Bible Commentaries
Deuteronomy 17

Verse 15

A TRUE LEADER

‘Thou shalt … set him King over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose.’

Deuteronomy 17:15

Taken strictly, these words only concern kings; but, in principle and with adaptations, they apply to all in authority—to leaders, pastors, parents, etc.

I. The leader should be God given.—Are we needing a true leader? It’s for God to give such: let us seek Him of God, and not of man. Have we such? When Archbishop Benson died prayer was offered in all the churches of England and Wales that his successor might be him whom ‘God Himself should choose.’ When we feel that our Archbishops and Bishops or others in authority in Church or State are sent to us by God, and are really the Lord’s anointed ones, then how imperative it is that we should render them ( a) honour, ( b) loyalty, and ( c) obedience. (See 1 Peter 2:13-20.)

II. The true leader will be a brother.—‘One from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee’—so ran the command; and do we not gather from it the idea of unity which should exist between ruler and ruled? Just as the great King of kings is in a spiritual sense the ‘Elder Brother’ of His people, so also those who seek to lead or to rule others must ever be mindful of the fact that, however high or exalted their station, their real relation to those under them is that of brotherhood—rulers and ruled alike being children of one common Father. The most successful leader is he who realises, and shows that he realises, that as the brother of those over whom he is set he must be ( a) sympathetic, ( b) accessible, ( c) generous-hearted, and ( d) patient. In all these respects how high an example is set by the Divine Leader!

III. The true leader will abstain from evil.—Regulations were laid down (ver. 16 and 17) for the conduct of the king. In detail they are not applicable in the present day, but the principle behind them is for ever true. The king was warned against certain sins because they would not only turn away his own heart, but would lead the people back to the bondage of Egypt. What a lesson for leaders of to-day! They must not only eschew evil themselves, they must take care that nothing they do or say may become ‘an occasion of stumbling’ to others. To put it another way, the leader must be above suspicion; he must ever keep his heart right with God.

IV. To be, and to do, all this, he must live continually under law to God, making His Word his meditation and his guide (ver. 18–20).