Deuteronomy 17 - Laws for Kings | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 17 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In Deuteronomy 17 it starts by telling the Israelites not to offer second rate sacrifices. There was a real temptation to offer blemished sacrifices, because they were cheaper. Upon arrival at a festival it was a way of saving money, but God is reminding them to make himself a priority.

The sin of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 was like this in that they pretend they were giving a better sacrifice than they were. In this case the amount of their offering was at thei discretion but they lied.

When it comes to service, we need to give God our best effort, from a good heart. When it comes to money or giving, we endeavor to put the Lord first. Later is goes to give instructions for kings, when inevitably they would ask for one. It said not to have many horses. King Solomon, for all his wisdom, seems to not have been aware, or chose not to follow this advice.

Horses were a sign of trust in one’s own strength, just as today people might trust in the dollar, or in technology. The law also said not to have many wives. Solomon also had many wives, who in fact did lead him astray. For a man with such wisdom, this was a highly foolish thing to do. He discovered this to his own shame, what he could easily have avoided by following what was written in the law in advance.

His own words in Ecclesiastes 2:10-11: “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;”

Finally the king was required to write out a copy of the law, which presumably was either this book of Deuteronomy, or the entire law, being the first 5 books.