"And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, from that which is in charge of the Levitical priests; and it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life..."

Deuteronomy 17:18-19, RSV

 

God did not want Israel to ever have a king, because God Himself was to be their only true king. Still, He knew that the day would come when they would demand one so they could be like the nations around them so He made arrangements in advance for how that king would live his life. Perhaps the most important provision of those arrangements was that the king was to be a daily Bible reader.

 

Of course the Bible back then only consisted of the Pentateuch (or as we know it, the Books of Moses), but it contained all of the laws and commands that Israel needed to function in a pleasing manner before God.

 

Just think of it: The very books that you are reading were the very same books that all of the kings of Israel had to copy down, keep with them, and read from every day! It would be this practice that would help the king to keep his heart from turning away from God. As you read through the annals of the kings of Israel, you can pretty much see which kings obeyed this command and which ones didn't. This commanded practice was truly to make the difference between a good king and bad king, between a faithful nation and an unfaithful one.

 

Do you see any difference between individuals and nations today? If you have been distressed about the state of the world in which you live, don't you think that reading your Bible every day would help? Now it's true that you may personally never change the whole world, but if you could just help to change the little corner of the world in which you live, you might be amazed at how far that influence will carry! 

 

Just think what might happen to a nation whose people demanded that their leaders read their Bibles every day. Just think what might happen to you!

 

Have you... read your Bible today? It will change the world!

 

"and it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them; that his heart might not be lifted up above his brethren, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left; so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel"

Deuteronomy 17:19-20, RSV

 

Today is the 27th day of the 30 day challenge to read through the Books of Moses, with Deuteronomy 13-18 being the reading for today. May God richly bless you as you continue that noble habit of daily Bible reading, that you may learn to fear Him by keeping all of His commandments!