Reminding Our Servants
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When Moses wrote the books of the Law,
Israel didn’t have a king.
Yet Moses gave instructions about how a king should act.
Because one day they would.
Among those instructions were…
“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.
When a king sat on the throne,
He would write for himself a copy of the law.
Not just a copy,
But a copy from the original,
The one Moses had written.
The one that was before the priests and levites.
Why? Why was it so important that each king write for himself a copy of the law from the original.
First, writing out a copy of the law not only teaches the king what is in the law,
But the act of writing it helps lock that knowledge in.
That’s why people take notes,
Writing things down help the brain remember it.
Second, by copying the original, both the king and the priests can make sure he got the copy right.
When you make a copy of a copy, any error in the copy gets repeated.
Repeat it often enough, and the whole message changes.
Just like in the game of “Telephone”.
Third, by make a copy for himself, the king has his own copy,
Available to him whenever he needs it.
And allowing him to fulfill the next requirement of being king.
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,
Not only is the king supposed to have a copy of the law with him,
But he’s supposed to read it all the days of his life.
Each and every day.
Why?
Yes, so he will carefully observe all the words of the law.
But there’s more.
that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.
It’s not merely so the king knows the law,
Or even that he observes the law.
But so his heart won’t be lifted up.
So he won’t begin to think of himself as Israel’s master,
Rather than their servant.
Also, so the king would not turn away from the commandment’s of the law.
They would become a daily “touch point”,
A return to a known set of rules.
By doing this, by repeatedly returning to the law,
The king would not only know the law,
But avoid the wrath of God.
Prolonging his days as king, and those of his children.
As God told David via Nathan.
“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
God promised David that his son would sit on the throne.
And the throne of his son’s kingdom would list forever.
Although history would show that the throne of the son’s of David would never again rise to the level of Solomon.
At least not yet.
Daily Bible Reading
Daily Bible Reading
If daily reading of the Bible, God’s Law, is important for the king,
What about you and I?
Why did God tell the kings to read the Law every day of their lives?
that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes,
Is it important that all of God’s people are careful to observe the law?
I would say so.
that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren,
Do we want our hearts to be lifted up above our breathren?
No.
that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left,
Do you want to turn aside from God’s commandments?
I don’t think so.
and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.
Do you want to prolong your days?
What about the days of your children?
What’s good for the king is good for the people.
Which is why I recommend reading the Bible every day.
And with all of the tools we have,
Reading through the entire Bible in a year is pretty easy.
Elders and Deacons
Elders and Deacons
But there’s another reason why people should get in the habit of reading their Bibles daily.
This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.
Not every man is going to desire to become a bishop.
Literally an overseer.
But as we look at the qualifications for an overseer, we find.
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;
How can a man teach if he himself as not already been taught?
What do we expect an overseer to be able to teach?
Why God’s law.
But there’s more.
Because as we look at the entire list of qualifications for an overseer,
We see someone who both know and follows God’s law.
Maybe you don’t want to be an overseer,
What about a servant?
Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.
A deacon, from the greed diakonous, is a servant.
A minister to others.
How can someone hold the mystery of the faith,
If they haven’t read and studied the Law of God?
What if you don’t want to be an overseer, or a bishop?
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
How can a wife voluntarily submit to their husband,
If neither know the law they are to be living under?
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
Husbands, how can we love our wives as Christ loved the church,
If we don’t study how Christ did so?
How can we sanctify and cleanse her by the word,
If we don’t know it?
Conclusion
Conclusion
God expects leaders, be they kings, overseers, or husbands, to be familiar with His Word.
To be so steeped in His Word that it’s a part of his life.
That is apparent in the way he lives and how he runs his household.
That is why His law states not only that the king make a copy of the law,
But that he have it with him, to read every day of his life.
What about everyone else?
Think of how Jesus told his disciples to pray:
In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
How can God’s will be done on earth,
If those who are under His discipline don’t know His Word?
How can His people, who are called by His name, know His Word,
If they don’t spend any time in it?
How can you call yourself a disciple of Jesus,
If you can’t be bothered to read the law He came to fulfill?
Read that stories of his incarnation?
And the instructions of those He sent to teach us?
After all, if you cannot be bothered to know the Lord you claim to serve,
Why should He claim to know you us when the time comes?
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
