God understood that sooner or later His people, Israel, would want a king, like other nations. And so, through Moses, He explained what any future king of Israel should and should not do (Deuteronomy 17:14-20).
Among these instructions, two stand out. The king is not to “multiply wives to himself” (v. 17), which might turn his heart away from God; and he is to keep a book beside his throne, and every day write in it the words of God’s law (v. 18-19).
One of the details that convinces me that the Bible is a true historical record is the frequency with which the great men of ancient Israel totally fail to carry out God’s commandments–if they even try. You’d think it would be a simple matter for a king not to take on a whole passel of wives, and to write down a Bible verse or two every day. But no.
King David’s platoon of wives gave him a whole company of sons, making it impossible for Solomon to succeed his father without shedding brotherly blood; and then Solomon collected a harem that put David’s to shame: and sure enough, this city block’s worth of pagan wives from all sorts of pagan nations turned the wise king’s heart to folly, and resulted in the breakup of the kingdom.
The Bible makes no mention of any king of Israel or Judah ever jotting down a daily verse of Scripture. You’d think, if one of them ever once did it, someone would have thought it astounding enough to mention.
One thing the Bible teaches us is our absolute and non-negotiable need for a savior. And the only Savior who will do is Jesus Christ. He alone, of all who ever walked in human flesh, kept God’s law perfectly. He alone satisfied its terms. David, the man after God’s own heart, couldn’t do it. Solomon, the wisest ruler ever, couldn’t do it.
But God did, in the person of His son. And that’s how we’re saved.