A chosen generation

I'm still only at the starting points of this blog... and so I think it is good to start at the beginning points of a royal reign as well... How does one become chosen as royalty? What are the requirements and guidelines to follow once one is put into this office? Yikes... but our answers are in Deuteronomy 17:

First off- The Lord will do the picking of the king (vs. 15) and he will be a native to his country. Verse 15 actually says DO NOT set a stranger over you, or one that is not your brother. The Lord chose each one of us, who are his, to be His. It was then up to us to receive the gift of salvation. There will not be any strangers in Heaven... we will be related to each other through the precious blood of our Savior Jesus Christ.

2. The king was not to seek to acquire certain things... horses or wives or silver:

Horses, I think, were a status symbol... Follow my line of thinking: Does it not seem that royalty always must have the best things surrounding them? Look down through the ages and kings and queens have always sought to acquire things of great price... At this point in history, it was horses and chariots, like those in Egypt that were sought after... which actually transitions us nicely into the issue with Egypt brought up in correlation with the horses.
God also speaks to the king's motives here... "(The king should not) cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way." vs 16b
So, it was known by all of Israel that they were not to return to Egypt. The Lord would sustain them so they would not need to go back, but He didn't promise the king horses. If the king did not feel that he had enough horses, he was not to convince the people to return to Egypt just so he could get horses. It almost sounds like a father telling his child "no" doesn't it? Sometimes the Lord tells me "no"... and there is always a good reason for it. The reasons here are so clear: He wants to protect the heart of Israel's king from being puffed up with stuff... and He wants to protect His people from returning to the same slavery they just left. It is so awesome that the Lord puts up safeguards for our freedom... because, in our sinful state, we would surely abuse the freedom we have been given.

Now, wives and silver...
The Lord gives the reason why a king is not to acquire many wives right in verse 17:
"Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away:"
We have been studying I Corinthians 7 in services at Ogletown Baptist Church, and Pastor Curtis Hill explained that when one marries, their heart turns from spiritual things continually, to trying to meet the needs of their spouse so they will be happy... which is really worldly, but necessary... trying to keep one spouse satisfied can be hard at times... can you imagine multiple spouses to satisfy? The Lord makes perfect sense to me with this guideline... amen.
Silver...it is linked to wives, I think, because of what it takes to acquire it... more worldly work and thinking. I also think that maybe the Lord was protecting Israel.. remember when Hezekiah received envoys from Babylon in 2 Kings 20:12 - 19 ? Hezekiah showed off all the kingdom's silver and wealth... and Isaiah had to come to him afterwards and explain to him that Babylon was going to use this knowledge for the demise of Israel... and they did in chapter 25.

3. What should a king think and do then?

He was to copy the law from the Levites and then keep it with him and read it every day... for the rest of his life (vss 18 +19)... Why? Oh... so many reasons:
vs. 19 That he may learn to fear (or reverence) the Lord.
vs. 19 That he would keep all the words of this law and statutes and do them
vs. 20 That he would keep his heart humble before his brethren
vs. 20 That he would walk straight... and not turn away from these commandments
vs. 20 That he would extend his days and be able to pass the throne down to his children (a heritage from the Lord)

When I had researched this and started thinking about it, I had copied out the 10 commandments to carry on my person at all times... but now I'm thinking many things... I think that the 10 commandments are a good thing to keep on my person... and read when I get a chance... but I know that they are not all the Law... The whole Bible could be considered what one needs to keep and read.. but I like how it says that the king was to copy it himself from the Levites... Could that mean I write out a verse and memorize it over a course of time? and then another? and another? My husband has so much scripture memorized and is great at recalling it as the need arises... and I am always inspired by that... Think on this with me... how to incorporate this more into our lives... as required of kings.


These were the instructions ,given by the Lord, for kings. They are wise instructions for princesses as well. May I encourage you today to read Deuteronomy 17: 15-20.