1 Kings 2

Throughout history, there’s probably been at least one thing that set a king apart from his subjects: He didn’t have to abide by the same rules as his fellow citizens. That’s one of the "perks" of people in power—they tend to be (or at least see themselves as) above the law. They aren’t held to the same standard as everyone else.

Actually, this happens in other ways and in other places outside of the palace. For instance, if an off-duty police officer gets pulled over for speeding and the officer who stopped him realizes he’s a fellow member of the force, do you think the off-duty officer will get treated the same as any other "normal" citizen in that situation? Probably not. Special strokes for special folks.

That’s why David’s final bit of advice to Solomon was such great advice: "Be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'" (vs 2-4)

In other words, David was trying to tell his son that he wasn’t above the law. Just because he was the king, just because he was in a power of position and authority didn’t mean he could disregard the laws that applied to everyone else in Israel. That’s because these laws weren’t arbitrary: They were there for the protection and good of all the people—including the king himself.

In the same way, even God isn’t above His own law. He doesn’t hold us to a different standard than He holds Himself. In fact, the entire universe—all of God’s animate and inanimate creation—runs on the very same law: The Law of Love. This natural law of life encompasses all of the other things we recognize as "law" in the Bible (the Ten Commandments, the Law of Moses, etc.). That’s why Jesus said that the greatest commandment was love and that all the Law and the Prophets hung on that principle.

When it comes to this law, God isn’t above it. He operates in harmony with it, just as everything else must in order to remain alive. And God, as a good king, leads by example. Just as David recognized that a leader would only be as powerful as he was obedient (and encouraged Solomon in that direction), so God abides by His own law. His love is the foundation of everything in this universe—including His own throne.