BE PROUD OF YOUR KING...UNLESS HE'S A PROUD KING

There is so much in today’s text that choosing one truth on which to focus is difficult. However, the following section caused me to stop and ponder. “Now it shall come about when he (your chosen king) sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen…” (Dt. 17:18-20a)

One of the most important things Israel’s king was to accomplish in his first 100 days was a writing project. He was to write out his own copy of the law. His copy of the law was to be read all the days of his life…regularly, intently, daily. The first two reasons given for this writing project were (1) that he may learn to fear the Lord and (2) that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen. As he read from the scroll that he created, his fear of the Lord would increase as he came to understand the majesty, glory and sovereignty of Jehovah. He would comprehend more deeply the fact that the Lord is the nation’s Monarch and he is that Monarch’s servant. Reading the law would also protect him from self-aggrandizement. He would be prevented from thinking more highly of himself than he ought.

When we spend time in the Word of God, we, too, see our Lord and ourselves more clearly and more rightly. Our flesh is easily tempted to worship inappropriate persons/things and can also lead us to arrogantly think we are more significant or more powerful than we truly are. The Lord’s solution is to keep us in His Word. We must read it…regularly, intently, daily. What sort of change would occur in our hearts if we each would write out our own copy of Paul’s letter to the Romans?! I would venture to guess that we would be more faithful worshippers and more humble humans.