When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:14-20 NIV)
Who is the right leader for our country? Don’t answer that! It’s 4th of July week in an election year. That question is on people’s minds: Who is the right leader for our country? There’s been a debate. Most people would say it wasn’t too impressive, but it’s gotten even more people talking. Who is the right leader for our country? Of course, I’m not going to answer that for you. I’m not going to tell you whom to vote for. But it’s my job to tell you what the Bible says. The Bible has a lot to say about leadership. Today we hear God’s advice for choosing a leader 3,500 years ago.
At that time, the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land. Who was their leader? Moses! But God knew that someday they would want a king, just like all the other nations had. So he had Moses say, “When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you,… and you say, ‘Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,’ be sure to appoint over you a king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites.” Here was the starting point: “Appoint the king the LORD chooses, and he must be an Israelite.” That certainly makes sense.
But what type of person should he be? Well, “the king must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them…” First, the king was not to have a lot of horses. Are you writing this down? I’m not sure which candidate today has less horses… Why did this matter? Horses meant military power. Maybe like tanks today. Horses also meant military pride. “Look at how strong I am!” Ironically, 900 years later, ungodly king Zedekiah sent envoys to Egypt to get horses (Ezekiel 17:15). What was he trusting in? Horses. Whom was he not trusting in? The LORD. The right king for Israel would humbly trust in the LORD instead of proudly trusting in his horses. King David wrote in Psalm 20: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” See the point?
Here’s what’s next: “He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.” Nobody else talked like this in the ancient world. Every king said, “I get to have as many women as I want!” To this day, powerful men think they can sleep with whomever they want, right? And nobody should bat an eye. Actually, people should be impressed. This is the kind of thing men boast about! Not God. Lust is not impressive in God’s eyes. Marriage is one man and one woman. It doesn’t matter how powerful that one man might be. The right king would be faithful to one woman and not let lust lead his heart into sin. Can you see how God’s king would be different?
“He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” It’s not about the money. Really? What do we say in America? “It’s all about the money!” Often, political candidates are the ones with the most money. They must be the most successful, right? “Look at how much I have. You don’t!” “Look at how much I’ve raised. I must be the best, right?” No! Not in God’s world. Greed isn’t actually a sign of success. It’s a sin. The right king for God’s people would not be focused on horses or women or money. He would not be filled with pride or lust or greed.
So what was he supposed to do? What’s left? It’s the most unexpected thing: “When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law…” What was the very first thing that king would do? Make his own copy of the Bible. In those days, nobody had their own Bible. The book of the law was a scroll kept at the tabernacle. But the king was to have God’s Word copied by hand onto another scroll for himself. This was of utmost importance.
Because… here’s what comes next: “It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life.” What was that king to do every day? Read from the book of the law. Read from God’s Word. Do you know what the best solution to pride is? Reading God’s Word. What’s the best solution to lust? Reading God’s Word. What’s the best solution to greed? Reading God’s Word. “All the days of his life.” You’re never done. There’s always a need for reading God’s Word.
Did you notice that these verses say nothing about physical strength or appearance or age or prowess in battle or… anything like that. That’s not what God was looking for in the right king. What was God looking for? “It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees.” What was God looking for? He was looking for a man who revered the LORD and carefully followed all his words and decrees. That type of king was right for God’s people.
And there’s one more thing: “…not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left.” I guess that’s two things: Not above the law. And not better than anybody else. The right king was not above the law. In fact, he would be the first to keep the law as an example for everyone else. Because that right king was not better than anyone else. He would be a humble servant of others who was dedicated to following God’s Word. Not proud. Not lustful. Not greedy. Dedicated to God’s Word. A servant of all. That’s the right king!
Wouldn’t it be great to have a leader like that? A humble servant of others who is dedicated to following God’s Word? We do. We really do! Not Joe Biden or Donald Trump. It would be very hard to describe either of those men as a humble servant of others who is dedicated to following God’s Word. It’s sad when Christians make it seem like one of those men is the hope of Christianity. That couldn’t be further from the truth! We have a different leader. We have a King who is just like what God described long ago. The right King. Who is it? Jesus!
Jesus is the King every single one of us is longing for. He didn’t have a horse. At least, not that we hear of in the Bible. He didn’t have a sword either. He didn’t trust one bit in military might. He trusted in the Lord. People accused Jesus of all sorts of evil things, but do you know what no one ever accused Jesus of? Adultery. Even his lying enemies could never fault Jesus for sins against sex or marriage. Wealth? Jesus once said, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). I wonder how many nights Jesus slept outside under the stars. Because here’s what Jesus was all about: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). What king says that? The right King. The perfect King.
Actually, Jesus said more: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus didn’t just serve in life. He served in death. He gave his life as a ransom for all. Imagine two countries at war, and the one says to the other, “There can be peace on one condition: Your king himself must die for his people.” What king would do that? Jesus did. He died for our sins. He paid our ransom. No matter what happens this year or in this election, we already have the right King: Jesus! He’s the King you’re longing for.
But there’s a problem: If Jesus were here today, do you think you and I would vote for him? Know what I think? No! Jesus isn’t showy. Jesus isn’t brash. Jesus doesn’t lie. How could he be a politician? Jesus doesn’t mock people. It doesn’t sound like Jesus even played golf. Who would vote for him? I’m serious. If Jesus were a candidate today, by our standards he would look weak. Many would call him a loser. What was the result of his three-year campaign? Death on the cross. Before he died, people actually had the chance to vote. Remember? Jesus or Barabbas? Which one should live? What did everybody say? “Barabbas!” Would we be any different?
Here’s the biggest problem for Jesus: He tells people the truth about themselves. We love leaders who tell us that everybody else is the problem. “It’s the immigrants! It’s the people with guns! It’s the Democrats! It’s the Republicans!” Jesus doesn’t do that. Know what Jesus says? It’s you. It’s me. Jesus tells us we’re the problem. My sinful heart is the biggest problem in my life. Your sinful heart is the biggest problem in your life. Jesus says we need to stop blaming everyone else and look in the mirror. We need to take the plank out of our own eye before we pick the speck out of someone else’s. Jesus tells us the truth. He tells us to change. Would you vote for him?
Our gospel lesson so clearly showed the contrast between us and Jesus. Jesus talked about his death on the cross, and what did James and John say? “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory” (Mark 10:37). Jesus’ response hits our hearts: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:42-44). We don’t deserve the right King. We deserve leaders like us: Proud. Lustful. Greedy. Selfish.
But that’s why “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus didn’t come to be our cheerleader. He came to save us from our sins. For all the pride in our hearts, Jesus gave his life as a ransom. For all the lust and greed in our hearts, Jesus gave his life as a ransom. For you. For me. Jesus forgives us. Jesus changes us. You already have the right King. You know that, right? Your life is in Jesus’ hands. Our country is in Jesus’ hands. We follow Jesus! Who you follow impacts how you live. A Christian seeks to be a humble servant of others who is dedicated to following God’s Word.
I saw that recently. This past week, I had a crisis: My weed eater was broken. I couldn’t get it started. I did everything I could to fix it. In other words, I put gas in it, but it still wouldn’t start. Isn’t that frustrating? So I took it to a small little engine repair shop in Broken Arrow. When I pulled up, there was no one else around. A man came out of the garage. And he was kind. Can you imagine that? He said, “To be honest, I’m backed up about three weeks out, but here, let me take a look at it.” Right then and there he took the weed eater into his garage and started pulling on it. In five minutes, he had it roaring as good as ever. I said, “This is amazing. What do I owe you?” He said, “It’s too late in the day for me to charge you anything. Have a blessed day.”
I wish I could vote for that guy! Who you follow impacts how you live. Jesus is a different king than the examples we see around us. He served us, and he makes us into humble servants who are dedicated to God’s Word. Isn’t that what our country needs? Jesus! And you. You can make a difference. How? As a humble servant who is dedicated to God’s Word. Like our real King: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)
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