Deuteronomy 17

The repetition of the word “gates” (16:5, 11, 14, 18; 17:2, 5, 8) indicates that the basic unit of government in Israel was the local town council. It was made up of judges and officers who, with the elders, conducted business at the city gates (Ruth 4:1–12). The judges and officers were probably appointed or elected by the male land-owning citizens of the town, but we aren’t given the details. The word translated “officers” (kjv) means “writers, secretaries” and refers to the men who kept the official records and genealogies, advised the judges, and carried out their decisions. God was the supreme Legislator in the land, because He gave the laws; the local judges formed the judicial branch of the government; and their officers constituted the executive branch.

Godly character (16:19–20). The most important thing about the judges and officers was that they be men of character, because only just men could honestly execute just judgment. The judges were not to twist the law and “distort justice,” nor were they to “respect persons,” which in the Hebrew is literally “regard faces.” The important thing was to determine what the accused person did and not to major on who the accused person was. The Lord warned the judges not to favor their friends by acquitting the guilty, reducing the sentences, or tampering with the legal process, nor were the judges to accept bribes. “Justice” is usually pictured as a woman carrying scales and wearing a blindfold. “It is not a good thing to show partiality to the wicked, or to overthrow the righteous in judgment” (Prov. 18: nkjv).

The decisions of the judges affected not only the individuals on trial but the entire nation. If the judges freed the guilty at the expense of the innocent, the land would be defiled and God would eventually remove the nation from the land. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened during the years that preceded the fall of Israel and Judah. The courts became corrupt and allowed the rich to rob the poor and needy, and the wealthy soon owned great estates and controlled the economy. Because the leaders didn’t obey the laws about the Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee, the economy got out of balance and the land was stolen from its rightful owners. God couldn’t permit such flagrant disobedience to His law, so He punished His people severely by sending them into captivity.

Leadership in the local church must be given only to those who are qualified (Acts 6:1–7; 1 Tim. 3; Titus 1:5–9). “Everything rises or falls with leadership,” says Dr. Lee Roberson, and he is right. How tragic it is when churches choose unqualified and untried people to “fill” offices instead of to “use” those offices for the building of the church and the glory of God (1 Tim. 3:10). In the leadership of the local church, spiritual character is far more important than a person’s popularity, personality, talent, or occupation.

Devotion to God (16:21—17:7). Idolatry was the great enemy of the spiritual life of the Jewish nation, and the judges had to be alert enough to detect it and courageous enough to deal with it. The “groves” were areas dedicated to the worship of Baal’s consort, Ashtoreth, and among their idols were wooden poles that symbolized the male member. Note that the idolaters tried to locate their worship centers as close to God’s altar as possible (16:21; niv, “beside the altar”). The idolaters wanted to encourage people to worship both Jehovah and Ashteroth, and eventually Ashtoreth would win out. If the judges were devoted to God, they would carefully investigate such practices, get the facts, condemn the guilty, and remove the idols from the land. They had to put Jehovah first.

It can’t be emphasized too much that the religion of the Canaanite nations was unspeakably filthy and mingled blind superstition with gross immorality. Human nature being what it is, the Jews would be attracted to gods they could see and ceremonies that appealed to their sensual appetites. This explains why God commanded the Jews to wipe out every vestige of Canaanite religion from the land (7:1–11), for He knew that the hearts of the people were too often set on doing evil in spite of His holy laws and His warnings.

The wisdom of God (17:8–13). Many times, the local judges and courts would have to consider cases that were complicated and perplexing and too difficult for them to settle, cases involving bloodshed, accusations, lawsuits, and various kinds of assault. To assist the local officials, the Lord would establish a central “court” at His sanctuary where the priests and Levites would share their wisdom and explain the law of God. In Israel, God’s law was national law, and the best ones to interpret and apply the law were the priests and Levites.

This “sanctuary court” was not a court of appeals where a convicted person could seek a second trial, nor was it an advisory committee whose decisions could be accepted or rejected. It was a court that tried cases carefully and whose decisions were authoritative and binding. Anybody who showed contempt for the authority of the courts or the decisions that they rendered was actually showing contempt for God and His law. Such rebels were guilty of a capital crime and were subject to the death penalty. God would not have rebellious citizens in His nation or permit people to resist His law presumptuously. No sacrifices were provided in the law for people who committed “high-handed” and deliberate sins (Num. 15:30–36).

When Woodrow Wilson was president of the United States, he said, “There are a good many problems before the American people today, and before me as president, but I expect to find the solution of those problems just in the proportion that I am faithful in the study of the Word of God.” Statesman Daniel Webster said, “If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instruction and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury our glory in profound obscurity.” Living as we do in a democratic pluralistic society, we can’t expect the government to make the Bible its official guidebook, but it would help the nation if professed Christians and Christian churches would major on preaching, teaching, and obeying the Word of God.

Elected leaders, not hereditary rulers, govern democratic nations today, but in ancient times, kings and emperors ruled nations and empires with despotic authority. But Israel was different from the other nations, for the law of the Lord was the “cement” that united the twelve tribes. The Levites, who were scattered throughout the land, taught the people God’s law, and the priests and judges saw to it that the law was enforced justly. The Israelites had to bring their tithes and sacrifices to the central sanctuary, and three times each year all the adult males assembled there to celebrate the goodness of the Lord. Jehovah was King in Israel (Ex. 15:18; Judg. 8:23) and He sat “enthroned between the cherubim” (Ps. 80:1) in the Holy of Holies.

Desiring a king (v. 14). But the Lord knew that the day would come when Israel would ask for a king because they wanted to be like the other nations (1 Sam. 8). During the time of the judges, the political and spiritual unity of the twelve tribes deteriorated greatly (Judg. 17:6; 21:25), and Israel was in constant danger of invasion by their enemies (1 Sam. 9:16; 12:12). Instead of trusting God, the people wanted a king who would build an army and lead the nation to victory. Unfortunately, the spiritual leadership in Israel had decayed and Samuel’s sons weren’t following the ways of the Lord (8:1–5). But the main cause for Israel’s cry for a king was their desire to be like the other nations. Yet Israel’s great distinction was that they were not like the other nations! They were God’s chosen people, a kingdom of priests, and God’s special treasure (Ex. 19:5–6). “Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations” (Num. 23:9).

Imitating the world instead of trusting the Lord has always been the great temptation of God’s people, and each time they’ve succumbed, they’ve suffered. During their wilderness journey, Israel compared everything that happened with what they had experienced in Egypt, and at Kadesh-Barnea they even wanted to choose a leader and go back to Egypt (14:1–5)! But the church today is equally guilty of unbelief. When church leaders adopt the methods and measurements of the world, then the church has taken a giant step toward becoming like the world and losing its divine distinctives. Instead of trusting the Word of God and prayer (Acts 6:4), we depend on following the world’s wisdom, imitating the world’s methods, and catering to the world’s appetites, giving people what they want instead of what they need. Believers today need to take to heart God’s reminder to Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples” (Num. 20: nkjv).

Qualifications for a king (vv. 15–17). The king was not to be elected by the people; he was to be chosen by God. Israel’s first king was Saul (1 Sam. 9—10), but God never intended Saul to establish a royal dynasty in Israel. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, but Judah was the royal tribe (Gen. 49:8–10), and the Messiah would come from Judah. Actually, Saul was given to the people to chasten them because they rejected the Lord (1 Sam. 8:7), for God’s greatest judgment is to give His people what they want and let them suffer for it.

Not only must the king be chosen by God, but the king must be from Israel and not be a foreigner. Whenever God wanted to chasten His people, He would set a foreign ruler over them and let the people experience the contrast between the goodness of God and the oppressiveness of the idolatrous Gentiles. Israel’s king must also put his full trust in the Lord and not depend on horses and armies (Deut. 17:16), foreign alliances based on marriage (v. 17a), or material wealth (v. 17b). King Solomon violated all three of these regulations and it led him and the nation into sin. He married an Egyptian princess (1 Kings 3:1), the first of many political alliances he made by taking foreign wives (11:1–6). He went back to Egypt not only for a wife but also for horses for his army, and built “chariot cities” in Israel where he stabled his horses and chariots (10:26, 28–29). As for his wealth, it was fabulous and impossible to calculate (vv. 14–25, 27).

Wisdom for the king (vv. 18–20). The most important qualification for the king was a personal knowledge of the law of God (vv. 18–20). He was to write out his own copy of the law, using the official copy provided by the priests (31:9, 24–26), read it regularly, and take it to heart. (See God’s command to Joshua in Josh. 1:7–8.) His study of the law would not only help him to rule the people justly, but it would also reveal to him the character of God and encourage him to fear Him and love Him more (Prov. 4). The king’s submission to God and His law would keep him from getting proud and abusing the authority the Lord had given him. For him to think that he was better than his brethren and privileged to live above God’s law would indicate that he wasn’t fit to lead the nation.