September 06, 2007

Breadcrumb: It's good to be the king?

Deut. 17:14-20 outline the general qualities of the future kings of the Israelites. In brief, the king will be chosen by god and of the Israelites. He must not "multiply horses" nor "multiply wives" for himself, but instead must keep a copy of the book of the law with him and read it diligently. Finally, he must not try to lift himself above his brethren and think of himself as someone important. All these seem to try to mitigate the tendency of kings to glorify themselves at the expense of their people. Though it's no doubt still good to be the king, it would probably still be frustrating looking across the ocean at the later Roman emperors.

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