Right Words

The last seven verses of this chapter establish divine standards for the kings that God foresaw the Israelites would set over themselves (v. 14). It’s curious that of the five standards, one was kept in full, three were kept partially, and one, to my knowledge, was never kept. Let’s look more closely.

1. Non-Gentile rulers only (17:14-15). None of the kings of Israel and Judah from Saul to Zedekiah were Gentiles. Some had mixed blood, such as Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:21), but all identified as Hebrew.
2. Multiplying horses (17:16). Beginning with Solomon (1 Kings 10:28-29), horses are amassed with devastating long-term results. These very horses are used by Israel’s enemies to subdue them in the wars following Solomon’s reign. “…for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7).
3. Multiplying wives (17:17a). This practice seems to decline from Solomon onward, but even Joash (2 Chron. 24:3), Josiah (2 Kings 23:31, 36), and Jechoniah (2 Kings 24:15) had multiple wives up until the Babylonian captivity.
4. Multiplying gold (17:17b). David lays up gold for the temple (1 Chron. 29:1-5), but not for himself. Solomon begins the hoarding, and much of the gold amassed is lost in war over the centuries, though a few kings lay up considerable store, but not to the degree that Solomon did.
5. Scribing a copy of the Mosaic law (17:18-20). As far as I can tell, no king of Israel or Judah obeyed this commandment, even David, Hezekiah, and Josiah, three of the most faithful kings in Hebrew history. Sins of omission lead to sins of commission: if each king had obeyed this commandment, they would have come to this very chapter and known what they should and should not do as king.

In conclusion, this omission reminds me of another: no king ever enforced the seventh-year sabbath, earning Israel a 70-year captivity in Babylon as repayment (2 Chron. 36:21). Folks, God expects us to pay the utmost attention to his word, and shouldn’t we, considering the source? I mentioned Josiah a few times above. Though he apparently never scribed the Mosaic law, he had the highest regard for it and, in God’s opinion, followed it the most thoroughly (2 Kings 23:25). Wouldn’t you love to have a divinely-inspired epitaph like that?