When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. (Deuteronomy 17:14-15)
To this point in the Bible’s story there has been no mention of a king in the migrant Hebrews’ future. Now Moses mentions the possibility that the people may one day establish a monarchical form of government and specifies some of the desired qualifications in a monarch. Is Moses speculating or prophesying?
Whether speculating or prophesying here, many years later the elders among the people will ask for a king to rule them. See First Samuel 8:4-5. Did they look back to Deuteronomy for inspiration or authorization? How did these words of Moses figure into the history of the chosen people?
How has speculation or prophecy figured into my life or your life, dear reader?
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