The fifth commandment

5.4 Civil authorities: Honor God’s Law

Civil magistrates must live and rule in accordance with the Law of God.

Deuteronomy 17.14-20

“When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.”

2 Samuel 23.3, 4; 1 Kings 6.11-13; Matthew 14.1-4; Acts 23.1-3; Romans 13.1-4; 1 Peter 2.13, 14

This is not the first time God had told His people they could have a king. In Genesis 49.8-10 Jacob had foretold the coming of a king through the tribe of Judah, who would rule over his brothers and ultimately extend his rule to all the nations. Here God simply expands on what He had previously said.

The king must be appointed from among the people of Israel. He must not aspire to great wealth or power; instead, the king’s primary concern must be the just administration of the Law of God. He was to write a copy of the Law of God in his own hand. This would then be examined and approved by the priests before it became his personal possession. He was expected to read in the Law of God all the days of his life. This would fit him to serve the people of Israel out of fear of God and desire for them to know the blessings of divine rule.

We can only imagine the effect of such rule, although we see glimpses of it during parts of the reigns of David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, and others. Psalms 1 and 2, coming in the order they do, are perhaps intended to reinforce God’s plan for order in civil society: focus on the Law, anoint kings who will rule in God’s stead and for His glory.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.