Amplified Bible (AMP)
14When you come to the land which the Lord your God gives you and you possess it and live there, and then say, We will set a king over us like all the nations that are about us,
15You shall surely set as king over you him whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner, who is not your brother, over you.
16But he shall not multiply horses to himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to multiply horses, since the Lord said to you, You shall never return that way.
17And he shall not multiply wives to himself, that his [mind and] heart turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
18And when he sits on his royal throne, he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, out of what is before the Levitical priests.
19And he shall keep it with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn [reverently] to fear the Lord his God, by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes and doing them,
20That his [mind and] heart may not be lifted up above his brethren and that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left; so that he may continue long, he and his sons, in his kingdom in Israel.
These verses describe the kind of leader God would set over His people. Verse 15, speaks of a leader as one of the brethren. That totally makes sense to me. A brother would have more intimate connections with the people, a like family, similar culture, same beliefs.
Verse 16, says the king should not amass his own wisdom or power, neither should he actions cause the people to return to their former bondage. I love the promise, “You shall never return that way.”
The leader is not suppose to “multiply wives to himself” in verse 17. The relationship of a wife to her husband should be one of godly influence, not control. God wants the king’s heart to be set in heavenly perspective, not earthly concerns of wives and possessions…"silver and gold."
In verses 18 & 19, God says the king is to set the lay before him, read it, and do it. How the people would be blessed by a king who follows the way of God.
My favorite verse is 20, which speaks of a king’s attitude. Most leaders today seem to have an air of “better than the common people.” A leader seeking after the heart of God will humble himself to the status of servant, just like Jesus.
Holy Spirit, touch the hearts of leaders throughout the world, whether they lead in politics, the family, in church or in employment. Open eyes and cause their hearts to line up according to Your ways. In Jesus name. AMEN!!!
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