14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. 18 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests.19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel. (Deuteronomy 17)
God saw it coming. Israel would want a king. They had been under Pharoah and had confronted a number of kings and their armies, and wanted their own king. But there were stipulations for them and for him. He needed to be one of them, and not forget that he was one of them. That meant he was not better than them or entitled to more that them: no extra stuff, pets or wives. In fact, more than that, they were more accountable to God and others - to know and live by God's will and word. Most of all, leaders are more responsible for looking to the future, for their family and their people. May each of us have that perspective when we consider where God has placed us. Be thankful. Be Humble. Obey God at every turn.
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