The Importance of God’s Word: Deuteronomy 17:18–20

Imagine you’re about to go on a trip to somewhere you’ve never been before. You’re packed and ready to go, so you head out the door. Then it hits you: you have no directions. Before you can leave, you realize you better look at a map or type the address into something that can tell you how to get there. Obviously, you need directions, right? How can you get to some place you’ve never been if you don’t know the way?

And yet, that’s what so many people are trying to do: they are trying to navigate through life without any directions. The good news is, God has given us just that: He’s given us a full set of instructions in the Bible. It’s not just advice: it’s a roadmap to Heaven.

Now, if this seems like way too elementary of a concept for a sermon, I understand. You would think, by now, we are all much too advanced to need this basic Sunday School lesson, right? We all know we need to read the Bible. Do we know this? I’m not so sure. Do we consider the Bible essential for life?

In reading through the Old Testament recently, something really stood out to me. When God gives Moses instructions for the people to follow, He includes some specific directions for kings. At this point in Israel’s history, there had never even been a king, but God knew that eventually the people would demand a king, so God wisely set up protocols for the kings to follow.

Let’s look at what he told them they must do. Deuteronomy 17:18–20 (CSB) says:

18 When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes. 20 Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue reigning many years in Israel.

This was a mandate given to the kings of Israel. God wanted the kings to be in His word every day, because He knew this would be the only way that kings would be faithful to follow His law. This wasn’t optional.

God wanted to make sure that any future kings would write out by hand a copy of “this instruction.” This instruction, according to Strong’s Concordance, is the Hebrew word “torah” which means law or instructions. We don’t know if this meant he was to write out just the specific laws that Moses gave the people from God, or if it was the whole book of Deuteronomy or the entire first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, which was largely written by Moses.

The Benson commentary says, “He shall write — With his own hand — Out of that which is before the priests — Out of that original, which was carefully kept by the priests in the sanctuary, that it might be a perfect copy, and that it might have the greater influence upon him, coming to him as from the hand and presence of God. He shall read therein — Diligently and constantly: neither the greatness of his place, nor the weight and multitude of his business, shall excuse or hinder him; all the days of his life.” 

It was not enough to just hear or read the law: the king had to write it out and keep it with him. I’ve found that if I want to memorize something, it really helps to write it out. In teaching children to read and write, copy-work is vital to their success. The king was supposed to write out the law so he could truly understand it. And he was to “read from it all the days of his life.” He wasn’t supposed to do this once and then assume he knew it. He was to read it each day. Why? The text says, “so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes.”

Let’s look at those three reasons he needed to read God’s law each day:

He needed to learn to fear the Lord his God

He needed to observe all the words of this instruction

He needed to do these statutes

In other words, only by reading God’s law and really understanding it would he fear God and obey His commands. You might remember, that’s exactly the conclusion that King Solomon came to at the end of Ecclesiastes 12:13. He wrote, “When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity.”

If the king did these things, then, as verse 20 of our text for today says, “Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue reigning many years in Israel.”

It’s not a complicated mandate. If the king wanted himself and the people of his country to be blessed by God and “arrive” at the place where God wanted them to go, then all the king needed to do was learn God’s law and follow it. That seems simple enough.

This mandate was not just given to the kings, by the way. As Solomon noted, “this is for all humanity.” This is a mandate that is given to the people as well. Look at what Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says: “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.”

Then, in Deuteronomy 31:9-12, it says, “Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. Moses commanded them, ‘At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation, during the Festival of Shelters, when all Israel assembles in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he chooses, you are to read this law aloud before all Israel. Gather the people—men, women, dependents, and the resident aliens within your city gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law.’”

God wanted the nation to publicly gather and read His law. This way, no one could claim ignorance. This doesn’t mean that the people only needed to hear the law every seven years; this public reading was in addition to the above directions which said they are to repeat the words, talk about them, bind them on hands, and write them on the doorposts of houses and city gates.

We see this mandate to individuals again, in Joshua 1:8, which says, “This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.”

We see another reason of why they are to do this in Psalm 1:1-2, which says, “How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.”

These instructions are not limited to believers in Old Testament times—God expects all of us to carefully study and know His Word. Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.” And 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness.”

So, we see it is not enough to just have Bibles, we must use them daily. For what happens when we don’t know God’s Word? Look at what happened to Israel when the kings did not follow this mandate. The first king, King Saul, must not have followed God’s instructions to write out the law and study God’s Word. 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 tells us, “Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the Lord because he did not keep the Lord’s word. He even consulted a medium for guidance, but he did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.”

Then David, who became king, did read God’s Word. Look at what he wrote in Psalm 40:8. He writes, “I delight to do your will, my God, and your instruction is deep within me.” Other translations say, “Your law is within my heart.” David is talking about how valuable God’s Word is to him.

The next king, his son Solomon, knew God’s Word, too, but in his old age, Solomon turned away from God and worshiped false idols. It got worse, for his son, King Rehoboam, “did evil, because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD,” as 2 Chronicles 12:14 tells us. Because of that, from the time of Rehoboam to Josiah, a span of about 300 years, the Word of God was neglected.

Not until Josiah becomes king do we see a full return to God’s word, and it wasn’t until his 18th year of reign that he even heard the book of the Law. That means Israel was not following this mandate to publicly read it every 7 years, much less reading it daily. When Josiah heard the rediscovered Law, he tore his clothes and repented. His reaction shows how unusual it had become for kings to actually study the Law. His repentance and leadership led to a national revival.

Have you wondered what the priests were even doing if they didn’t have God’s Word? They “lost” the book of the law and found it. What were they doing all day? Well, the priest who found the book of the Law was the high priest Hilkiah, and apparently, he was still going through the motions. He was still performing sacrifices and maintaining the temple. He was repairing the temple when they discovered the book of the Law. The people and kings had turned away from God, but temple services were still going on.

Though the priests continued their temple duties for centuries, they had fallen away from God. As 2 Kings 22:3–7 shows, the temple had suffered so much it required carpenters and builders to restore it. This neglect reflected the nation’s unfaithfulness. As the people had turned away from God’s commands for generations, leading to idolatry and disobedience, the temple, built by Solomon over 300 years earlier (1 Kings 6), had also deteriorated over time. The state of the temple clearly symbolized the spiritual state of Judah: it had decayed, and it needed to be restored.

Yet, the priests were employed during that time of neglect. Um, that should really trouble us. It should grieve all our hearts and give us all pause to consider how alike these priests are to our current age. We have pastors and teachers who are not only neglecting God’s Word, but they are telling people they do not need to read it anymore.

It’s clear that going through the motions of worship without knowing and obeying God’s Word leads to spiritual ruin. Just like the temple fell into disrepair, so can we. We are now God’s temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says, “Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are” and 6:19 reiterates, “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.”

I want to point out that revival in Josiah’s time began not with a new program, but with the reading and following of God’s Word. Just like the priests from Rehoboam till Josiah’s day, we may still “function” by going to church, singing worship songs or offering prayers, but internally we may be crumbling in disrepair. Revival won’t happen by joining a new church and going through the motions. We must have true faith in Jesus, not just be a part of a church program or partake in religious rituals. Our faith must be personal. We must daily read God’s Word and consult Him for direction and instructions in all areas of our lives, or we risk become spiritually decayed. We need to pray that God will lead His Church to repentance and bring revival and a return to following His Word.

Ask yourself: Is God’s Word the set of instructions I am daily following for direction, or a forgotten book in the corner of my temple? Am I just going through the motions or am I truly worshiping the Lord? Am I trying to get through this life without any direction or am I following God’s path marked out for me?

This instruction book that God has given us, isn’t just to ensure that we make it to Heaven when we die. Following God’s instructions is not just about our eternal security. Following God’s instructions impacts each day of our lives. It’s not just an instruction book on how to get to Heaven, though it certainly is that. It’s an instruction book on how to become the people who God wants us to become.

The kings were commanded by God to write out His law so they could learn to “fear the Lord,” “observe all the words of this instruction,” and “do these statutes.” God wanted them to become kings who feared and obeyed His commands. Why? So God could bless them. When kings did that, they were happy. Their people were happy, too, for their whole nation was blessed by God, when they followed God’s ways.

When we don’t follow God’s ways, all we do is invite a whole lot of trouble into our lives. Looking at the Israelites as an example, had they simply followed all of God’s instructions, they would have arrived in the Promised Land a lot sooner. Instead, they disobeyed God’s instructions, and they ended up wandering in circles for 40 years. Instead of placing their faith in God to protect them and guide them, they tried relying on false gods and their own strength. Remember when they first left Egypt, they immediately arrived on the border of the Promised Land, but instead of simply trusting in God’s directions, they wanted to scout out the land for themselves first. Because they did not follow His directions, Numbers 14:34 tells us that God said to them: “You will bear the consequences of your iniquities forty years based on the number of the forty days that you scouted the land, a year for each day. You will know my displeasure.” What’s been said to have been an 11-day journey ended up taking them 40 years!

If only they had simply trusted God’s directions. If only they had simply listened to God the first time.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? If only I had simply listened to God, the first time He spoke to my heart; the first time He prompted me to respond to Him; the first time He told me to hold my tongue; or the first time He convicted my heart about something. If only we would all listen the first time, then we’d save ourselves from so much trouble. If only we’d all simply follow His directions.

Look at what Psalm 119:1-3 says: “How happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk according to the Lord’s instruction! Happy are those who keep his decrees and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways.”

I don’t know about you, but I want to be happy. I want to follow God’s ways, because I want to get to the places where God wants me to go. I don’t want to wander around in a desert because I’m not following His instructions. I want to become the person He has called me to become. I don’t want to miserably be stuck in the same place mentally, emotionally or spiritually for 40 years when God has so much more for me to become. He wants all of us to follow Him to a place of freedom and health. The only way to get to that place is by following God’s instructions.

Again, we won’t be able to follow God’s ways if we don’t know what those ways are. That’s why we need to follow God’s Word; He has a path for us to take. The Bible is not only the map, it’s also the light which shows us the path. Look at what Psalm 119:105 says: “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” If we want to arrive at the destination God has for us, then we must stay on His path.

Knowing what the Bible says and following its instructions are the difference between making it to our destination or not, so shouldn’t we spend more time studying this than doing any other thing? This cannot be overstated. We must read God’s Word daily in order to follow His commands, after all, as Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commands.”

Just like the kings of old, we need to learn God’s word. That’s the only way we will learn to properly fear the Lord, observe all the words of His instructions, and do these statutes. Then we will know the right way to go. Then we can keep Jesus’ commands. Then we can stay on God’s path and get to our destination.

If you have been trying to go through life on your own, it’s not too late to make a change. I suggest you start where the Bible tells us to start—by learning God’s Word. Pray and ask the Lord to help you commit to studying His directions. There are many Bible reading plans that can help you stay on track to read through the Bible in a year. There are even plans that explain how to read through the Bible in 90 days or even a month. Whatever you choose, the important thing is to be in the Word each day. We cannot expect to follow God if we don’t daily consult His instructions. There are too many distractions, stumbling blocks, false paths and tricks of the devil to risk becoming lazy about this. Just like you wouldn’t set out on a trip without directions, don’t try to navigate life without directions from God.

Pray: Heavenly Father, we confess that we have not always consulted You for direction. Please forgive us. By Your Holy Spirit, please open the eyes of our hearts to see that we must daily read Your Word in order to follow Your ways. We pray that You would give us a greater desire to read Your Word so we stay on Your path. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.