Lesson 4 The Nations: Part 1

(Genesis 10, 12, Galatians 3, 1 Samuel 8)
English
Year: 
2025
Quarter: 
2
Lesson Number: 
4

 Lesson 4 The Nations: Part 1

 

(Genesis 10, 12, Galatians 3, 1 Samuel 8)

     

Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D.  Scripture quotations are

from the ESV  Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard

Version ), copyright   2001 by Crossway, a publishing

ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All

rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within

parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail,

but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this

link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the

Holy Spirit as you study.

 

Introduction: If you were going to establish a nation, what

kind of government would you give it? Would it be a

democracy? Would it be a theocracy? Would it be ruled by a

king? What about having a small group of leaders? Or would

you have no government at all? Christian friends tell me

that they are concerned about having a government that

enforces Biblical principles. My question to them is, "What

kind of principles do you want for a government?" "Do you

want anti-God principles?" The Bible has something to say

about government, so let's dive in and see what we can

learn!

 

I.   God and Bad Government

 

     A.   Read Genesis 10:1. What kind of government ruled

          the earth prior to the flood? (Read Genesis 6:4-7.

          Humans were concentrating on doing evil. The

          government must have allowed this because God

          decided that the only remedy was to destroy them.)

 

          1.   What did they call some of these wicked men?

               ("Mighty men," "men of renown.")

 

     B.   Read Genesis 6:8. If you know your Bible, what

          resulted from this favor from God? (Noah and his

          immediate family survived a world-wide flood that

          destroyed all the rest of humanity.)

 

     C.   Read Genesis 10:6-9. These are descendants of

          Noah's son, Ham. It says that Nimrod was the first

          on earth to be a mighty man, but we saw before the

          flood that there were mighty men. How would you

          explain this? (The Finis Dake Commentary tells us

          that Nimrod was in rebellion against God, and that

          his prowess as a hunter ("before the Lord")

          suggests that he also hunted men and did this

          openly in defiance of God. In the new world after

          the flood, we see in Nimrod the kind of rebellious

          attitude that characterized those mighty men

          before the flood.)

 

     D.   Read Genesis 10:10-12. Are these good cities that

          Nimrod built? (No, these are generally considered

          hostile to God's people.)

 

     E.   Read Genesis 11:1-4. Why do those who live in

          Nimrod's city want to build a tower that will have

          its "top in the heavens?" (They want to "flood-

          proof" themselves. This is a civilization living

          in defiance of God.)

 

          1.   Read Genesis 9:8-11. What does this tell you

               about those who built the tower of Babel in

               the land of Shinar? (They did not believe or

               trust God.)

 

     F.   Let's step back and consider the lessons to be

          learned about government under Nimrod. What was

          the attitude of the people toward God? (They

          rebelled. They did not believe or trust God.)

 

          1.   What does this suggest is the result of having

               a majority of citizens who do not believe or

               trust in God? 

 

               a.   Who will they trust? (In themselves.)

 

II.  God and Good Government

 

     A.   Read Genesis 12:1-2. Is God sending Abram out as a

          missionary, or is He doing something else?

          (Something else. God says He will make of Abram a

          "great nation." That means a government.)

 

     B.   Read Genesis 12:3. On what basis will this nation

          be built? (Those who bless Abram will be blessed

          and those who dishonor him will be cursed.)

 

          1.   What does that mean? Abram is not a god. Why

               would blessings and curses flow from a

               person's attitude towards Abram? (Abram is

               allied with God. He represents a future nation

               committed to God. That is why God

               supernaturally blesses or curses a person

               depending on their approach to Abram and his

               nation.)

 

     C.   Look at the last phrase of Genesis 12:3. What does

          it mean? (Read Galatians 3:8. Let's explore

          Galatians 3 so we can better understand it.)

 

     D.   Read Galatians 3:1-5. What is the problem with the

          thinking of the Galatians? (They believe that

          their own works have resulted in them having the

          Holy Spirit and being saved.)

 

          1.   Does this sound like the attitude of Nimrod?

               (The Galatians are not in rebellion like

               Nimrod, but they share the characteristic that

               they believe in their own works for success.)

 

     E.   Read Galatians 3:6-9. We see the quote from

          Genesis 12:3. To what does Genesis 12:3 refer? (It

          refers to the coming incarnation of Jesus and that

          His life and death on our behalf are our only

          means of salvation.)

 

     F.   Let's step back and consider the lessons to be

          learned about government under Abram. What kind of

          government is blessed? (One that looks positively

          on God. Since the greatest blessing was the

          prediction of Jesus, this tells us that the

          government that is blessed the most is one based

          on Christian principles.)

 

          1.   If you disagree with my prior conclusion, on

               what basis do you disagree? (In my experience

               some ministers in my church would disagree

               based on their understanding of the U.S.

               Constitution. I find this ironic. The

               Constitution is a document created by men. Is

               depending on it, as opposed to the Bible, like

               building a tower?)

 

          2.   Finally, do you think God's Genesis 12:3

               statement about blessings and curses has any

               application to today's rise of antisemitism?

 

III. Theocracy Versus Kingdom

 

     A.   Read 1 Samuel 8:1-3. Whose fault is it that

          Samuel's sons are dishonest judges? (Samuel was a

          great man, so I will not blame him for sons who go

          astray. But he is responsible for giving his

          dishonest sons authority.)

 

     B.   Read 1 Samuel 8:4-5. Do you agree with the Elders

          of Israel? (The present form of government was

          unacceptable because of fraud. Samuel was God's

          man and the Elders came to him for a better

          government.)

 

     C.   Read 1 Samuel 8:6. Why do you think Samuel was

          displeased? Because his sons had been rejected?

          Because the Elders suggested that he was too old

          to do his job?

 

     D.   Read 1 Samuel 8:7-8. How does God view the request

          of the Elders? (Not as I would have guessed. God

          says that they are rejecting Him!)

 

          1.   What should the Elders have requested if they

               were faithful to God? (Tossing out the

               dishonest sons is not a rejection of God. What

               the Elders should have requested is that

               Samuel work with God to give them new judges.)

 

          2.   Why does God attribute improper motives to the

               Elders when the prior verses make their

               request appear reasonable?(God says that the

               people have a history of rejecting Him. It

               appears that God thought the best thing for

               now would have been to stay with Samuel. God

               could have worked out a new prophet at the

               right time.)

 

     E.   Read 1 Samuel 8:9. Why does God grant the Elders'

          request? He thinks it is terrible! (Be careful

          what you ask of God.)

 

     F.   Read 1 Samuel 8:11-17. How many of these things

          would you expect from a modern government?

 

          1.   What does this say about God's view of

               government? (It appears God thinks the less

               government the better.)

 

     G.   Read 1 Samuel 8:18-20. Now we see the full picture

          of the attitude of the people. Have they rejected

          God? (They seem exactly like the tower people of

          Genesis 11:4.)

 

     H.   Let's step back again and consider the big

          picture. What do you need to have a government run

          by Biblical principles? (You need to have the

          people consent to it.)

 

          1.   Would a government like that be possible

               today?

 

          2.   I assume most will answer the prior question

               with a "No."  What then should we do to have

               the best kind of government? (Selecting

               leaders who understand Biblical principles and

               who follow them in governing.)

 

     I.   Read Matthew 20:25-28. What kind of leaders are

          best?

 

          1.   Is this true only for the church? Or is it

               also true for the government? (Jesus uses the

               "rulers of the Gentiles" as a bad example.

               That suggests the rule Jesus gives here

               applies to both the church and the state.)

 

     J.   Friend, will you prayerfully consider what we have

          discussed and apply it to your actions in

          selecting and supporting government?

 

     IV.  Next week: The Nations: Part 2.