Ref: http://www.gotquestions.org/laws-for-kings.html DEUTERONOMY 17:14-20 by Brother Bob 4/24/2016 Ref: http://www.gotquestions.org/laws-for-kings.html

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, ‘Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,’ be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses” (Deuteronomy 17:14). WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? Kings of the United Kingdom (c 1025-925 BC) King Relationship to Previous King God's Judgment Saul None Did Evil IIshbosheth Son (Unknown) David Did Right Solomon (Aka Jedidiah) Did Right In Youth Evil In Old Age

208 YEARS WITH BAD OR MOSTLY BAD KINGS KINGS OF ISRAEL Jeroboam I bad 930—909 BC Nadab bad 909—908 BC Baasha bad 908—886 BC Elah bad 886—885 BC Zimri bad 885 BC Tibni bad 885—880 BC Omri (overlap) extra bad 885—874 BC Ahab the worst 874—853 BC Ahaziah bad 853—852 BC Joram/Jehoram bad mostly 852—841 BC Jehu not good 841—814 BC Jehoahaz bad 814—798 BC Joash bad 798—782 BC Jeroboam II (overlap) bad 793—753 BC Zechariah bad 753 BC Shallum bad 752 BC Menahem bad 752—742 BC Pekahiah bad 742—740 BC Pekah (overlap) bad 752—732 BC Hoshea bad 732—722 BC Ref: https://www.vtaide.com/gleanings/Kings-of-Israel/kings.html 208 YEARS WITH BAD OR MOSTLY BAD KINGS

147 YEARS WITH BAD, MOSTLY BAD, DEVILISH OR WICKED KINGS KINGS OF JUDAH: Rehoboam bad mostly 933—916 BC Abijah bad mostly 915—913 BC Asa good 912—872 BC Jehoshaphat (overlap) good 874—850 BC Jehoram/Joram bad 850—843 BC Ahaziah bad 843 BC Athaliah (queen) devilish 843—837 BC Joash/Jehoash good mostly 843—803 BC Amaziah good mostly 803—775 BC Uzziah/Azariah (overlap) good mostly 787—735 BC Jotham (overlap) good 749—734 BC Ahaz wicked 741—726 BC Hezekiah THE BEST 726—697 BC Manasseh the worst 697—642 BC Amon the worst 641—640 BC Josiah THE BEST 639—608 BC Jehoahaz bad 608 BC Jehoiakim wicked 608—597 BC Jehoiachin bad 597 BC Zedekiah bad 597—586 BC 147 YEARS WITH BAD, MOSTLY BAD, DEVILISH OR WICKED KINGS 231 YEARS WITH GOOD, MOSTLY GOOD OR THE BEST KINGS R ef: https://www.vtaide.com/gleaings/Kings-of-Israel/kings.html

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? IN DEUTERONOMY 17:14 WE FIND SEVERAL INSIGHTS THAT CAN PROVIDE WISDOM FOR THE SELECTION OF LEADERS TODAY. First - God tells His people to make sure they are following His will when crowning a king. The Bible makes it clear that leaders are chosen by the Lord (see Romans 13:1). In situations where we have a choice in who our leaders are, we must consult with God regarding our vote. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL?

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? Second - leaders are often best selected from among the people they will lead. In the case of Israel’s kings, the Lord commanded, “He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite” (Deuteronomy 17:15). WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL?

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? Third - a godly leader must not focus on amassing personal wealth. Deuteronomy 17:16–17 warns, “The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them. . . . He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? Great wealth has a way of turning a person’s heart from the Lord (see Matthew 19:23), and a leader of people should not allow himself to be distracted by riches.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? Fourth - a good leader must be content with his family situation. Verse 17 warns, “He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.” A multitude of wives will turn a leader’s heart from the Lord. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? This is exactly what happened in the reign of King Solomon, who had 700 wives (1 Kings 11:3). Despite Solomon’s great wisdom, his heart turned from the Lord to honor his wives’ deities.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? Fifth - a good leader must be committed to God’s Word. Deut. 17: 18–19 add, “When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees.” WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? There is no record of an Israelite king actually writing out the entire Law of the Lord, but King David serves as an example of a leader who was committed to the Law and was blessed as a result. Other kings of Israel who did not adhere to God’s laws did not enjoy the same leadership quality.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? Sixth - a godly leader serves in humility. The Israelite king was told “not [to] consider himself better than his fellow Israelites” (verse 20). Even though he sits on a throne, a king is still God’s servant. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL?

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? The benefit to Israelite kings who followed these commands was a long reign and an established dynasty: “He and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel” (verse 20). The people under a godly king also benefited. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? It is important that leaders in any nation, in any era, seek to be godly. “When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan” (Proverbs 29:2, NLT).

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? If we or our nation or our church is experiencing hardships, it is to our benefit to compare our beliefs and how we act upon those beliefs with the experiences of the Israelites under the various kings. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? God hates sin and will not tolerate it. But if the Chronicles teach us anything, it is that God desires to forgive and heal those who will humbly pray and repent (1 John 1:9).

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? If you could have anything you wished from God, what would you ask for? Fabulous wealth? Perfect health for you and your loved ones? The power over life and death? Amazing to think about it, isn’t it? WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? But more amazing is that God made such an offer to Solomon and he chose none of these things. What he asked for was wisdom and knowledge to complete the task God had assigned to him and to do it well.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? The lesson for us is that God has given each of us a commission to fulfill and the greatest blessing we can seek from God is the ability to carry out His will for our lives. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL? For that, we need the “wisdom from above” (James 3:17) to discern His will, as well as the understanding and intimate knowledge of Him in order to motivate us to Christlikeness in both deed and attitude (James 3:13).

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL?

NOW YOU’VE HEARD IT YOU’RE RESPONSIBLE WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE FOR THE KINGS OF ISRAEL?