“He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes” (Deut 17:17-19).
According to the Law of the King” (Deut 17:14-20), the king’s love for the Torah is supposed to be far greater than his love for everything else life has to offer a person of his power and status. According to Psalm 19:10 [11], King David loved God’s word more than gold, yet he eventually broke the ideals of Deuteronomy 17 by gathering to himself women (2 Sam 5:13; 11:1ff.). Solomon began well, by seeking divine wisdom rather than riches (1 Kings 3:9, 11). But Solomon also broke Deuteronomy 17 by his love for horses (1 Kings 4:26; 10:26-29), gold (1 Kings 10:2, 10-11, 14, 16-18, 21-22, 25), and women (1 Kings 11:3-4).
And though there were some very good kings, the Law of the King remained an unfulfilled ideal. Deuteronomy 17, therefore, serves as a shadow of Israel’s greatest king.
The Only King Who Perfectly Delights in the Law
For only Israel’s glorious King Messiah who is the only king who can ever truly say of God’s word: “They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold” (Psa 19:10). “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces….Therefore I love Your commandments above gold, yes, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem right all Your precepts concerning everything, I hate every false way. For only Israel’s Messiah can truly express the love for God’s words until Israel’s greatest king came into this world” (Psa 119:72, 127-128). The Messiah is also the only king in Israel of whom it can be said: “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night” (Psa 1:1-2).
Yeshua’s love for the Torah (Luke 2:46-47) and refusal to fail prey to following after the riches of this world (Matt 4:9-10) is not just a trivial or incidental detail. It’s what qualifies him to be our perfect king and blessed Messiah. “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD'” (Matt 4:4).
