“When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
How do we square the above above requirements of the Law with what we know happened with King Solomon? He had many wives and God actually made him rich beyond measure. How do we square this? In the above passage we see riches for kings forbidden but then we see in Solomon’s life that God made him rich. There is, probably, no way to balance Solomon’s many wives with the above passage. Solomon did disobey God in this area. In the above passage the king is warned to not “acquire” riches. In Solomon’s life, he did not “acquire” riches, God gave them to him. That is the difference. God gives some riches and some not (James 2). The nation of Israel, later, would want to be like other nations and have a king. But, God was their king. But, that would prove not enough for them. God foresees this desire and gives them guideline on how to implement the desire of their hearts, despite it was contrary to God’s desire. This is fascinating. God foresees the disobedience in the heart of His chosen people and gives them guidelines on how to not go farther against Him. Yet, they do. God’s grace is seen even in their disobedience. God is merciful to even those He knows will disobey Him.
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