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.
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; that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his sons, in the midst of Israel.
God's law for Israel's king ends with a reason, not another rule. Daily reading of Scripture was meant to keep the king humble, keep him from straying, and keep his throne secure. The verse links three things we seldom connect: reading, humility, and a long reign.
The rules given to the king all lead up to this closing purpose. One writer draws out what daily reading would have done in the king, and what it teaches anyone in charge of others:
Leslie M. GrantReading God's Word would have had this effect: it might have kept his heart from rising above his brothers (v.20). The pride that comes with high position can do great damage to a king, as it sadly did with Solomon. All of this teaches us that if someone is to rule well, he must first learn to be fully subject to the rule of the Lord.
The list of things a king may not do can look like a cage. One writer explains why it was kindness:
An Outline of Sound WordsThere was nothing harsh about these prohibitions. God gave them in goodness and wisdom. He knew the dangers the king would meet, and He warned him about them in advance. The prohibitions were God's own safeguards for the good of the king and his people. How right it was that the king should know God's law and keep walking in its light! That way he would be a true leader for the people of God. He would lead them in the paths of righteousness, where they would have the blessing of God.
The words "above his brothers" set the king's relationship to the nation. He rules them; he is still one of them. David shows what that looks like in practice:
W. W. FeredayDavid's attitude towards the people, as he encouraged them to build for God, is very beautiful. "Hear me, my brothers" (1 Chron. 28:2). The LORD wanted Israel's king, when the time came for them to have one, to read the book of the law daily, "that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers" (Deut. 17:20). There is nothing of the tyrant in this. God's king must not lord it over the people, but "shepherd Jacob His people, Israel His inheritance" (Psalm 78:71).
The verse warns the king not to turn from the commandment to the right or the left. One writer names where that turning starts:
H. L. RossierMost of our acts of disobedience come from not keeping up living, daily contact with the Word of God. To follow our own thoughts and neglect this clear, absolute direction is disobedience.
Solomon had wisdom, wealth and a splendid throne. One writer traces the ruin that followed to a single cause:
C. H. MackintoshWe hear nothing about him making a copy of the law. And if he did make one, he certainly paid no attention to it. He turned his back on it, and did the very things the law forbade. Splendour marked Solomon's reign, and then came wreck and ruin. The cause of it all was neglect of the plain word of God.
The same writer applies this well beyond Solomon:
C. H. MackintoshNeglect of the word of God is the source of all the failure, all the sin, all the error, all the trouble and confusion in this world. It is the source of the false teachings, sects and divisions that have ever been or are here now. And we can add, with equal confidence, that there is only one real cure for our sad state today. Each one of us, for himself and for herself, must return to the simple authority of the word of God, which we have so sadly neglected.
The verse ties a long reign to not turning aside. One writer sets Moses beside Christ on this very point:
Eugene P. Vedder Jr.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, and he could not 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).
- Read, then rule. Authority over others starts with being under God. To rule well, a man must first be ruled by the Lord.
- Read, and stay low. Daily reading guarded the king against the pride that high position breeds. A king who keeps reading keeps his heart level with his brothers.
- Read, and stay straight. Most acts of disobedience trace back to a break in daily contact with the Word.
- Stop reading, and lose everything. Solomon's ruin had one root: neglect of the plain Word of God. The confusion and divisions among God's people since have the same root.
- The King who never turned aside. Moses turned aside, and his days were cut short. Christ was lowly enough to wash His disciples' feet, and His kingdom will never end.