The Truth in Print Vol. 29, Issue 3, Apr. 2023
A Publication of the Valley church of Christ,
2375 W. 8th Street, Yuma, AZ 85364
(928-782-5058)
Website
Address ~ http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com
THE CORRECT DELIGHT OF KINGS
(Deu 17:18-20)
“The
appreciation of “the delight of Kings” of Israel --- kept in proper context
under the Old Covenant --- is seen in their fear of God and obedience to His
commands given to Israel. The commands for them to love truth and
righteousness, and some doing so, stand in contrast to the wickedness of rulers
and magistrates today!”
THEIR FUTURE KING
IS FORETOLD BY MOSES IN THE 40TH YEAR IN THE WILDERNESS (DEU
17:14-20)
Deu 17:14 “When you come to the land
which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say,
'I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,'
Deu 17:15 you shall surely set a king
over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren
you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is
not your brother.
Deu 17:16 But he shall not multiply
horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses,
for the LORD has said to you, 'You shall not return that way again.’
Deu 17:18 “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.
Deu 17:19 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, ß B.L. This reference to God’s word tells why
the kings’ hearts turned against God and their people. Some kings had the fear
of God, some didn’t have it and got it, and some had it and lost it. Far too
many were wicked and failed to fear God.
Deu 17:20 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. ß B.L. When they served God they served the
people; when they turned from God they oppressed the people. Samuel told Saul
he was no longer little in his own eyes as he once was! (I Sam 15:17).
THE CIRCUMSTANCES
UNDER WHICH ISRAEL GOT A KING
Israel’s Demand
was a Rejection of God’s Reign Over Them
1Sa 8:1 Now it came to pass when
Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel.
1Sa 8:2 The name of his firstborn was
Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.
1Sa 8:3 But his sons did not walk in
his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted
justice.
1Sa 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel
gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,
1Sa 8:5 and said to him, "Look,
you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to
judge us like all the nations."
1Sa 8:6 But the thing displeased
Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." So, Samuel
prayed to the LORD.
1Sa 8:7 And the LORD said to Samuel,
"Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have
not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over
them.
1Sa 8:8 According to all the works
which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to
this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are
doing to you also.
1Sa 8:9 Now therefore, heed their
voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of
the king who will reign over them."
Notes:
1. They asked for a king when stating
the truth about Samuel’s sons who were wicked.
2. They wanted to be like the nations
around them --- this is often used in my lifetime as a warning for the churches
of Christ today that want to be like the false religions around them.
3. They had rejected God, His word and
care, and not Samuel.
Warned About the
King’s Rule Over Them (I Sa 8:10-18)
1Sa 8:10 So Samuel told all the words
of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king.
1Sa 8:11 And he said, “This will be
the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and
appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run
before his chariots.
1Sa 8:12 He will appoint captains over
his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground
and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his
chariots.
1Sa 8:13 He will take your daughters
to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
1Sa 8:14 And he will take the best of
your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his
servants.
1Sa 8:15 He will take a tenth of your
grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants.
1Sa 8:16 And he will take your male
servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and
put them to his work.
1Sa 8:17 He will take a tenth of your
sheep. And you will be his servants.
1Sa 8:18 And you will cry out in that
day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will
not hear you in that day.”
1Sa 8:19 Nevertheless the people
refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a
king over us,
1Sa 8:20 that we also may be like all
the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our
battles.”
1Sa 8:21 And Samuel heard all the
words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD.
1Sa 8:22 So the LORD said to Samuel,
“Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel,
“Every man go to his city.”
Compare
Rehoboam’s answer to Jeroboam and the ten tribes:
1Ki 12:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem,
for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.
1Ki 12:2 So it happened, when Jeroboam
the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from the
presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt),
1Ki 12:3 that they sent and called
him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam,
saying,
1Ki 12:4 “Your father made our yoke
heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his
heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you."
1Ki 12:5 So he said to them,
"Depart for three days, then come back to me." And the people
departed.
1Ki 12:6 Then King Rehoboam consulted
the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he
said, "How do you advise me to answer these people?"
1Ki 12:7 And they spoke to him, saying,
"If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and
answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants
forever."
1Ki 12:8 But he rejected the advice
which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up
with him, who stood before him.
1Ki 12:9 And he said to them,
"What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken
to me, saying, 'Lighten the yoke which your father put on us'?"
1Ki 12:10 Then the young men who had
grown up with him spoke to him, saying, "Thus you should speak to this
people who have spoken to you, saying, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, but
you make it lighter on us'—thus you shall say to them: 'My little finger shall
be thicker than my father's waist!
1Ki 12:11 And now, whereas my
father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised
you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!' "
1Ki 12:12 So
Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had
directed, saying, "Come back to me the third day."
1Ki 12:13 Then the king answered
the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given
him;
1Ki 12:14 and he spoke to them
according to the advice of the young men, saying, "My father made your
yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips,
but I will chastise you with scourges!"
ISRAEL UNDER THE
LAW OF MOSES WAS A THEOCRACY
·
“Theocracy” (American Heritage
Dictionary) n., 1. A government ruled by or subject to religious authority.
Deu 17:18 “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.
Deu 17:19 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,
Deu 17:20 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.
THE CHURCH
(SPIRITUAL ISRAEL, Gal. 6:16) IS UNDER CHRIST AS ITS ONE HEAD (Eph. 5:23) ---
Who is over all things (Eph. 1:22-23).
·
Christ has all authority (Matt
28:18-20).
“Autocrat” (American Heritage
Dictionary), n. 1 A ruler having unlimited power;
·
The law of Christ is the entire New
Testament (Jo. 12:48; Rom 1:16; 2 Tim 3:16-17; Jude 3).
·
The church is not a “Democracy”:
“Democracy”
(American Heritage Dictionary), n, 1. Government by the people, exercised
either directly or through elected representatives.
·
There is no civil nation that
is a “Christian Nation” --- the Gospel is for all men everywhere (Mk.
16:15-16).
Note: Our nation, of course, has not
established a “national religion.” If it did it would be sheer stupidity and
apostasy like the U.K. today with the Church of England.
PROVERBS HAS MUCH
TO ADD TO A KING’S DELIGHT:
Pro 16:10 KJV A divine sentence is
in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.
Pro 16:10 NKJV Divination is on
the lips of the king; His mouth must not transgress in judgment.
·
What God has ordered must be observed.
·
That there must be righteousness and
equity in his judgments is illustrated with a simple weight and balance:
Pro 16:11 A just weight and
balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work.
Can you define what theft is for
everyone?
Pro 16:12 It is an abomination for
kings to commit wickedness, For a throne is established by righteousness.
“righteousness” [H6666] NASC:
righteousness: — honesty ß B.L. Lacking among our leaders! We hear lie
after lie!
Pro 25:4 Take away the dross from
silver, And it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.
Pro 25:5 Take away the wicked from
before the king, And his throne will be established in righteousness.
Pro 29:12 If a ruler pays attention to
lies, All his servants become wicked.
Pro 29:13 The poor man and the
oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.
Pro 29:14 The king who judges the poor
with truth, His throne will be established forever.
The Psalmist said, Psa 99:4 The King's
strength also loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed
justice and righteousness in Jacob. *equity – evenness, equal.
(Lev 19:15 ‘You shall do no injustice
in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the
mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.)
Can you define what equality is for
everyone? who the oppressor is? what crime is? what racism is? what respect of
persons is? Too many leaders and judges cannot tie these correctly to freedom
of speech, freedom to assemble, and the right of self-defense.
Pro 16:13 Righteous lips are the
delight of kings, And they love him who speaks what is right.
Pro 14:34 Righteousness exalts a
nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.
Pro 14:35 The king's favor is toward a
wise servant, But his wrath is against him who causes shame.
Pro 22:11 He who loves purity of heart
And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend.
Pro 10:4 He who has a slack hand
becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Pro 10:5 He who gathers in summer is a
wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.
Can you define what slothfulness if
for everyone?
Pro 12:4 An excellent wife is the
crown of her husband, But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his
bones.
Why put a proverb in about an
excellent wife and her husband? Can you define who a wife is? who a husband is?
We have leaders who are idiots that can’t!
Pro 20:8 A king who sits on the throne
of judgment Scatters all evil with his eyes.
Pro 25:5 Take away the wicked from
before the king, And his throne will be established in righteousness.
King David said:
Psa 101:5 Whoever secretly slanders
his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud
heart, Him I will not endure.
Psa 101:6 My eyes shall be on the
faithful of the land, That they may dwell with me; He who walks in a perfect
way, He shall serve me.
Psa 101:7 He who works deceit shall
not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my
presence.
Psa 101:8 Early I will destroy all the
wicked of the land, That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the
LORD.
JEREMIAH’S
MESSAGE TO SHALLUM KING OF JUDAH:
Message to Shallum (Jehoahaz) King of Judah, son of Josiah --- he was told to
look at what his father, Josiah did.
Jer 22:11 For thus says the LORD
concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of
Josiah his father, who went from this place: "He shall not return here
anymore,
Jer 22:12 but he shall die in the
place where they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. ß B.L. He was taken to Egypt, 2 Ki 23:33.
Jer 22:13 “Woe to him who builds his
house by unrighteousness And his chambers by injustice, Who uses his neighbor's
service without wages And gives him nothing for his work, ß B.L. Everything he did was by
unrighteousness!
Jer 22:14 Who says, 'I will build
myself a wide house with spacious chambers, And cut out windows for it,
Paneling it with cedar And painting it with vermilion.’ ß B.L. He planned this but what happened to
him?
Jer 22:15 “Shall you reign because you
enclose yourself in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, And do justice
and righteousness? Then it was well with him. ß B.L. He forgot what his father did that made
him prosper.
Jer 22:16 He judged the cause of the
poor and needy; Then it was well. Was not this knowing Me?" says the
LORD. ß B.L. He did not understand what it means to
know God.
Jer 22:17 “Yet your eyes and your
heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And
practicing oppression and violence." ß
B.L. How many Politicians and magistrates have eyes and hearts for nothing but
their own covetousness, for oppression and violence, and have no respect for
human life?
THE APPRECIATION
OF THE CORRECT DELIGHT OF KINGS OF ISRAEL
The appreciation of “the delight of
Kings” of Israel --- kept in proper context under the Old Covenant --- is seen
in their fear of God and obedience to His commands given to Israel. The
commands for them to love truth and righteousness, and some doing so, stand in
contrast to the wickedness of rulers and magistrates today!
Valley
Church of Christ
2375 W. 8th
Street, Yuma, AZ 85364
(928)
782-5058 ~ http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com
Sunday
Services – Classes ~10:00; Assembly 10:50 am; Evening: 6:00 pm.
Wednesday
evening – 7:00 pm
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