In my reading of Deuteronomy I recently came across a passage that has truly changed my life and that of others. I share this when I teach expository preaching, and I might as well share it with you. It’s found in the instructions that Moses gives for future kings of Israel.

When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel. Deuteronomy 17:14-20

The first requirement is that God himself choose the king. That’s a good place to begin! Let God do the picking. The second requirement is that the king be a Hebrew and not a foreigner. This is not too hard so far.

The third and fourth requirements need to be understood in the historical context. To multiply horses to himself would be to trust in amassing a military force rather than trusting in God. The multiplying of wives is a common practice among oriental kings of that era as a means of diplomacy. Again, his faith should be in God rather than the deals he can swing by combining various noble blood lines. Besides, the temptation is that these foreign women would turn his heart away from God.

But, it is the final requirement that I find fascinating. The king was to write out for himself his own copy of this book, either a reference to the Torah, the first first books of the Bible, or this book of Deuteronomy in particular. The king could command the finest scribes to copy the law in beautiful script and elaborate decorative design. Instead, he was to write the words of God in his own hand.

There is something powerful about the combination of hand, pen, ink, paper, mind, eye and spirit. Writing the words out by hand forces you to focus on every word. It is so easy for the mind to race ahead and pass over things that are important. Handwriting encourages a synchronization of the above elements resulting an increased sensitivity to the message of the words. Try it!

When I preach on a passage of scripture I write it out and even diagram it grammatically. I discover new insight even though I may have read the passage hundreds of time. Every morning as I read my Bible, pray and write in my journal, I write out the portion of scripture that has especially spoken to me that morning. Even after I have been blessed and challenged by the passage, as I am writing it out I often discover truth I previously overlooked.

Seriously, try it. Write out scripture by hand and see what happens. I highly recommend it.