◄ Deuteronomy 17:20 ►
Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel.
Study Bible
Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen
This phrase emphasizes humility, a key virtue in biblical leadership. The king of Israel was to remain humble, recognizing that his authority was granted by God and not due to personal merit. This humility is echoed in the New Testament, where Jesus teaches that "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12). The cultural context of ancient Israel placed great importance on community and equality before God, contrasting with the often autocratic rule seen in surrounding nations. The king's heart not being exalted above his countrymen reflects the ideal of servant leadership, a type of Christ who, though King of Kings, came to serve and not to be served (Mark 10:45).

and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left
This phrase underscores the importance of obedience to God's law. The king was to adhere strictly to the commandments, symbolizing unwavering faithfulness. The imagery of not turning "to the right or to the left" is a common biblical metaphor for staying on the path of righteousness (Joshua 1:7). This steadfastness is crucial for maintaining a covenant relationship with God. The historical context shows that deviation from God's commandments often led to Israel's downfall, as seen in the narratives of kings who strayed from God's laws, such as Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-11). This phrase also foreshadows the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the law completely (Matthew 5:17).

in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel
This phrase highlights the conditional nature of the Davidic covenant, where obedience to God's commandments would result in a lasting dynasty. The promise of a long reign is contingent upon the king's faithfulness, reflecting the broader Deuteronomic theme of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28). Historically, the reigns of David and Solomon exemplify the blessings of obedience, while the divided kingdom and subsequent exiles illustrate the consequences of turning away from God. This promise also points to the ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the eternal King from David's line, whose kingdom is everlasting (Luke 1:32-33).

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The author of Deuteronomy, delivering God's laws and instructions to the Israelites.

2. Israel
The nation to whom the laws are given, specifically addressing the future kings of Israel.

3. Future Kings of Israel
The primary audience of this verse, providing guidelines for their conduct and governance.
Teaching Points
Humility in Leadership
Leaders are called to maintain humility, recognizing their role as servants rather than rulers over their people.

Adherence to God's Commandments
The importance of unwavering commitment to God's laws is emphasized, ensuring that leaders do not deviate from His path.

Generational Impact
The obedience of leaders has long-term effects, influencing not only their reign but also the future of their descendants.

Avoiding Pride
Pride can lead to downfall; leaders must guard their hearts against being exalted above others.

Longevity of Leadership
Faithfulness to God's commandments is linked to the stability and longevity of leadership and governance.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the instruction in Deuteronomy 17:20 about not exalting one's heart apply to modern-day leaders, both in the church and in secular positions?

2. In what ways can we ensure that we do not "turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left" in our personal lives?

3. How does the concept of humility in leadership, as outlined in this verse, compare to the leadership qualities valued in today's society?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to avoid pride and maintain a humble heart in our daily interactions?

5. How can the promise of a long reign for obedient leaders in Deuteronomy 17:20 inspire us to consider the long-term impact of our actions on future generations?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Samuel 8
Discusses Israel's demand for a king, which leads to the establishment of the monarchy, highlighting the importance of the king's adherence to God's commandments.

Proverbs 16:18
Warns against pride, which connects to the admonition in Deuteronomy 17:20 about the king's heart not being exalted above his brothers.

Joshua 1:7
Encourages steadfastness in following God's law, similar to the instruction for the king not to turn aside from the commandment.

2 Chronicles 7:17-18
God's promise to David about his descendants reigning, contingent on obedience, echoing the promise in Deuteronomy 17:20.
Sermons
Limitations Round About a KingD. Davies Deuteronomy 17:14-20
The King in IsraelJ. Orr Deuteronomy 17:14-20
The Limitations of MonarchyR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 17:14-20
People
Levites, Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor, Egypt
Topics
Aside, Better, Brethren, Brothers, Command, Commandment, Continue, Countrymen, Descendants, Either, Heart, Kingdom, Law, Lifted, Midst, Orders, Prolong, Prolongeth, Reign, Sons, Turn
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 17:14-20

     5366   king

Deuteronomy 17:16-20

     7735   leaders, political

Deuteronomy 17:18-20

     1614   Scripture, understanding

Deuteronomy 17:19-20

     5896   irreverence

Library
Bethphage
There is very frequent mention of this place in the Talmudists: and, certainly, a more careful comparison of the maps with those things which are said by them of the situation of this place is worthy to be made; when they place it in mount Olivet, these make it contiguous to the buildings of Jerusalem. I. In the place cited in the margin, the case "of a stubborn judge" (or elder) is handling. For when, by the prescript of the law, difficult matters, and such things as concerning which the lower councils …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Reign of Saul.
I Sam. 8-31; I Chron. 10 The Demand for a King. The last period saw one tribe after another come to the front and assert itself through some leading man as an emergency arose, but now the tribes are to be united into a monarchy and this, too, at their own request made in the form of a desire for a king. Several things no doubt influenced them to make this request. (1) From the days of Joshua there had been no strong national bond. They were only held together by the law of Moses and the annual assemblages …
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

'Make us a King'
'Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel, onto Ramah, 5. And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 7. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Adonijah
BY REV. ALFRED ROWLAND, D.D., LL.B. It is notorious that the sons of devout men sometimes prove a curse to their parents, and bring dishonour on the cause of God. When Eve rejoiced over her first-born, she little suspected that passions were sleeping within him which would impel him to slay his own brother; and the experience of the first mother has been repeated, though in different forms, in all lands and in all ages. Isaac's heart was rent by the deceit of Jacob, and by the self-will of Esau. …
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known

Jehoiada and Joash
'And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. 2. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. 3. And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. 4. And the seventh year Jehoiada …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Bible in the Days of Jesus Christ
[Illustration: (drop cap S) Reading from a Roll--old Roman Painting] Slowly but surely, as time went on, God was adding to His Book, until about four hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ the Old Testament Scriptures, in their present shape, were completed. Many questions have been asked as to how the canon of the Old Testament was formed--that is, how and when did the Jews first begin to understand that the Books of the Old Testament were inspired by God. About the first five Books--the …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place."--2 Kings …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Story of the Adulteress.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John VII. 53-VIII. 11. [This section is wanting in nearly all older manuscripts, but Jerome (a.d. 346-420) says that in his time it was contained in "many Greek and Latin manuscripts," and these must have been as good or better than the best manuscripts we now possess. But whether we regard it as part of John's narrative or not, scholars very generally accept it as a genuine piece of history.] ^d 53 And they went every man unto his own house [confused by the question of Nicodemus, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Golden Eagle is Cut to Pieces. Herod's Barbarity when He was Ready to Die. He Attempts to Kill Himself. He Commands Antipater to be Slain.
1. Now Herod's distemper became more and more severe to him, and this because these his disorders fell upon him in his old age, and when he was in a melancholy condition; for he was already seventy years of age, and had been brought by the calamities that happened to him about his children, whereby he had no pleasure in life, even when he was in health; the grief also that Antipater was still alive aggravated his disease, whom he resolved to put to death now not at random, but as soon as he should …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem

A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

Subjects of Study. Home Education in Israel; Female Education. Elementary Schools, Schoolmasters, and School Arrangements.
If a faithful picture of society in ancient Greece or Rome were to be presented to view, it is not easy to believe that even they who now most oppose the Bible could wish their aims success. For this, at any rate, may be asserted, without fear of gainsaying, that no other religion than that of the Bible has proved competent to control an advanced, or even an advancing, state of civilisation. Every other bound has been successively passed and submerged by the rising tide; how deep only the student …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Second Stage of Jewish Trial. Jesus Condemned by Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin.
(Palace of Caiaphas. Friday.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 57, 59-68; ^B Mark XIV. 53, 55-65; ^C Luke XXII. 54, 63-65; ^D John XVIII. 24. ^d 24 Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. [Foiled in his attempted examination of Jesus, Annas sends him to trial.] ^b and there come together with him all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. ^a 57 And they that had taken Jesus led him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, ^c and brought him into the high priest's house. ^a where …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Easter Tuesday
Second Sermon. Same Text. Acts 13, 26-39. THE WORD AND THE RESURRECTION.[1] [Footnote 1: This sermon appeared first in the Church Postil, the Explanation of the Epistle and Gospel Texts from Easter to Advent. Printed by Hans Lufft, Wittenberg, 1559.] 1. This sermon was preached by Paul in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia, where were gathered with the Jews some Greek converts. Wherever in a city Jews were to be found, there also were their synagogues in which they taught and preached; and many …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

The Medes and the Second Chaldaean Empire
THE FALL OF NINEVEH AND THE RISE OF THE CHALDAEAN AND MEDIAN EMPIRES--THE XXVIth EGYPTIAN DYNASTY: CYAXARES, ALYATTES, AND NEBUCHADREZZAR. The legendary history of the kings of Media and the first contact of the Medes with the Assyrians: the alleged Iranian migrations of the Avesta--Media-proper, its fauna and flora; Phraortes and the beginning of the Median empire--Persia proper and the Persians; conquest of Persia by the Medes--The last monuments of Assur-bani-pal: the library of Kouyunjik--Phraortes …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Deuteronomy 17:20 NIV
Deuteronomy 17:20 NLT
Deuteronomy 17:20 ESV
Deuteronomy 17:20 NASB
Deuteronomy 17:20 KJV

Deuteronomy 17:20 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Deuteronomy 17:19
Top of Page
Top of Page