Why Deuteronomy 17 Places Both Judges and Kings Under God’s Word

Deuteronomy 17 teaches that neither judges nor kings may rely on their own opinions or use power however they please. Serious charges must be thoroughly investigated and established by the testimony of multiple witnesses, while difficult cases must follow the appointed judicial process. Even the king must keep the Book of the Law beside him throughout his life, reading it and refusing to turn aside from its commands to the right or the left.

The More Serious the Charge, the More Carefully It Must Be Investigated

Verse 1 commands the Israelites not to sacrifice an ox or sheep that has any defect or serious flaw. They could not choose an offering to God merely according to their own convenience. Beginning in verse 2, the passage then addresses those who break the covenant by worshiping other gods or bowing down to the sun, moon, or stars.

A report of such an act did not lead to immediate punishment. Verse 4 commands the people to “investigate it thoroughly” after hearing the allegation. They first had to determine whether the report was true and the offense had actually occurred.

In a case carrying the death penalty, the testimony of one person was not enough. Verse 6 requires the testimony of two or three witnesses. In verse 7, the witnesses were to be the first to act, followed by the rest of the people. Those who testified could not distance themselves from either their words or the consequences of those words.

The penalty in this passage is severe, but the process of establishing the facts is equally clear. A person’s life could not be decided by a rumor or the word of a single individual. The command to purge evil was given together with the command to investigate carefully and secure testimony from multiple witnesses.

Difficult Cases Should Not Be Decided Alone

Verse 8 acknowledges that cases involving bloodshed, disputes, or assaults may be too difficult to judge. When such a case arose, the local judge was not to force a conclusion. The matter had to be taken to the place the Lord would choose and presented to the Levitical priests and the judge then in office.

Once they issued a ruling, the people had to take care to act accordingly. Verse 11 commands them to follow the instruction and verdict they were given and “not turn aside to the right or to the left.” The more difficult the case, the more important it was for established law and judicial procedure to take precedence over personal certainty.

Treating that verdict with contempt and refusing to listen to the priest or judge was also taken seriously. Verses 12 and 13 command that such defiance be removed from Israel so that the people would no longer act presumptuously. The community’s judgments were not optional decisions to be followed only when an individual found them agreeable.

A King Needs the Book of the Law More Than Greater Wealth

Beginning in verse 14, the passage gives Israel commands to follow when appointing a king. The king had to be someone chosen by God and one of their fellow Israelites. The throne was not a position to which anyone could be elevated merely because the people desired it.

The king was not to accumulate many horses, wives, or great amounts of silver and gold. Nor was he to send the people back to Egypt in order to acquire horses. His royal position did not give him the right to expand his military power, alliances, and wealth without limit. Instead, clear restraints were placed upon him.

When the king took the throne, he was to make his own copy of the Book of the Law from the text kept by the priests. He was to keep it beside him and read it throughout his life so that he would learn to fear God and carefully observe every statute. Reading the Law would keep his heart from becoming proud toward his fellow Israelites and prevent him from turning aside from the command to the right or the left.

Earlier in the chapter, judicial decisions were not to turn aside from the law and its rulings to the right or the left. Later, the king was not to turn aside from God’s commands to the right or the left. This repetition makes one truth clear: both those who judge and those who govern must submit to a Word that stands above them.

One practical step you can take today is to read all of Deuteronomy 17 and mark one command that places limits on human judgment. Write down one of these phrases—“investigate it thoroughly,” “the testimony of two or three witnesses,” “not turn aside to the right or to the left,” or “read it all the days of his life”—and you will be able to see the chapter’s progression more clearly.