(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Deuteronomy 17:14–20, “When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor 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. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.”
This section reminds us that Israel was designed to be a constitutional monarchy. The Lord Himself gave Israel their constitution, it was called the Law. Much later we read about king Nebuchadnezzar and find that he could do whatever he wanted to do in his own country. He could say one thing today but change his mind the next day and no one could stop him. On the other hand, kings in Israel were expected to obey the Lord in everything they did. In fact the king was called upon to copy the Law in his own hand and then read it every day so that he could moderate his own behaviour according to the Law rather than moderate the nations behaviour to suit his own whims. The king had to be an Israeli, they were not allowed to choose a foreigner to rule over them. The king was not allowed to pursue wealth but trust the Lord and accept everything that the Lord gave. In those days, horses were like heavy weapons today. The king was not to rely on having a large army of horsemen to protect himself. Kings, at that time, would make marriages to secure their borders. A king would give his daughter to another king as wife and she would look after her father’s interests, on the other hand she would be a hostage who could be killed if her father broke any treaties. Kings didn’t marry because they were sex maniacs, the married to ensure their future. The Lord promised Israel that they would be secure within their borders is they obeyed Him. They were not to trust in treaties with other kings or nations for that would draw them away from the Lord. When a king married a wife from another country, he would be tempted to worship her gods to keep happy and would lead the nation astray.
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