Readings for today: Deuteronomy 17-19, Mark 14:10-31
Humility is a cornerstone Christian value. It is also the most elusive. How does one work on humility? How does one get “good” at humility? How does one become a humble person? Well, first and foremost, we need a good definition of humility. One that not only avoids the obvious which is pride but also one that avoids the less obvious and more subtle which is false humility. Diminishing oneself in order to appear humble. I love how Tim Keller defines humility in his little book, The Art of Self-forgetfulness. Humility, he argues, is not thinking more highly of yourself than you ought or thinking less of yourself than you ought but simply thinking of yourself less. I love that.
In today’s reading, we run across these words from God to those who be kings in Israel…“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. “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.” (Deuteronomy 17:16-20) What is God up to here? What is the big deal about horses and wives and great wealth? Why make every king write out a copy of the Law for themselves? Why make it required daily reading? Doesn’t the king have more important things to worry about?
Friends, God cares more about our character than He does our accomplishments. He cares more about the people we are becoming than the things we do. The accumulation of many horses was the key to military power in the ancient near east. The accumulation of many wives was the key to forging strategic alliances with other nations to increase one’s political influence. The accumulation of much wealth was, and still is, the single greatest measure of worldly success. Any king who pursued these things would find themselves falling away from God in a hurry. Solomon being the pre-eminent example.
Pride was the bane of kings in Israel. When they sought the Lord in humility, He provided all the wealth and power they needed. When they forgot the Lord in their pride, they came under His judgment and lost everything. Ancient near east kings believed they were divine. Egypt. Mesopotamia. Babylon. Assyria. All the great empires of the ancient world were ruled by kings who believed they not only held a divine mandate but that they were the living representatives of their gods on earth. As such, they believed the accumulation of power and wealth was their divine right. Their words and actions carried divine sanction and authority. To resist them was to resist their god which is why their conquests were so brutal and terrifying. The kings of Israel were to be different. They recognized they were not Yahweh’s representatives on earth. They were not a law unto themselves. They were no different than anyone else in Israel. Their words and actions carried divine authority only insofar as they followed God’s law.
And this is why God prescribes a very specific course of daily study for anyone who would be king over His people. They are to write out by hand a copy of the law. They are to study that law each and every day throughout the course of their reign. The goal being to learn to “fear the Lord” and to not “lift their hearts above their brothers.” This is unique among ancient near east cultures. Pride was a virtue in other nations but a vice in Israel. Humility was despised in other nations but held in highest esteem in Israel. As Keller points out so well, pride is thinking more highly of oneself than one ought. It is the placing of oneself on the throne of one’s life just like the ancient kings of old.
Humility is acknowledging God’s Lordship over our lives. It places Him on the throne. And this is why spending time in God’s Word on a daily basis is still so critically important. It reminds us we are not in charge. We are not in control. It reminds us not to place our trust in power or influence or wealth but in God alone. The reality is we live like kings. Many of us have access to the kind of wealth and freedom and privilege the ancient kings could only dream of. We have accumulated power through position and success. We have made alliances that give us opportunity and access. We have gained great wealth through our hard work and it is tempting to believe that we have done all these things through our own effort. Our own ability. Almost like we have divine sanction for the way we live. But we must be careful. We must not place our trust in our own strength. We too must learn humility just like the kings of Israel. Does that mean we should copy the Bible by hand? That actually wouldn’t be the craziest idea! More importantly, we must read it all the days of our lives so we too will learn to fear the Lord and not lift our hearts above our brothers and sisters.
Readings for tomorrow: Deuteronomy 20-22, Mark 14:32-52