Introduction
"We demand a king!" Those are the last words that we heard from the mouths of the elders of Israel. Israel was dissatisfied with the rule of God in their lives and thought that becoming like all the other nations would be much better than having Yahweh, the Creator of the universe and deliverer of his people, as Lord. God grants them their desire and allows them to suffer under the consequences of their own choice. He gives them Saul (we will meet him next week, Lord willing). You might be asking yourself, "If God didn't want them to have a king, why than did he give all these regulations concerning the king?" A couple times in Deuteronomy, God regulates something that was a human invention, not necessarily his declared will. One time is in chpt. 24, where he regulates divorce. Another time is here when he regulates a monarchy that comes up as part of the desire of his people to be like the nations. Eventually God uses this monarchy to typify and bring about his Son. This is another example of God's doing good through something that was meant for wickedness – "I'll give you a king like Saul now, so that I can give you Jesus later." This is much like the story of Joseph. His brothers had this wicked plan to get rid of him. All the while God was using their plan to deliver them. Gen. 50:19-21 – Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for amI in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. I. A King like the Other Nations, 14 A. You might think that I am being a bit harsh by saying that God is going to use for good what the people meant for evil. B. But this last clause in v. 14 is used again in 1 Sam 8:4-7. C. Notice this is not a command to have a king. 1. They didn't need a king. 2. But if they want one, God will choose him for them. II. Qualifications of Potential Kings, 15 1. Makes sense since the king of Israel is a type of Christ, the Son of God. 2. All the queens of Israel and Judah are bad – Jezebel and Athaliah. B. The king had to be born an Israelite. III. Qualifications after Being Chosen as a King, 16-20 A. Neither he nor the people should gather many horses for two reasons, 16a. 1. It would cause him to trust in the horses for deliverance (they were the equivalent of tanks) instead of the Lord. 2. It would turn them back to Egypt. a. The Egyptians were the premier horse traders of the region; therefore, acquiring horses would necessitate going back to Egypt, which God did not want them to do. b. In essence, God is saying, "Don't return to Egypt and don't do the things that might cause you to do so." c. In other words, he is saying, "Don't return to your former way of life! You have been delivered from it and that's not who you are anymore." B. He should not have may wives because they will turn his heart away from the Lord, 17a. 1. We read the expression many wives and think that the passage teaches that it would be ok for the king to have a few wives at the same time. 2. However, many can be any number greater than 1. a. When we consider the whole of the Pentateuch, particularly the creation account and Dt. 24, we do arrive at the conclusion that manyis anything more than 1. b. Solomon is the ultimate illustration of this law and corruption by marriage. 1 Kg. 11:1-8 – But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that iseast of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. c. Treaties were sealed by marrying the daughters of rulers of other nations and giving your daughters in marriage to them. C. He should not gather many riches, 17b. 1. Probably to keep his focus on the Lord and not on riches. 2. With these three qualifications, God is saying, "Though you became king because my people wanted to be like the other nations, you are not to become like the kings of the other nations." D. He should write the law down for his personal use, 18-20. 1. The phrase this law was mistranslated in the LXX and eventually gave the name to the book – second law. 2. One of the coronation rituals was the copying of this law by the king in the presence of the Levitical priest. a. This law could refer to this particular passage. b. But more likely it refers to the entire book as a summary of the Torah. 1 Sam. 10:25a – Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the Lord. 3. This law was going to serve as a compass, or a lamp, or a plumb line to help the king stay on the path of righteousness – three specific purposes: a. Learn to serve the Lord, 19a b. Follow carefully all the word of the law, 19b c. Stay on the same level as his brothers before the law of the Lord, 20. 1) He must not consider himself better than the people. 2) Much different than the Egyptian idea of the king as deity and the European idea of an elevated nobility. d. The Law of God as it stands for the whole of his Word is for profitable for the king and it is profitable to all the common people like us as well. Ps. 119:9 – How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. Ps. 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 2 Tim. 3:16-17 – All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable … that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. IV. This Is about the King of Israel, but It Is even more about the King of Kings. A. None of the kings of Israel ever fulfilled all these requirements – not even the good kings of the southern kingdom. 1. After Solomon died and Israel was divided into two kingdoms, the northern kingdom never had a godly king. 2. The southern kingdom had seven good kings, but even those good kings didn't quite measure up to these requirements. B. But Jesus did! He fulfilled every last one of them. 1. He did not have riches or many wives. 2. He learned and followed the law carefully and fully. 3. He did not consider himself to be above his brethren – considered himself of no reputation. C. Saul, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, etc. are all leading us to the King of kings. 1. All of history moving to and converging in one person: Jesus! 2. Then all of history flowing from that one person back to him at his second coming. D. Jesus Christ is far more powerful, wiser, better, more just, able to lead and rule his people even in their hearts than any other king. 1. He is able to conquer all our enemies completely. 2. He is able to bring his kingdom to perfect peace, happiness, and bounty. WLC 45 – How does Christ execute the office of a king? Christ executes the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to himself; and giving them officers, laws, and censures, by which he visibly governs them: in bestowing saving grace upon his elect, rewarding their obedience, and correcting them for their sins, preserving and supporting them under all their temptations and sufferings, restraining and overcoming all their enemies, and powerfully ordering all things for his own glory, and their good; and also in taking vengeance on the rest, who know not God, and obey not the gospel. The king was to be succeeded by his children IF he remained faithful to the Lord. The Davidic covenant in 2 Sam. 7 and Ps. 89 removed the IF and declared that the throne will remain in the house of David forever. King Jesus reigns. Now he reigns through his Church. One day he will reign in person. Hail King Jesus! http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-king-dt-17-1-sam-9.html
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