This was to be high on the list of priorities of all concerned: ‘The Levites are to station themselves round the king, each man with his weapons in hand. Anyone who enters the temple must be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes’ (23:7). Normally the people gathered around the king to enjoy his protection. In other times the king was a strong ruler who subdued threats to his people’s safety. The king was God’s servant to do his people good (see Ps. 5:11; 91:14).