Deuteronomy 17

“When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses...But he shall not multiply horses for himself...Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself...he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God..." vv.14-19

Read chapter 17
Do these characteristics of a king they should watch out for remind you of anyone?  Someone who multiplied horses?  Someone who had multiple wives?  Someone who multiplied silver and gold for himself?  Solomon was the king that came to my mind.  

When it came to horses:

• 1 Samuel 4:26, "Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen."

When it came to wives:

• 1 Kings 11:3, "he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart."

When it came to gold:

• 1 Kings 10:14, "The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,"  

Now as far as multiplying silver and gold for himself, it's hard to say if that was specifically Solomon, for God made him rich as a gift because Solomon asked for wisdom.  All these characteristics we do see in other kings as well, so should have been a sign over and over again of what the Lord warned them against in having a king over them.  Notice it wasn't God who wanted to set a king over Israel, but the people wanted a king to be like the other nations.  They wanted someone else to make the decisions, someone to take the lead, someone to rule over them.  How much do we want that too?  As much as we love our free will sometimes we just want someone to tell us what to do.  But of course if we don't like it then we complain against that authority.  What about now with the USA choosing the next president soon and from a Christian point a view neither seems like a godly leader, so how do you choose the lesser of two evils?  We need government and authority even in this fallen world.  It's important to vote for who that president will be as we listen to what they proclaim, how they act, and what they believe.  Don't just sit back and think God's going to  do it all, for as Ben Carson said, "One of the ways God controls it is through us."