When he 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 priests, who are Levites. – Deuteronomy 17:18

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 16, 2012): Deuteronomy 17

When I was in High School, I met a gentleman who had written out the whole Bible in a series of notebooks by hand. It made an impression on me. It was one of the most amazing things that I had ever seen in my life. It impressed me so much that I admit I have made several attempts to do the same thing myself. I never get very far, which makes his accomplishment even greater. It takes dedication to do it. But my problem has been that to accomplish that feat means that a number of other things will go undone. And then there is always this question – which is more important, writing something that will only be seen by me or doing something that will become public. And too often, at least in my life, the public things win. And I am not proud of that (and maybe this blog is partially a concession to my desire to write out the Bible.)

God’s instructions to all of the kings that would come to lead Israel (and there would not be any kings for a number of generations) was that one of their first tasks would be to write out the law (the first five books of Moses) by hand on a scroll for themselves. And I believe that part of God’s intent was the knowledge that if we write something down, we will remember it. It is the same reason why I give out notes sheets when I speak. If you write it down, you will remember. A king needed to be led by God and needed to understand the instructions that God had given the community that they would now begin to lead. For the king to lead well, he would need to know what God had said. And so, his first order of business would be to write the words down.

I am not sure how many kings actually took the time to do it. It may have changed the face of a nation if they had. Scholars believe that the Book of Deuteronomy – and these words – were lost sometime after the reign of Solomon (the third king of Israel) and would not be found again until the reign of Josiah. Josiah committed himself to them task of religious reform because he found these words. But by that time, Israel had walked away for too long and it was going to take more than the reforms of king who was finally listening to God to bring them back.

But maybe the saddest part of the story of Josiah was that it did not have to be that way, if only the kings had taken the time to write the words down.

   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 18

Note: The VantagePoint Community Church Sermon "Wise Guys" from the Series "The Essential James" is now available on the VantagePoint Website. You can find it here http://www.vantagepointcc.org/The_Essential_James_Part_II___Wise_Guys.htm