Deuteronomy 17:16-20 ( rules for a King)
“He shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause — the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him — a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear — the Lord his God, to keep — all the words of this law — and these statutes, to do them:
That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him — a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear — the Lord his God, to keep — all the words of this law — and these statutes, to do them:
That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
Kings are normally kings because of blood line, not for their belief in God. However God’s king was that because of his obedience to the Lord. King David had the longest and most successful rule if you gauge success by the nation’s fear of God. King’s after him ruled, some for a time but never too old age as David did. Often their reign ended because they sinned against the Lord. Solomon David’s son lost the 10 tribes of Israel because of his disobedience to the Lord and he would have lost the tribes of Judah and Benjamin if it wasn’t for God keeping them with him for King David’s sake. You are replaceable with God, though God was and is very patience.
The role of king is very clear, spelled out in several passages. However the main passage, the one that determines the quality and make up of a king is this one. I have shared parts of these verses in recent Vida’s but never all of them, and though I will never be a king I love these verses and believe that whatever is required of a King I want to do. I want to take the highest road and see where it leads, something that we all should consider. Leadership for me started in High School as Student Body President. Right after graduation I entered the work arena and promoted up from various positions till I became a department manager while continuing my education at night. Every few years I was changed to another department while working for a large wholesale nursery. I was the youngest to hold these positions, I know it was because of my commitment to these verses. God allowed me to find favor with those above me. We can never go wrong by taking the high road which according to these verses is reading, writing and memorizing the scriptures often, daily if possible. Whatever measure we give God from a willing heart will never come back void. God takes it and multiplies it blessing you and others, and the greatest position gained is not the title man gives but what the Father gives when He calls us sons and daughters; no title exceeds that.
A large part of my motive for studying the Word has to do with a personal need. I so wanted a Christian dad growing up that I adopted God as my dad. Though I was very grateful for the things my dad did with me as a child and especially because I knew he loved me, I still wanted someone to father me in the ways of God. Therefore to know the Lord I needed to spend time with Him and His Word is what brought Him close to me. In studying the Bible I learned His values, I saw how He judged – what He defined as right and wrong and most importantly to see His love demonstrated. In a very literal way I asked him to finish the job my dad started in raising me, teaching me not only the scriptures but their application in every day life; His way of living. For the last 35 yrs. part of that schooling has been a commitment to read a chapter of Proverbs almost daily. There is no better instructions on life than what can be learned from Proverbs.
In most of my management classes, especially the ones in college I would fall asleep ( partly because I was exhausted between work, school and dating my soon to become wife) yet on test day the teacher would separate me from the class so no one could copy. I consistently received the highest scores and that was because of Proverbs. I already understood personnel relationships and Proverbs not only teaches on that but on being a husband, father, neighbor, friend etc.
My best friends are the following scriptures; I have repeatedly used them for challenges at work, Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established,” and vs. 9 “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps,” and lastly Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding but In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”
with this last verse being my go to verse for everything in life
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People will say that you cannot take the scriptures literally and to some extent it’s true. Revelations or poetical books such as the Song of Solomon are symbolical or allegorical, but overall I believe people say this just as an excuse to not follow any of it. With the exception of what I just mentioned, I know no other way than to take the scriptures literally. “Committing my works,” communicating with the Lord what it is I need to accomplish and asking Him to establish my thoughts on how to do it, ‘ I will consider my ways Father but you direct my path according to thy wisdom.’ In all my undertaking I acknowledge and seek His guidance first. Specific body language and procedure that I follow to this day; kneeling down to pray before I start a landscape which my men see and know that I am asking God for wisdom; or kneeing at my desk before I start billing or writing up an estimate, or taking a moment before I come into the house to thank God for the day, whether it was good or bad and now requesting His help to be a good husband, father or grandfather. These habits have been established in me because of these verses and I feel blessed because of it. And I don’t feel blessed because it makes my day necessarily any easier, I feel blessed because I know it makes my Father happy – it’s just the right thing to do and there is joy in doing the right thing. Whether it makes money or not, whether it makes my day any easier or not it makes my Father happy. However I do know that doing the right thing time and time again does bring benefits here and a spiritual harvest in Eternity. However a word of caution. To do something right so as to get something from God seldom works, however to do something for no other reason than it pleases Him gets you everywhere.
Each landscape job we do is very beautiful, capturing both the beauty of design and creation and it is because “He establishes my thoughts.”I know this very hands on approach to living out the scriptures is what He seeks from each of us; to work side by side with Him in whatever our profession is, or in the home raising the kids and whatever the day may bring we go it with Him, not without Him. Living as such you learn that you are truly always in His company and it’s a great feeling – truly a confidence builder.
And for you stay home mom’s, something that I desired to have done with our girls but was not able to God gave me this verse in Nehemiah to keep me focused on the grand-kids. Nehemiah is speaking, chapter 6 vs.33
“And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?…..” The enemies of the Jews did not want them to build a fortified wall around the city so they planned to lure Nehemiah away and kill him causing the work to cease. Their plan failed for Nehemiah valued God’s calling on his life and we must do the same. His voice is clear in scripture and children are a top priority, raising them in the love and admonition of The Lord.
Deuteronomy 11:18-19
Therefore shall ye lay up — these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind — them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
And ye shall teach — them — your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Therefore shall ye lay up — these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind — them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
And ye shall teach — them — your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
The children are to be taught the truths of God as we live life, going through the good times as well as the hard times. They also are not to get the leftovers, but the best that we can give at that moment. Of course our “best” will vary, but our intent is to be present with them. So you stay home mom’s and parents in general though your job often is tiring and at times mundane, it is extremely important. Day in and day out you are sending a message to them of their worth and when they are old enough to understand the message of God’s love for them they will believe it because you made them feel valued.
At the core of so many of us we struggle with the concept of God’s love for us because we never felt valued growing up. Personally I believe the whole playboy/ porn industry would not exist if these girls felt valued by their fathers or the number of unwed mothers would drastically drop off if these women felt loved as children. Moms and dads you play such a critical role in the early formation of the child’s view of themselves, especially dad’s with their little girls. And when the extended family, grandparents, uncles, aunts all give the same message of love and value it will only build confident children that can receive the message of God’s love for them.
Father God,
Thank you for this study in your Word and as we bend our ways to You we will receive more of your joy, more of your peace, and more of your wisdom. All the truly good things that this world does not have, nor can it give. It only masquerades as having it. You are the Real Deal Father and no one or nothing else can compare. Thank you and Amen.
Move Forward In His Grace – Arthur