Advanced Level, Block 2—Result of Entering the Good Land
Week 12
Rulers and Nations
Point to Emphasize: We must never misuse our authority but act responsibly for others’ benefit.
Reference Reading: Genesis 10:1-32, footnotes 81, 251
Memory Verse: By me kings reign, / And rulers decree justice. (Proverbs 8:15)
Story Sample
Last week we heard about how Noah became God’s deputy authority after the flood. This was the first human government. Noah took the lead in his household to worship the one and only God. As time went on, Noah’s family grew; his sons had children, and their children had children also. There was a real multiplying of this one family. Eventually, they all became separate nations, which was terrible! God never intended for man to be divided into nations. He made Noah the deputy authority for the sake of keeping peace with man and God. But human government began to be used for other purposes rather than to keep peace among men and to worship God.
Nimrod, the grandson of Noah’s son Ham was the first to form a human government that opposed God. He abused the God-given authority and turned his nation of Babel into a kingdom, so that he could be a ruler. He misused his authority and acted for his own interest, not God’s. This was a terrible time, and he brought in many idolatrous things. He was using human government to lead people away from God to serve idols.
Other countries throughout history have gone the way of Nimrod. They have misused their authority and acted against God and mankind. As you get older, you will learn the history of the nation of Germany and how the ruler Hitler used his power to do away with so many Jews. He misused his authority as ruler and did things that were according to his own interest and against God’s interest.
We are very blessed to be living in America, because of its godly beginning. It is different from other nations because it was partially founded on the worship of God and the rights of men. Many early Americans read the Bible and worshiped God. [Storyteller, show a dollar bill.] Do you see this? Even on our money, it says, “In God We Trust”. Have you ever said the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America? It says, “One nation under God.” For this reason, America has been blessed over the years.
Today we are not rulers of nations, but there are times we are put in places of authority. We must not ever abuse the authority given to us. Perhaps you are a class monitor and you use this authority to boss the other students around. We should not use our authority in this way, but we should use it for the benefit of the whole class, right?
When I was growing up my parents gave my oldest sister the responsibility of watching the rest of us while they were at work. They thought she could handle this authority, but she took advantage of it. She would have us do all of the chores, even hers. One time she brought us to a place she was not allowed to go to and told us not to tell our parents where we had been. She misused her authority. She didn’t think much about it at the time. She felt it was her right to boss us around. But she told me years later that she regretted doing that to us. [Storyteller, insert your example of abusing the authority given to you and later regretting it.]
When we are given a position of leadership, how will we use it? In our daily life, when we are given responsibility, will we be like Noah, who cared for others and used his authority to care for his family according to God? Or, will we be like Nimrod and misuse this authority and deny God? We should take the way of Noah and use our authority to care properly for those who are under us.