“Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his
kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the
one before the priests, the Levites. And
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 and be careful to observe all the words of
this law and these statutes….” (Deuteronomy 17:18-19)
Israel
was meant to be a theocracy. God would
be their King. He would deliver their
laws, direct their governance, and defend them from their enemies. This set them apart from all the other
nations—which would become their problem, they would eventually want to be like
the other nations. All the other nations
had a human king, so they would want one also. The problem would be that they would want to
emulate the other nations in their ways and worship as well. There would be some good kings, who would
lead the Jews, and even they had their flaws—and some more than others did. Most of their kings would be depraved men
leading degenerate people, and the downward spiral would remove the blessing of
God and bring judgment instead. Knowing
that Israel
would eventually clamor for a king, God told them the kind of king they would
need. In our republic, there is no king,
but the principles here can help us determine the kind of government leaders we
need, whether it be a president, senator, governor, mayor or judge.
Our leader must realize that God has ordained government to
maintain a civil society (Deut.17:1-13). Authority is meant to check anarchy. The rule of law is meant to restrain fallen
nature. While the law cannot make us
good, it can punish the bad and thereby hold it in check. Government is to promote morality and punish
evil—even capital punishment may be required.
Strict parameters are proscribed for this.
- The
government official must realize his accountability to God (Deut.17:14-20). Ultimately, he or she will not be judged
in the court of public opinion, but in heaven’s tribunal. Several qualities are to mark the kind
of leaders we should elect.
- We
should seek God’s will for His choice rather than consider his personality
or promises, both of which may be a masquerade (v.15a).
- He is
not to be of foreign birth, but chosen from among his people (v.15b). None can better sympathize with the
citizens than one who has shared their experiences.
- The
leader must not lean on human power, but on Divine protection to defend
the nation (v.16). This is not to
say maintaining a strong national defense is wrong. It is folly to fail in this. Yet, that alone cannot protect us. God must watch over us as we look on
Him.
- Government
officials must be people of character whose hearts are not drawn to
immorality or captivated by greed (v.17).
- Knowing
the Word of God and submitting to it will give the nation’s leaders the
beacon of truth to guide them (v.18-20).
This is the kind of leader for which I am praying. May God raise them up!
