Contemplative Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 (New International Version)

¹⁴ When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” ¹⁵ be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite. ¹⁶ The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” ¹⁷ He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

This passage is a warning to God’s people about having a King. The latter verses are about things the King should not do. Among them:

not acquire many horses

not take many wives

not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold

Now comes the oooops part. Look at the first few chapters of the book of 1 Kings. Read the description of Solomon’s kingdom. Solomon had:

many horses

many wives

large amounts of gold and silver

Things worked pretty well for Solomon, but not that well. His failures were predictable and predicted.