.
The only king who was remotely like this was Saul at the very beginning. But at that stage he was simply a war leader under Samuel, and even he soon began to get delusions of grandeur. It was inevitable. The truth is that all kings that men knew of multiplied wives for themselves and sought to use their position to make themselves wealthy. It was rooted in their very nature. And with all his good points David was no exception. He was far from Moses' ideal king. Yet in later centuries he was looked back on as the ideal king which demonstrates that the ideas stated here are remote from any ideas of kingship that existed later. So in these words we have Moses' desperate attempts to do what he could to avoid what was inevitable.
‘ When you are come to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and shall possess it, and shall dwell in it, and shall say, “I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are round about me,”
Aware thus of human nature, and especially of the failings of the people whom he had led for so long, and possibly aware of rumblings already occurring in some quarters (there was probably already a minority who longed for a king to give them status. Compare also the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram who no doubt coveted kingship), Moses knew that one day they would opt for someone to be king over them. And the prophecies confirmed it. They too spoke of the rise of kings. He therefore directed their minds to what a king under Yahweh must be like. There was irony in his words.
He first stressed that they must recognise that this option would only be open to them because of Yahweh's activity. It was He Who was giving them the land. It was He Who would ensure their possession. It was He Who would settle them in it to dwell there. So they must not forget Him. But, as he knew from the past, once all that had happened and they had settled down, they would still be dissatisfied. They would find the burden of running the country very heavy. They would look around and see the glories of kings and their pageantry and how they took on all the responsibilities. And they would be envious. They would crave someone to take on all their responsibilities too.
‘ You shall surely set him king over you, whom Yahweh your God shall choose, one from among your brethren shall you set king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.'
When they did reach this position they must ensure that the king they appointed was the chosen of Yahweh and one of themselves. There must be no Og's over Israel, foreigners selected for their great fighting ability, no submissions to Pharaoh. No foreign overlord must be allowed. (Note how this stress on the king being one chosen of Yahweh demonstrates that when the phrase ‘whom Yahweh your God shall choose' is used the emphasis is on Yahweh's choosing. Thus for ‘in the place that He will choose' the same applies.)
‘ Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses, forasmuch as Yahweh has said to you, “You shall henceforth return no more that way.” '
He must not be one who will depend on horses and chariotry (compare Isaiah 2:7; Micah 5:10), for that would only lead to further contact with Egypt as the obvious provider (compare 1 Kings 10:28). In those days the horse was the symbol of military power, and the army was built around them, so the multiplying of horses indicated the building up of military power. They must not gaze with envy at Egypt's power, and its many horses with its chariotry, nor appoint a king who would submit to Pharaoh and return them under Egypt's rule in return for some of those horses to be at his disposal. Egypt depended on their chariots and horses and they had been very much involved in the attempt to prevent Israel's getaway (Exodus 14:7; Exodus 14:9; Exodus 14:17; Exodus 14:23), so Israel were very conscious of them. Israel still sang about it in Moses' day (Exodus 15:4; Exodus 15:21). To them they were a symbol of Egypt's greatness, and Egypt's oppression. But Israel must depend on Yahweh for security, not on Pharaoh and Egypt and horses (compare Isaiah 31:1; Isaiah 31:3). To look to Egypt could only lead to subjection to Egypt.
Some connect this with trading with Egypt, possibly trading slaves or mercenaries for horses. But the emphasis is surely more on the danger of becoming embroiled with Egypt once again, and trusting in them with all its downside rather than in Yahweh.
‘ Nor shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away, nor shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.'
Nor must he seek to build up his position by marriage treaties which would involve marrying foreign wives who would turn his heart away from Yahweh (compare Deuteronomy 7:3-5). The use of marriage to maintain a dynasty had been practised by Abraham. It was even more common among kings. He had watched it happening in Egypt, with Pharaoh erecting temples for his foreign wives. For marriage secured treaty relationships, and treaty relationships with the right people gave strength, and the wives had to be kept sweet. Again there is the implied command to avoid foreign treaties. They were not needed. Yahweh alone was sufficient.
But he also knew how much plotting and intrigue there could be among king's wives, even homeborn ones, as each plotted and schemed for their own born sons to be given power. He wanted also to save Israel from that. And from the sway of women behind the throne, each seeking their own benefit, regardless of what was for the good of the people.
Nor must he seek to amass great wealth in silver and gold so as to exercise his influence in that way (compare Isaiah 2:7). Multiplying silver and gold could involve raids into other people's territory and heavy taxes on the people. It could cause great hardship to those from whom the wealth was extracted, and it would signify greed and being unsatisfied with what Yahweh had given. And it would lead to the desire for more and more. His eyes would more be on gold than on God.
We must remember that Moses knew only too well, from experience, what swayed men. He had seen it all too often. Power, women and wealth, that was what ruined men, and he would have seen through his experiences in the Egyptian court, and in Midian in his association with the priest of Midian and other Midianite tribes with their kings, how different royal connections sought to build up their own influence so as to gain great wealth. But while horses with their chariots, and foreign alliances, and wealth were the way to victory and success for other nations, they were not to be so for Israel. They were to look only to Yahweh. This description of kingship gone to the bad was widely illustrated in every king around, some to a greater extent than others, and his recent experiences with regards to Sihon and Og would simply have confirmed it to him. Moses was not a fool.
So to suggest that these words could only have been written after the time of Solomon is naive in the extreme. His words were a photograph of all kings. They were a photograph of the Pharaohs and of known petty kings. They were even a photograph of Gideon (Judges 8:30).
‘ And it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites, and it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them,'
So their king must rather be one who submits himself to Yahweh's instruction. When he sits on his throne his consideration should not to be on how to build up his power base and his wealth, and how to please his wives, but on how to please Yahweh, the One Who had given them everything that they had, and how to build up the wealth of the nation. Thus he should ensure that he had his own copy of the record of Yahweh's doings and of His Law as contained in the books which were in the levitical priests' care. (As Deuteronomy was not, at this stage in his speech, in written form, this must refer to an earlier written Law). And he must keep it ever by him and read it every day of his life, so that he might learn to fear Yahweh his God, and keep His Instruction and what He had laid down, in accordance with what was now being spoken of by Moses. Such a king might be conceived of as possible in the beginning, but not once Saul had been king for a few years. And certainly not once kingship had been established. Even Hezekiah and Josiah, presented from the best possible view, were not remotely like this. No one later could have been foolish enough to suggest such an ideal as possible. Those who did not want such kings would turn away from kingship. But it was certainly a theoretical possibility while they were still without a home.
‘ That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside 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 midst of Israel.'
And the reason why he should do this with Yahweh's Law was so that he might not become proud, nor see himself as mighty, but so that he might rather obey Yahweh's instructions as given in His commandment (His statutes and His ordinances), not turning from them either one way or the other, but walking humbly before God. Then he would ensure his own long success, and that of his successors and the continuance of their rule over Israel.
This is the way too that we can ensure God's blessing on us and on our families and on His people, by continually having by us His word, and reading it, and applying it to our lives.
Excursus On The Kingship Described Here.
Note how here all the thought is on avoiding Egypt. Once established in the land other neighbours to the north would have come to mind, but at this time Egypt, the Egypt that they had left behind and which still had a fatal attraction for the people, was the one great reality he knew of to be avoided. This fits with Moses' environment and fears and awareness exactly. None knew better than he the promises that Egypt would make in order to gain dominion over nations. And he had not brought Israel to this place to see them again submit themselves to Egypt. They must remain a free people, whose whole trust and dependence was on Yahweh, the fighter of their battles.
(It is difficult to believe that anyone who lived in the times of the later great empires could have written in this manner, restricting his thoughts to Egypt. In those days such a historic sense would not have been possible).
We must repeat that no king appointed in Israel (and then Judah) was ever like the ideal that Moses describes here. It was purely theoretical and ideal, demonstrating that it was certainly written before kingship arose, for once that happened it shattered into smithereens the ideal once and for all. This comes out especially in the fact that even from the beginning of the concept of kingship the people rejected this type of king altogether and never even considered it. It was not at all what they wanted. They wanted one who was like other kings, and they shrugged off the consequences (1 Samuel 8:10-21). They did not want a man who was involved in God's Law and would thus disapprove of how they continually disobeyed it, they wanted a shoulder to cry on.
It is probable indeed that Moses' sketch of a suitable king made them shudder. It described the last kind of king that they would want. By the time that the possibility of kingship arose they had long since laid much of that Law aside in their behaviour with the Canaanites, and they would not want one therefore who would pull them up short over the way that they lived. What they wanted was a king like other peoples had who would fight their battles, and they were ready to meet the consequences.
How they had described what they wanted to Samuel comes out in the way that Samuel gave his warning to them (1 Samuel 8:11-21). Had they opted for a king like Moses described Yahweh would not have been displeased, and Samuel would not have said what he did. But they had made plain what they wanted, and it was inevitably not in accordance with the Mosaic ideal. For by the time of Saul they had long since gone past any such dedication the Law. It would have been cynical in the extreme, no we must say utterly foolish, for a later writer to even have suggested such a kingship as a possibility once kingship was established in the way it was. By then the ways and ideas of kingship was firmly established.
So the thought that anyone would later write like this when there was not even the slightest chance that such a kingship could possibly arise is ludicrous. Such a concept would not even have been considered, even by a religious fanatic. Any later writer would rather have allowed the king more in the way of prestige so as hopefully to win his argument and make his idea attractive. And an extremist would have wanted rid of kingship altogether. The description here is the ideal of the wilderness when no Israelite king had yet been known. Then only could it have been put forward. And then only it might have had a chance. This picture did not even have a remote chance once kingship had been established and enjoyed. Thus it must have been written by someone who was looking forward to a theoretical situation.
(End of Excursus).