If Only… | Sunday, August 28, 2022

You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God a bull or a sheep which has any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination to the LORD your God... If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing His covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them... then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. (Deuteronomy 17:1–7)

When self-governance feels too heavy, our hearts cry "if only" for a righteous king—but only Jesus can fill that longing.

If Only We Had Righteous Leaders

I'm willing to bet you've heard it before, even if you've never said it yourself: "If only. If only we had righteous leaders. If only we had just judges. If only we had a good and godly king." We're almost to September; in just two months your voice, via your vote, gets to be heard here in the U.S. It's at times just like this that we find ourselves thinking exactly that sort of thing—if only there were a representative who stood up for truth and justice and goodness.

Three thousand years ago that's exactly what many people in Jerusalem were saying. The king at that time had effectively abdicated his responsibility. He was checked out, completely out of step with God's law. He was immoral sexually. He had dishonored his father and mother. He had blood on his hands through murder. He committed adultery; he was a thief, a liar, and covetous. If you're keeping track, he had broken commandments five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. His household was in complete disarray, his kids were jacked up, and the word going around Jerusalem was, "If only we had a godly king."

Back to Deuteronomy

Before we deal with Israel's predicament or anything in our own day, we need to go back to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 17. All of these issues Israel faced while living in the promised land are connected to this book. Deuteronomy is an essential link that ties the Old Testament narrative together—the history books (Joshua through Chronicles), the poetry books (Psalms through Song of Solomon), and the prophets (Isaiah through Malachi) all link back to it. It is the bedrock upon which all of Israel's history is built, and I hope to show that it runs all the way through to our day in 2022.

Deuteronomy is Moses's last great sermon to the children of Israel. This is the same Moses who was rescued as a baby from Pharaoh's decree of death, who grew up in the evil Egyptian king's household, trained in all the wisdom and knowledge of the Egyptians. At about 40 he flushed his position when he was exiled for killing an Egyptian, then spent 40 years shepherding stinky, dirty sheep—ironic, since Egyptians hated shepherds. After those 40 years God called him: "Now you're ready. Go to Pharaoh and tell him, let My people go."

Israel's Coming Need for a Leader

Now Moses is 120 years old. He spent his first 40 years preparing to be great in Egypt, his next 40 being humbled in the desert, and his last 40, as Hebrews 11 says, suffering affliction with the people of God. He and the people he has led for 40 years are on the border of blessing—but unlike them, Moses cannot enter the land. He is preparing Israel for an earthly inheritance he will never experience.

For 40 years Moses had been Israel's direct link to God. When they were hungry, they cried out to Moses. When they were thirsty, they complained to Moses. When there was an argument, a theft, a broken vow, immorality, or deceit, Moses was the arbiter of it all. But now Israel will enter the land, and Moses is not going with them. The obvious question for that generation—who had only ever known Moses's leadership—is: we have the law, but we are going to need a judge. We need someone righteous to ensure justice. If only we had another Moses.

That's what Deuteronomy 17 is about. It's a "what if" scenario. What if we get into the promised land and someone does something unrighteous—who will judge rightly? In the past they simply went to Moses. These were questions that generation had never had to concern themselves with, because Moses was their guy. But now Moses is rehearsing God's law one final time, and the question must arise: what do we do when Moses is gone and someone, for instance, offers an unrighteous sacrifice?

When an Abomination Is Committed

An unrighteous sacrifice is a serious infraction—it's one of the original problems all the way back in Genesis 4. So verse 1 tells them not to sacrifice an animal with any blemish or defect, "for that is an abomination to the LORD your God." Abomination is a heavy word. When a clearly wicked sin is committed in your presence, how do you respond now that you are not one people in one place with one leader, but many tribes dispersed throughout the land?

Verses 2–7 go further: if a man or woman is found serving other gods—idolatry—you shall inquire diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been committed, you shall stone that person to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses, never on the testimony of one. And note verse 7: "The hands of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people."

That is heavy. It was far easier when Moses was around—you simply went to him. But now, if there are two or three witnesses who all confirm what took place, those witnesses are the ones to first take up the stone. Let me pause and acknowledge how this sounds to 21st-century ears—archaic, harsh, even crazy. But for the world of the ancient Near East 3,400 years ago, this was a revolutionary reform.

A Revolutionary Form of Self-Governance

There were many ancient law codes—the Code of Hammurabi, the Hittites, the Canaanites. But Israel's law code in Deuteronomy leveled the playing field and called all people to a rudimentary form of self-governance that had not existed before. That's the conclusion of Dr. Eric Wines, a Congregationalist minister, professor, university president, and prison reformer of the 1850s, whose nearly 700-page commentary on the law of ancient Israel argued that the Mosaic law code was the earliest form of a republican, self-governing system in all of history.

When we say we live in a Judeo-Christian culture, it goes all the way back to Deuteronomy. And Deuteronomy makes very clear: the children of Israel were individually responsible to serve and follow God as their king. That's a lot of responsibility. God is sovereign, but you are responsible to follow His ways. As came up in our pastors' meeting this week, there was no enforcing officer, no police force. You had to follow God faithfully, and if you saw others who were not, you were to exhort and challenge them—and if they continued, take it before the leaders at the city gates.

Settling Disputes Too Hard to Judge

So how do you settle a dispute too big to handle? Verses 8–13 give the answer. "If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge... then you shall arise and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses, and you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days; and they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment."

The priests and Levites were mediators between God and His people. They would open the law—Deuteronomy, Exodus, Leviticus—read it, interpret it, and give understanding, and the judge would determine the sentence. Imagine you're in your tribal territory and an abomination occurs. You, as a witness, take it to the judges at the city gates. If it's too hard, it goes up, if you will, to the supreme court—the priests and Levites—who interpret the law, and the judge determines the sentence.

But here's the kicker: "You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce... you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left." That's the point where you start to say, "If only we had someone else to deal with this for us." It was one thing to have an enforcer take care of these issues; it's quite another when it's put back on you.

The Weight of Personal Responsibility

God was Israel's sovereign, and they were individually responsible to perform His statutes and judgments. You might say, "I don't want to be the one to take up a stone." But the hands of the witnesses are first. I think of John 8, where Jesus says he who is without the same sin is to cast the first stone. There's no mob rule here. You're the witness, you brought it to the judges, and now you must be involved. That is sobering.

You may say, "I don't want to do that; let the priests and judges handle it." But look at verse 12: "the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest... or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel." It doesn't get more weighty than that. If you refuse to do what the law commands, the punishment falls back on you. Self-governance according to divine or natural law is not self-evident, and it is not easy.

Why We Default to Kings

Our own founding charter says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." Israel believed the same 3,400 years ago. But self-governance requires submission to a codified, objective, agreed-upon set of values, statutes, and ordinances—an objective law all surrender to—and it requires that each of us govern ourselves accordingly. This is heavy. It does not happen by default. Autonomy and self-governance are not automatic, which is why humans almost invariably default to monarchical rule.

That's why the next thing in Deuteronomy 17 is the appointment of a king. Verses 14–15: "When you come into the land... and say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,' you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, one from among your brethren." The logic is astounding. Israel—a name meaning "governed of God"—was to be ruled not by an earthly authority but by covenantal law with God as king. They would have to govern themselves without His day-to-day oversight, and handle judgments according to His statutes.

God set the bar high, and in His wisdom He knew His people—ambitious, optimistic, idealistic as they were—would fail and default toward monarchy. Why? Because we're sinners, we're broken, and it is just easier to have someone else handle the hard stuff. It's costly to relinquish authority to someone else; it costs you freedom and liberty. But in the cost-benefit analysis, the benefit seems to outweigh the cost because it's easier, and we opt for the path of least resistance.

Easier to Submit to an Earthly King

Individual responsibility is hard; it's easier to submit to an earthly king. You've experienced this in your household or workplace—when you see someone doing something bad, you'd rather walk away because you're not the manager. You don't want to be the one to fire someone, so you're happy to let someone up the pole deal with it. You'll even give up some of your rights to say, "You deal with the hard stuff."

God, knowing this, lays out requirements. The king must be chosen by God, from among your brethren—someone just like you. In other nations the king was a divine incarnation propped up by thick propaganda. But the Bible is honest in Kings and Chronicles about how bad Israel's kings were. They were not incarnations of the divine; they were flawed humans, just like you.

Three Requirements for the King

Verses 16–17 give three restrictions: he shall not multiply horses, nor multiply wives, nor multiply silver and gold for himself.

Not multiplying horses is an issue of trust in God. Seven centuries later Isaiah wrote, "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses... but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 31:1). And the psalmist said, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God" (Psalm 20:7). God's king must trust that God is his surety and shield, not external forces.

Not multiplying wives is also about trust. In the ancient Near East multiplied wives were not merely the king's pleasure; they were tied to foreign treaties. Kings married foreign princesses to form political alliances. As one commentator says, if the king followed the Lord he would not need political alliances. God's people were not to be like the nations around them, trusting in the size of their armies or their harems.

Finally, not multiplying silver and gold "for himself." I love those last words. This office was not to be a get-rich-quick scheme, because God's king is dependent on God for his security, not his storehouses or portfolio. As one commentator put it, all three prohibitions were designed to reduce the king to the status of a servant, totally dependent upon his Master, the Lord. Don't you just say, "If only we had that kind of leadership"?

The King and the Word

There's one final word for the king, verses 18–20. When he sits on the throne, "he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book"—from the one before the priests and Levites—"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... that his heart may not be lifted up above his brethren." The king's humility before God and the people was paramount, and it would only be assured as he kept closely to God's Word.

How It Actually Played Out

So how did it work out? In Judges we'll see that self-governance under the priests, Levites, and judges didn't go well. Repeatedly we read that the children of Israel did what was right in their own eyes and did evil in the sight of the Lord. About four centuries later, Israel came to the last great judge, Samuel, and said, "You're old, your sons don't walk in your way—make us a king to judge us like the other nations," exactly as Moses foresaw in Deuteronomy 17.

So began the list of kings—Saul, David, Solomon, and on down the line. For many Christians the name David makes their face light up. The Bible calls him a man after God's own heart. But the rest of the story is that David multiplied for himself horses, wives, and gold. He dishonored his family when he coveted another man's wife, stole her, committed adultery, committed murder to cover it, and lied about it. Then his household fell apart: his firstborn Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar; his son Absalom murdered Amnon to avenge her; and David did nothing—there was no justice.

The Best of Men Are Men at Best

Second Samuel is one of the most depressing stories in Scripture. David had awesome highs—killing Goliath as a boy, defending his sheep from a lion and a bear, writing wonderful psalms, sparing Saul's life for years—but he also had incredibly deep lows. His sin with Bathsheba, the murder of Uriah, the cover-up, and finally Absalom's insurrection in 2 Samuel 15, where Absalom deposes his father and David flees Jerusalem. You read it and find yourself thinking, "If only we had a righteous king."

A great preacher once said, "The best of men are men at best." Humans will always fall short of righteousness. We think we can vote in a better, more just leader, but those leaders will always fail to satisfy the longing in our hearts for a righteous ruler. And I want to suggest that's actually a good thing. Every human king, governor, president, or judge should leave us wanting, because no earthly king will ever satisfy our longing for the coming of the King of kings.

Looking to the True King

Moses knew this. Next week in Deuteronomy 18:15 we'll see his prophecy: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear." Over the next couple of months the political rhetoric will get thick. You'll be told this leader is evil and that one is righteous. But remember—the best of men are men at best, and that goes for women too. Jesus alone is the King of kings. He alone satisfies our need for a righteous leader on the throne, and only when we surrender to His rule will we enjoy the blessedness of His kingdom.

This is vital for Christians to learn. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10, all these things were written for our instruction in the last days. No one is perfect. Even the person who looks like the perfect king or president is not God, not the King of kings. The only way our culture will be transformed toward righteousness is as the people of God fully surrender to Him as King and direct their lives accordingly. That's what brings revival and reformation, in a church and in a culture.

We don't often talk about political things here, and I know that bothers some. But ultimately I don't trust any earthly individual to bring about righteousness. There are leaders better than others who follow the principles of Scripture, and you should want to support such leaders—but ultimately it comes back on you and me. We live in a nation governed by the people, and if things are falling apart in our culture, it's because we the people are not living according to the statutes and judgments and principles of God's Word. Deuteronomy 17 is a call to be careful when we think "if only," and to remember that it comes back on us to live in accordance with God's Word.

Closing Prayer

God, I pray that You would hammer these things home, because the volume and craziness of the political rhetoric is going to get thick over the next six, eight, ten weeks. We can be so seduced and drawn into it, tempted to think this person is going to fix it—but there's no person here who's going to fix it. We need You as King of our lives. Lord, by Your Spirit teach us to walk in Your ways, to have Your Word in our hearts, to meditate on it day and night, to not turn to the right hand or the left, but to hold strong to Your Word—knowing that in that way we'll be a light to our neighbors, co-workers, family members, and friends, and perhaps begin to see a transformation as they also align their lives with Your Word. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.