Lesson 4 The Nations: Part 1
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
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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.