Presumptuous means “failing to stay within the limits of what’s allowed or appropriate.”

We have two warnings about presumption in Deuteronomy 17.

One is for those who might think they don’t need to heed the judgment call of the priests.

The other is a warning for a future king to not think himself better than any other Israelite.

This passage also gives us two ways to prevent presumption.

One is to put to death the one who acts that way so that the others will fear and not make such a foolish decision themselves.

The other is to write a copy of the law and read it every day to keep it before you so that you are careful to follow it.

One seems a lot better than the other.

I hope you are seeing the seriousness of all these things, the life and death of following God or not.

We even get a study tip in this chapter, in how the king is to write his own copy of the law.

The act of actually making flashcards by hand helps you learn the information better than just using flashcards online. The physical connection of writing them out connects the info to your brain.

Then the king is supposed to read it daily. You have to use or you lose it. You have to keep it up, refresh your memory.

We have to dig into the Word. We have to connect with it. We can’t just do our required reading of the day to check it off and then move on with our lives.

We have to study God’s Word. We have to pray God’s Word. We have to ask questions and search the Scripture for answers.

You can write out God’s Word. You can write a sentence from Scripture and underline key words and write questions and write a summary of its meaning.

Memorize it. Repeat it to yourself throughout the day. That’s meditating on God’s Word. That’s keeping it before you.

That’s your ticket out of presumption. Remember God’s Word.