When [the king] takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left.
Politicians like to speak of ‘the rule of law’ as a philosophy at the heart of a stable and civilised country. Put simply, this is the doctrine that no citizen is above the law. It is the wise antidote to absolute monarchy or dictatorship, in which those in charge face no legal constraints, and are free to make up the rules for themselves.
I looked up Wikipedia to see where it says this concept comes from. Its answer – with hesitation – is that it possibly dates from 4th-century BC Athens. But the verse above surely proves that it comes from much earlier, in the days of Moses.
In this passage about kings of Israel, it could not be clearer that the king is under the law, rather than above it. On his accession, he is to copy out the whole book of the law of God – so that he will absorb it, follow it diligently, and not consider himself above everyone else in having to keep it. What a sight it must have been: a new king labouring at his desk, writing out these thousands of words for himself!
Here, then, is one of many examples of how the Bible has influenced our political culture (another being the way, following Jesus’ teaching about servant leadership, we call senior government officials “ministers”).
But note that Deuteronomy goes further than “the rule of law” – it is about the rule of God’s law. The bare concept of “the rule of law” may make it harder for leaders to act dictatorially, but is not in itself a guarantee of good government. For it is possible for laws, and even constitutions, to be adapted in ways that are bad, and which contradict God’s law. In this case, talking up “the rule of law” becomes a device for giving respectability to aspects of our rebellion against God.
We need to be aware of this as we engage politically – and as we pray. In the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer we are to pray that the King “would always incline to thy will, and walk in thy way.” The King’s government needs the same prayers.
Last Sunday we heard about praying for our leaders; this coming Sunday we’ll be meeting the perfect King, as we follow Jesus into Jerusalem in Mark’s gospel.
