Although ancient prophets protested the establishment of kings as political rulers, as a reader of scriptures you know this is bound to happen. The Old Testament prophet Samuel spoke of the abuse of such regal power, and warned that kings would take away the sons and send them to war, take away the daughters to run confectionaries, pillage the vineyards, and heavily tax the people (see 1 Samuel 8:11-18). The people wanted Nephi to be their king, but Nephi warned, "I, Nephi, was desirous that they should have no king; nevertheless, I did for them according to that which was in my power" (2 Nephi 5:18).
But you know this is inevitable. Kings and priests were types of Christ, and the typology is just too strong and the symbolism too pervasive. Even the Book of Mormon prophesy about America having no kings upon the land must be read within a certain context. There would not be political kings because the Lord said, "For I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words" (2 Nephi 10:14). It's not that they don't need a king, but rather, it's about who is going to be their king, at least in a spiritual context.
So long before King Saul comes to the throne (and the Lord Himself has a throne on the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies within the temple), the law of kings is established. The scripture states,
"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" (Deuteronomy 17:14).
The Lord is saying you have to operate like the nations around you, and it's in vogue to have a king at the head.
The next requirement is stated: "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" (verse 15). The Lord chooses a king among Israel and he becomes, in a sense, deified. He is an advocate with God for the people.
The king becomes a servant of the people and should not be "lifted up" above the people he serves. The law for the king is clear, "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" (verses 16-17). Solomon neglected this counsel and ten of the tribes were torn away from his son, Rehoboam (1 Kings 12).
Kings were required to study the law of God daily. The next verses in Deuteronomy 17 state, "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" (verses 18-19). Sometimes I think this would be a good idea for leaders of our day.
So, in ancient times, who had access to the book of the law? You had to be a king or a priest (or a queen or a priestess) to have full access to the word of God. In spite of the availability of scripture and technology, I think you could argue that this is still the case. I think you know where I'm going with this. The Book of Mormon begins with a heading in First Nephi speaking of Nephi's role. The heading says, "His Reign and Ministry." It is his reign as a king, and his ministry as a priest.
And who in the Book of Mormon is a king who followed diligently the role of king in Israel, according to the law in Deuteronomy? If you guessed King Benjamin you are absolutely right. King Benjamin always spoke of service and how he had been in the service of his people. In his famous speech he says:
"I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear me, or that ye should think that I of myself am more than a mortal man.
"But I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind; yet I have been chosen by this people, and consecrated by my father, and was suffered by the hand of the Lord that I should be a ruler and a king over this people; and have been kept and preserved by his matchless power, to serve you with all the might, mind and strength which the Lord hath granted unto me" (Mosiah 2:10-11).
Then he even quotes the law of kings by saying, "I say unto you that as I have been suffered to spend my days in your service, even up to this time, and have not sought gold nor silver nor any manner of riches of you" (Mosiah 2:12). Remember the king was not supposed to "multiply to himself silver and gold." The Deuteronomy verse reads, "silver and gold," but King Benjamin quotes it as "gold nor silver." A Hebrew scholar, M. Seidel, discovered what is called "Seidel's Law." He discovered that when one prophet quotes a previous prophet, he inverts the phrases or words to show it's a quote. We will look at more examples in another post.
We also know that King Benjamin and his sons studied the "book of the law" daily. He said to his sons:
"I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief ..." (Mosiah 1:5).
The phrase, "always before our eyes," speaks of the daily reading of the law, and how it affects regal reign.
King Benjamin compares himself with his people with statements like, "I am like as yourselves," compares himself with God with phrases like "heavenly King" (Mosiah 2:19), and compares the people with God with statements like, "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17). The idea of the common people being similar to a deified king establishes the point that the common people can become like God. And that is what Benjamin is hoping for in his service as a mortal king. He is hoping to seal the people to "Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent", that they may be "brought to heaven" (Mosiah 5:15).
In the end, the faithful will receive "a crown of eternal life" (D&C 20:14). I am grateful for the promises of God.
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