And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests, the Levites;
This command closes a section that looks ahead to the day Israel would ask for a king. Before he does anything else on the throne, the king must write out his own copy of God's law and keep it beside him.
The king writes the law out by his own hand. The writing puts him under it.
J. N. DarbyGod foresees the day the people ask for a king. They are told he must be one of the people. He must not act in a way that opens the way to dealings with Egypt, or that leads the people into idolatry. But he is to write a copy of the book of the law with his own hand. He is to read it all the days of his life and be subject to it, so that he does not despise his brothers.
The ESV says the copy was "approved by the Levitical priests." An older translation reads "out of that which is before the priests, the Levites." Either way, the king copied the master text they kept, not another king's copy.
The Christian's FriendThe law each king was to copy out was not the Ten Commandments, but the last words of Moses, the man of God. Each king who came to the throne of Israel was to copy it out, and each one was to copy from the original. The reason for this is clear. If one king had copied from another, he might have made a mistake or a change, either deliberately or through carelessness. The next king would then copy that one, and would not really know what the word of God was. But God held each king responsible to go straight to the one Moses had given them, and copy it for himself.
Writing the copy was only the start. It had to stay with the king. One writer applies this to David, who may have forgotten God's word when he took many wives.
H. L. RossierHe should not have forgotten God's word: "it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life." Most of our acts of disobedience come from not keeping living daily contact with the Word of God.
Verse 20 names the aim of the reading: the king's heart must not rise above his brothers.
Leslie M. GrantReading God's Word would have such an effect that it might keep the king from having his heart lifted above his brothers (v.20)... In all of this we are taught that if someone is to rule rightly, he must first learn to be fully subject to the rule of the Lord.
Commentators trace Solomon's collapse to this one omission.
C. H. MackintoshWe hear nothing of his having made a copy of the law; and most certainly, if he did make a copy of it, he did not attend to it. Instead he turned his back on it, and did the very things he was told not to do. In a word, the cause of all the wreck and ruin that so quickly followed the splendour of Solomon's reign was neglect of the plain word of God.
The failure built up from reign to reign. One writer measures the cost by what Josiah later faced.
W. W. FeredaySuppose each ruler in Israel in turn had obeyed this instruction. Suppose each had prepared his own copy of the law and had read it all the days of his life. Then the huge array of evils Josiah had to deal with would never have existed. Nor would the original of God's holy law have lain buried under rubbish, so that finding it was a real discovery!
One writer sets this written copy beside the King who carried the law in His heart.
Eugene P. Vedder Jr.The king was to write out a copy of God's law for himself, have it with him, and read it all his life. While Moses was used to write the law, our Lord Jesus could say in prophetic language, "Your law is within My heart" (Ps. 40:8). Moses turned aside from God's word on one occasion, and his heart was lifted up above his brothers (Num. 20:7-12). So he could not prolong his days or enter the Promised Land. Christ, the meek and lowly One, in perfect contrast to Moses, even washed His disciples' feet. "Of His kingdom there will be no end" (Lk. 1:33).
- Copy — The king's first duty on the throne was to write the law out by hand. He copied the master text kept by the priests, so no earlier copyist's error stood between him and God's words.
- Keep — He had to keep the book with him and read it for life. Commentators trace most disobedience to lost daily contact with the Word.
- Bow — The reading had one aim: a heart not lifted above his brothers. Whoever rules others must first be ruled by God.
- Neglect — Commentators name one root for Solomon's ruin and for the law left buried until Josiah's day: neglect of this command.
- Christ — The King who never needed a written copy could say the law was within His heart, and of His kingdom there is no end.
and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear Jehovah his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them;
God set the terms for Israel's king in advance. The king had to write out God's law by hand and keep the book with him. He was to read it every day of his life, so that he would learn to fear the Lord and do what it says.
The command is not to consult the law in a crisis. It is daily contact. David took many wives, and one writer traces that failure back to forgetting this command.
H. L. RossierBesides his political and other reasons for taking many wives, David may have forgotten God's prohibition. He should not have forgotten that the king was to write out his own copy of this law, and "read in it all the days of his life." Most of our acts of disobedience come from not keeping living daily contact with the Word of God. To follow our own thoughts by neglecting this positive, absolute direction is disobedience.
The king did not receive a finished book; he made one, copying from the master text held by the priests. One writer explains why God insisted on the original.
The Christian's FriendEach king who came to the throne of Israel was to copy it out, and each one was to copy from the original. The reason for this is clear. If one king had copied from another, a mistake or a change might have crept in, on purpose or by carelessness. The next king would then copy that, and would not really know what the word of God was. But God held each king responsible to go straight to the one Moses had given them, and copy it for himself.
The verse gives the reason for the reading — learning the fear of God and keeping His words. One writer sees the limits God placed on the king in the same light: care for him, not restriction.
An Outline of Sound WordsThere was nothing burdensome about the prohibitions, given in divine goodness and wisdom. God knew the dangers that would surround the king, and warned him of them in advance. These prohibitions were divine safeguards for the good of the king and his people. How right it was that the king should know God's law and walk in its light at all times! In this way he would be a true leader for the people of God, leading them in the paths of righteousness where they would have God's blessing.
The next verse names the danger the reading was meant to prevent: a heart lifted up above his brothers. One writer applies it to anyone who leads others.
Leslie M. GrantWhether Solomon obeyed verses 18 and 19 may be a question. But if he had written a copy of the law and read it every day of his life, this might have kept him from the sad failure and disobedience that caused him such grief in his later years. Reading God's Word has such an effect that it might have kept his heart from being lifted up above his brothers (v.20). The pride that comes with prominence can do severe damage to a king, as it did to Solomon. In all of this we are taught that if someone is to rule rightly, he must first learn to be fully subject to the rule of the Lord.
Kings ignored the command for generations. One writer counts what it cost.
W. W. FeredaySuppose each ruler in Israel had obeyed this instruction. Suppose each had prepared his own copy of the law and read in it all the days of his life. Then the whole formidable array of evils Josiah had to deal with would never have existed. Nor would the original of God's holy law have lain buried under rubbish, so that finding it was a real discovery!
One writer puts Moses and Christ side by side here. Moses wrote the law down; Christ could say it was in His heart.
Eugene P. Vedder Jr.The king was to write out a copy of God's law for himself, keep it with him, and read it all his life. God used Moses to write the law, but our Lord Jesus could say in prophetic language, "Your law is within my heart" (Ps. 40:8). Once Moses turned aside from God's word, and he lifted up his heart above his brothers (Num. 20:7-12). So he could not prolong his days or enter the Promised Land. Christ, the meek and lowly One, stands in perfect contrast to Moses: He even washed His disciples' feet. "Of His kingdom there will be no end" (Lk. 1:33).
- Copy — Each king wrote out the law himself, straight from the original kept by the priests. No error could creep in from one reign to the next.
- Carry — He kept the book with him and read it all his life. Most disobedience begins when daily contact with the Word stops.
- Fear — The reading had a purpose: to learn the fear of God and to keep and do His words, not just know them.
- Lowliness — Daily reading guards a leader from a heart lifted up above his brothers. Whoever would rule rightly must first be ruled by the Lord.
- Cost — Where kings ignored this, evil multiplied and the law itself lay lost under rubbish until Josiah found it again.