the king's primary responsiblity

we are about to start a new series at cLife that focuses on the relevance and reliability of the scriptures. i ran across this blog by mark batterson that i thought was thought provoking. i hope you do as well...

I know I'm fixated on Bible reading right now. But I make no apologies for it. There is no substitute. You've got to read the Bible and you've got to let the Bible read you. Came across a verse that has always fascinated me in Deuteronomy 17. The Lord instructed the King to "make a copy of the law" in the presence of the Levitical priests. He was told to "keep it at his side at all times." Who knows? Maybe he even slept with it. And he was told to "study it everyday." Interesting isn't it? Studying the law was the King's primary responsibility. I have no idea how long it took to copy the law. But here's my question: why copy it? You're a king. You're busy. You have servants. Why not let someone copy it for you. Why did God insist on him copying it? Because that way it was in his own handwriting. So he had his own personal copy of the law. And he was told to keep it at his side at all times. If we interpret that literally, then we ate with it, rode with it, slept with it, fought with it, and ruled with it.Finally, he was told to study it everyday. No other spiritual discipline is more vital to your spiritual growth that daily Bible study. Period. It has to be a daily routine. By the way, here is a little factoid that Braveheart fans will love. Did you know that William Wallace never went anyplace without his boyhood friend and personal chaplain, John Blair. In addition, he always carried his personal copy of the Scriptures with him.