This is what must be done: When [the king] sits down on the throne of his kingdom, the first thing he must do is make himself a copy of this Revelation on a scroll…. Deuteronomy 17:18 (MSG)
I will never forget family dinners at my grandparents house. The family gathered in the dining room and my grandfather sitting at the head of the table. He used to always joke “I’m the king of this castle!” as he pounded the table and puffed on his Dutch Masters cigar.
Perhaps it’s those early memories that cause me to think, not of a King of nations as I read God’s admonishment to a king, but of myself and any other person in a leadership position of their households and families. One of the things you pick up on as you journey through God’s Message are the repeated themes. Time and time again God reminds me that blessing and success begin with a continuous study and knowledge of His Message. Whether king of nations or king of my humble familial home, the required humility and wisdom to lead are found there. And so, here I am again this morning with my morning coffee, writing this post and praying that I may lead better today than I did yesterday.
8-9 When matters of justice come up that are too much for you—hard cases regarding homicides, legal disputes, fights—take them up to the central place of worship that God, your God, has designated. Bring them to the Levitical priests and the judge who is in office at the time. Consult them and they will hand down the decision for you.
I guess separation of church and state may be where we have gone wrong. In old testament times it was pretty clear that worship and judgement for wrongdoing happened at the same place, many times by the same people. That’s one way to make sure God’s Law influences human judgement.