Typically college students of Scripture are stunned to seek out out that it was all the time God’s plan for Israel to have a king. God had promised Abraham that “kings shall come from you” (Gen 17:6). God gave an analogous promise to Jacob (Gen 35:11). In truth, by the point the Pentateuch wraps up, we expect a strong king of Israel who will come from Judah (cf. Gen 49:10; Num 24:17).
It ought to not likely be that stunning that Israel would have a king. A king ruling over a kingdom was the default governmental system for the traditional Close to East (ANE) nations. However, what’s very stunning is the variety of king that Israel was anticipated to have. The king of Israel was to be of a really totally different type than the encompassing nations.
The king of Egypt, for instance, was considered the earthly embodiment of the god Horus. The king was recognized by titles reminiscent of “son of Re,” and was an absolute monarch with hardly any limitations. The king of Egypt additionally would perform because the supreme choose and excessive priest of the non secular system.
It was typical for kings within the ANE to perform as a priest. The Mesopotamian kings additionally have been considered as divine intermediaries between the gods and males, organizing the constructing of temples and officiating choices. The king was the chief in political, nationwide, and non secular issues.
The usual for the king of Israel given by Moses in Deuteronomy 17:14–20 stands in distinction to the highly effective kings of the ANE world. Along with the enshrined legal guidelines prohibiting a non-Levite from officiating as priest (cf. 2 Chron 26:16–21), the “Legislation of the King” (Deut 17:14–20) offers quite a few limitations on the facility of the Israelite king.
God is to decide on the king (Deut 17:15)
It’s important that Israel know God is in the end answerable for who guidelines. This and the final level lead many students to discuss with Israel as being a theocratic monarchy. Sure, there’s a king, however the king is an underneath ruler to the True King.
The king should deliberately restrict his army energy (Deut 17:16)
From a logical perspective, this
form of self-regulation is a sure-fire technique to die as a nation. Because the de facto
army chief of Israel, God instructions the king to curtail his stockpile of
horses as a result of the king must depend on God and never on army would possibly (cf. Ps
147:10–11).
The king should not depend on international alliances (Deut 17:17a)
As has been the case all through
historical past, kings usually married into the ruling households of different nations to
solidify alliances. Once more, Israel’s king was forbidden from making these varieties
of marriage alliances. He should stay wholly true to Yahweh, and likewise depend on
Yahweh’s energy.
The king should deliberately restrict his reliance on wealth (Deut 17:17b)
Much like the earlier causes, the king was to withstand the temptation to build up wealth. Wealth was the means of buying an alliance, persuading an enemy king to not assault you, or just flaunting your personal energy. But, the king was forbidden from pursuing wealth.
The king should familiarize himself with the Legislation and undergo it (Deut 17:18-20)
As famous within the first level, Israel’s king was not an absolute sovereign. He was an under-shepherd to the True King—Yahweh. Thus, one of many chief obligations of the king was to know and undergo the Legislation of God, thus serving for example to all Israel.
Evaluating Israel’s king with different kings within the ANE offers a lesson by means of distinction. Though the king is essentially the most highly effective particular person within the nation, God wished Israel’s king to be totally different. The nation was by no means to view itself, “like all of the nations” (1 Sam 8:5). Israel was a definite, specialised nation. Even the restricted energy of its king communicated a theological reality—we rely on Yahweh.
