Session 3: Government in the Old Testament

God set up government to help us figure out how to relate with each other.
First, we need to figure out how to relate among ourselves in our own family, because everybody has different relationships within a family. Dad, mom, son and daughter all have similar roles -- helper and sustainer of that family unit, but they have distinct roles, too.
Governance helps them all figure out what roles to play and how to play those roles.
Today we're reading through various Old Testament texts identifying government structures, government operations and government theory within each text. The texts explored in this session are:

• Adam & Eve – Gen 2:15-3:24
• Noah – Gen 9
• Abraham – Gen 13-15
• Jacob – Gen 27 & 32:22-32
• Joseph – Gen 39-41
• Moses & Jethro – Ex 18
• The Judges – The Book of Judges
• David – 1 Sam 16; 1 Sam 25; 2 Sam 2-5; 2 Sam 7
• Jeroboam – 2 Kings 12; 2 Chr 10
• Daniel - text
• Esther – The Book of Esther
• Nehemiah – Neh 2; Neh 5; Neh 13
• Ruth – The Book of Ruth

Session 2: Family-Based Government

Just how important is this big government hassle? Pretty important. 
Today we studied the foundation for all governance -- the family. The family unit is the basic building block of all government structures; the nuclear family, the extended family, the traditional village/settlement, and the tribe/clan are the foundation for any local, state, federal, business or church governance.
Never mind trying to learn this stuff from philosophers and law makers; to understand God's foundational ideas for governance, you have to go to His book, so today we dove into Genesis, where it all started.

Session 1: Why Government?

Why do we bother with government? It costs money and its a hassle. What's the point?

Today we considered what might happen without government--anarchy. This session introduced the  impossibility of sustained anarchy, the natural existence of government in every social setting, the role of government in conflict resolution and the role of government in public works. Our main objective today was to help the student answer the question:

“Why do we need a government in the first place?”

Reading for today:

• Declaration of Independence; 
• United States Constitution (main body only, not the Amendments); 
• Indiana State Constitution.