John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 17:14

"When thou art come unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are round about me;" — Deuteronomy 17:14 (ASV)

When you are come into the land. In this passage God sets forth the merits of that sacerdotal kingdom, which is mentioned elsewhere. For, since the splendor of the royal name might dazzle their eyes, causing them to forget that God retained sovereignty over them, they are therefore admonished early on how unjust it would be if the majesty of God were to be diminished by the rule of a mortal man.

In sum, the power of kings is here placed beneath that of God, and kings themselves are consecrated to obedience to Him, so that the people would not ever turn to ungodliness, whatever change of government might take place.

But although religion was often subverted under the judges, it was not without reason that a special law was enacted concerning kings, because nothing is more likely than that earthly grandeur should draw men away from piety.

Now that we understand God's design in this matter, let us proceed to examine its various parts. He passes over (as I have said) all the intervening time until the beginning of the kingdom, because this new state of affairs brought with it an increased danger.

For as long as the judges were in power, their different form of government separated the Jews from pagan nations. All the surrounding neighbors were subject to kings, and God always retained preeminence while He raised up judges from among the people.

But when they began to choose kings for themselves, they became so mixed with the Gentiles that it was easy for them to fall into other corruptions. For the very similarity (of their governments) united them more closely; therefore, it is expressly stated, When you shall set a king over you, like as all the nations that are about you.

For God signifies that the example of the nations would be an evil snare to them, leading them to desire to have a king, and so their condition would in the future be identical, though by divine decree it had been distinct.

In short, their rebellion is here indirectly condemned, as God foretells that they would willfully shake off their yoke; this indeed actually took place when they rejected Samuel and tumultuously demanded a king. On this point, God elsewhere complains that He was despised.

But the question arises, how can these two things be reconciled: that kings should reign over them from the lust or foolish desire of the people, and yet that the kingdom was the chief glory of the people, a special pledge of God’s favor, and consequently of their welfare and full felicity?

The prophecy of Jacob is well known:

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, — until Shiloh come. (Genesis 49:10)

From this it appears that a king was promised to the children of Abraham as an inestimable blessing.

Why, then, does God not declare Himself its author?

I reply that, although it was God’s design from the beginning to set up David as a type of Christ, yet, because their unseemly haste disturbed the order of things, the commencement of the kingdom is ascribed to the people’s fault, when they were impelled by their perverse emulation to wish to be like the Gentiles.

God then appears to have deliberately censured their willfulness, as if He had said, "Although by appointing a king, you approach more closely to the Gentiles, beware that your perverse desire does not altogether turn you away from true religion."