◄ Deuteronomy 17:18 ►
When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.
Study Bible
When he is seated on his royal throne
This phrase refers to the king of Israel, who is to be chosen according to God's guidance. The "royal throne" symbolizes authority and responsibility. In the Hebrew context, the throne is not just a seat of power but a place of judgment and governance under God's law. The king's role is to lead the people in righteousness, reflecting God's sovereignty. Historically, the throne was a physical representation of the king's duty to uphold justice and maintain the covenant relationship between God and Israel.

he must write for himself
The act of writing "for himself" emphasizes personal responsibility and engagement with God's law. In Hebrew tradition, writing was a means of internalizing and understanding. By writing the law, the king would not only learn it but also commit it to memory and heart. This practice ensured that the king's rule was grounded in divine wisdom rather than personal ambition. It highlights the importance of leaders being intimately familiar with the principles they are to uphold.

a copy of this instruction
The "instruction" refers to the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, which contain God's laws and commandments. The Hebrew word for instruction, "Torah," implies teaching and guidance. By making a "copy," the king was to have a personal version of the law, ensuring that he had direct access to God's commands. This requirement underscores the centrality of Scripture in governance and personal conduct, reminding the king that his authority is derived from adherence to God's word.

on a scroll
Scrolls were the primary medium for writing in ancient times, made from papyrus or parchment. The use of a scroll signifies the permanence and sacredness of the text. In the historical context, scrolls were carefully preserved and handled with reverence, indicating the importance of the content they held. The physical act of writing on a scroll also reflects the labor and dedication required to engage with God's law fully.

in the presence of the Levitical priests
The Levitical priests were the custodians of the law and spiritual leaders of Israel. Their presence during the writing of the scroll ensured accuracy and authenticity. This phrase highlights the communal and accountable nature of the king's relationship with God's law. The priests served as witnesses, reinforcing the idea that the king's authority was not autonomous but subject to divine oversight. This accountability to the priesthood underscores the integration of spiritual and political leadership in Israel's theocratic society.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The King of Israel
The verse refers to the king who would rule over Israel. This instruction was given to ensure that the king would be guided by God's laws.

2. Levitical Priests
These were members of the tribe of Levi, responsible for religious duties and ensuring the king's copy of the law was accurate and complete.

3. The Royal Throne
Symbolizes the authority and responsibility of the king, emphasizing the need for his rule to be grounded in God's law.

4. The Law (Torah)
Refers to the instructions and commandments given by God, which the king was to transcribe and follow.

5. Moses
The author of Deuteronomy, who conveyed God's laws and instructions to the Israelites, including this directive for future kings.
Teaching Points
The Importance of God's Word
The king's duty to write the law underscores the necessity of personal engagement with Scripture. As believers, we should prioritize reading and understanding God's word.

Accountability and Guidance
The presence of the Levitical priests during the transcription process highlights the need for accountability in our spiritual journey. We should seek guidance and accountability from fellow believers.

Leadership and Responsibility
Just as the king was to lead by God's law, Christian leaders today are called to lead with integrity and according to biblical principles.

Internalization of Scripture
The act of writing the law was meant to help the king internalize it. We should strive to internalize Scripture through memorization and meditation.

The Role of Scripture in Decision-Making
The king's decisions were to be informed by God's law. Similarly, we should allow Scripture to guide our choices and actions.
Bible Study Questions
1. Why was it important for the king to write his own copy of the law, and how can this practice be applied to our personal study of Scripture today?

2. How does the requirement for the king to write the law in the presence of the Levitical priests emphasize the role of community and accountability in our spiritual lives?

3. In what ways can we ensure that our leadership, whether in the church, home, or workplace, is grounded in biblical principles?

4. How can we internalize Scripture in our daily lives, and what practical steps can we take to meditate on God's word consistently?

5. Reflect on a decision you need to make. How can you apply the principle of seeking guidance from Scripture in this situation, and what other biblical passages might offer insight?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Joshua 1:8
This verse emphasizes the importance of meditating on the law day and night, similar to the king's requirement to write and know the law.

Psalm 119:11
Highlights the value of hiding God's word in one's heart, which aligns with the king's need to internalize the law.

2 Kings 22:8-13
The account of King Josiah finding the Book of the Law and his subsequent reforms illustrates the impact of a king who aligns with God's word.

1 Samuel 8:4-22
Describes Israel's request for a king and God's warning about the potential pitfalls of monarchy, underscoring the need for a king to adhere to divine law.

Proverbs 16:12
States that a throne is established through righteousness, reinforcing the idea that a king's rule should be based on God's commandments.
Sermons
Limitations Round About a KingD. Davies Deuteronomy 17:14-20
The King in IsraelJ. Orr Deuteronomy 17:14-20
The Limitations of MonarchyR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 17:14-20
How We May Read the Scriptures with Most Spiritual ProfitDeuteronomy 17:18-19
People
Levites, Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor, Egypt
Topics
Book, Care, Charge, Copy, Kingdom, Law, Levites, Levitical, Presence, Priests, Scroll, Seat, Sits, Sitteth, Throne, Written
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 17:18

     5515   scroll
     5581   throne
     5638   writing

Deuteronomy 17:14-20

     5366   king

Deuteronomy 17:16-20

     7735   leaders, political

Deuteronomy 17:18-19

     7263   theocracy
     8336   reverence, and obedience

Deuteronomy 17:18-20

     1614   Scripture, understanding
     5175   reading

Library
Bethphage
There is very frequent mention of this place in the Talmudists: and, certainly, a more careful comparison of the maps with those things which are said by them of the situation of this place is worthy to be made; when they place it in mount Olivet, these make it contiguous to the buildings of Jerusalem. I. In the place cited in the margin, the case "of a stubborn judge" (or elder) is handling. For when, by the prescript of the law, difficult matters, and such things as concerning which the lower councils …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Reign of Saul.
I Sam. 8-31; I Chron. 10 The Demand for a King. The last period saw one tribe after another come to the front and assert itself through some leading man as an emergency arose, but now the tribes are to be united into a monarchy and this, too, at their own request made in the form of a desire for a king. Several things no doubt influenced them to make this request. (1) From the days of Joshua there had been no strong national bond. They were only held together by the law of Moses and the annual assemblages …
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

'Make us a King'
'Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel, onto Ramah, 5. And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 7. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Adonijah
BY REV. ALFRED ROWLAND, D.D., LL.B. It is notorious that the sons of devout men sometimes prove a curse to their parents, and bring dishonour on the cause of God. When Eve rejoiced over her first-born, she little suspected that passions were sleeping within him which would impel him to slay his own brother; and the experience of the first mother has been repeated, though in different forms, in all lands and in all ages. Isaac's heart was rent by the deceit of Jacob, and by the self-will of Esau. …
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known

Jehoiada and Joash
'And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. 2. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. 3. And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. 4. And the seventh year Jehoiada …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Bible in the Days of Jesus Christ
[Illustration: (drop cap S) Reading from a Roll--old Roman Painting] Slowly but surely, as time went on, God was adding to His Book, until about four hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ the Old Testament Scriptures, in their present shape, were completed. Many questions have been asked as to how the canon of the Old Testament was formed--that is, how and when did the Jews first begin to understand that the Books of the Old Testament were inspired by God. About the first five Books--the …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place."--2 Kings …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Story of the Adulteress.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John VII. 53-VIII. 11. [This section is wanting in nearly all older manuscripts, but Jerome (a.d. 346-420) says that in his time it was contained in "many Greek and Latin manuscripts," and these must have been as good or better than the best manuscripts we now possess. But whether we regard it as part of John's narrative or not, scholars very generally accept it as a genuine piece of history.] ^d 53 And they went every man unto his own house [confused by the question of Nicodemus, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Golden Eagle is Cut to Pieces. Herod's Barbarity when He was Ready to Die. He Attempts to Kill Himself. He Commands Antipater to be Slain.
1. Now Herod's distemper became more and more severe to him, and this because these his disorders fell upon him in his old age, and when he was in a melancholy condition; for he was already seventy years of age, and had been brought by the calamities that happened to him about his children, whereby he had no pleasure in life, even when he was in health; the grief also that Antipater was still alive aggravated his disease, whom he resolved to put to death now not at random, but as soon as he should …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem

A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

Subjects of Study. Home Education in Israel; Female Education. Elementary Schools, Schoolmasters, and School Arrangements.
If a faithful picture of society in ancient Greece or Rome were to be presented to view, it is not easy to believe that even they who now most oppose the Bible could wish their aims success. For this, at any rate, may be asserted, without fear of gainsaying, that no other religion than that of the Bible has proved competent to control an advanced, or even an advancing, state of civilisation. Every other bound has been successively passed and submerged by the rising tide; how deep only the student …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Second Stage of Jewish Trial. Jesus Condemned by Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin.
(Palace of Caiaphas. Friday.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 57, 59-68; ^B Mark XIV. 53, 55-65; ^C Luke XXII. 54, 63-65; ^D John XVIII. 24. ^d 24 Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. [Foiled in his attempted examination of Jesus, Annas sends him to trial.] ^b and there come together with him all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. ^a 57 And they that had taken Jesus led him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, ^c and brought him into the high priest's house. ^a where …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Easter Tuesday
Second Sermon. Same Text. Acts 13, 26-39. THE WORD AND THE RESURRECTION.[1] [Footnote 1: This sermon appeared first in the Church Postil, the Explanation of the Epistle and Gospel Texts from Easter to Advent. Printed by Hans Lufft, Wittenberg, 1559.] 1. This sermon was preached by Paul in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia, where were gathered with the Jews some Greek converts. Wherever in a city Jews were to be found, there also were their synagogues in which they taught and preached; and many …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

The Medes and the Second Chaldaean Empire
THE FALL OF NINEVEH AND THE RISE OF THE CHALDAEAN AND MEDIAN EMPIRES--THE XXVIth EGYPTIAN DYNASTY: CYAXARES, ALYATTES, AND NEBUCHADREZZAR. The legendary history of the kings of Media and the first contact of the Medes with the Assyrians: the alleged Iranian migrations of the Avesta--Media-proper, its fauna and flora; Phraortes and the beginning of the Median empire--Persia proper and the Persians; conquest of Persia by the Medes--The last monuments of Assur-bani-pal: the library of Kouyunjik--Phraortes …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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