The King's Assignment

In general, we use the Charlotte Mason method of education. One of the joys of life for me has been to discover Charlotte Mason's method in the Bible. This was the first aspect of the Charlotte Mason method I discovered in God's Word, and I can still remember how excited I was that day!

The background of this story is that God is telling Moses that when the Israelites get to the Promised Land, they are going to ask for a king. Therefore, God lays out some instructions for what He expects of the kings of Israel.

“Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that 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 and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel." Deut. 17:18-20.

God actually expected each king to write out a copy of the law, which is Genesis through Deuteronomy, in his own handwriting. I wonder how many kings actually did that? I don't believe we have record of any kings actually doing that, but some may have. I wonder what would have happened differently if they had obeyed the Lord in this. Well, I guess we don't have to wonder too long, because God tells us all the benefits that He promises to the kings that do obey Him in this.

Charlotte Mason calls this copywork; we call it "The King's Assignment." We each copy God's Word for 15 minutes a day. I know one young man who had an attitude problem and his parents told him his assignment to graduate from high school was to copy Genesis through Deuteronomy. By the time he finished, he was a changed young man, and is diligently serving the Lord today, many years later.

It takes quite a bit of work and effort to write the Bible yourself, but do we really have more to do than the king of Israel did? Think of it this way: if you are a son or a daughter of the King of Kings, shouldn't you tackle the "King's Assignment," too?

Writing out God's Word in my own handwriting has provided more benefits than I ever dreamed of. Rather than tell you what they are, I shall encourage you to give it a try for yourself, and see what God reveals to you!