When you study the Holy Scriptures, how do you do it? First, you research. You compare scripture to scripture. You consult a concordance, dictionary, and a Bible commentary. Then you reason from the biblical truths and identify spiritual principles. Finally, you relate these truths and spiritual principles to your own life and the world around you. Many people record their personal Bible studies. To help you develop a biblical worldview you will use the research, reason, relate, and record teaching method, popularly called the 4 Rs of the Principle Approach. To learn more about the Principle Approach for teaching and learning, visit the Foundation for American Christian Education.
Select and print the lesson below. There are 10 lessons, each one containing scriptures and words to define using the online Noah Webster 1828 Dictionary. The study questions are designed to help you develop a biblical worldview and the principles of godly leadership. The training is based on the book, The Kingdom Leadership Institute Manual: Raising Up Leaders a Time Like This Demands, by Rev. Rusty Lee Thomas.
Biblical Patriarchy
In lesson 2 we explored the “Battle of Two Seeds” and defined it as a battle between two competing worldviews. In Genesis 3:15 God said, “I am going to put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed.” This raises the question, what is the role of men in this spiritual battle? It is as a protective covering and a shield.
It is this understanding of biblical manhood that gave birth to the notion of chivalry and valor. Authentic biblical manhood demands men be protectors, defenders, and providers for the family. Jesus is our model for this selfless, proactive love. A man forged by the Word of God and destined for kingdom leadership refuses to be dominated by hedonism. Unlike his peers, whose ultimate goal is to satisfy their lusts, a man of God places the gospel chain upon his lustful nature, to defend woman and children. This is authentic biblical manhood and the inspiration for our romantic fairy tales.
Chivalry and Valor
Look up the definition for “protector” in the online Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary. Write out the definition below.
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Continue your word study. Look up the definition for “shield.” Write out the definition below.
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Look up the definition for “defender.” Write out the definition below.
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Finally, look up the definition for “valor.” Write out the definition below.
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Read Ephesians 5:22-33.
Reason from your word study and the scriptures. Is it possible to be a protector without the attributes of valor? Is the role of protector a passive one? What example did our Lord Jesus Christ give to husbands when it comes to loving their wives?
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The Family Ruler
Write out Genesis 1:28. Underline the terms “dominion” and “subdue.”
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Look up the definition for “dominion” in the online Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary. Write out the definition below.
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Now look up the definition for “subdue.” Write out the definition below.
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Consult Strong’s Concordance online. Look up the Hebrew definition for “dominion,” Strong’s number 07287. Write out the full definition below.
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The Hebrew word for “dominion” is “radah” and it used a total of 27 times in the Old Testament. Record the other 5 words radah is interpreted as.
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Write out 2 Chronicles 8:10 and underline the word “rule.”
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Write out Judges 14:9 and underline the words “took” and “taken.”
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Read the first, second, and third chapters of Genesis. Write out Genesis 2:15 and 2:18 below.
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Consult Strong’s Concordance online. Look up the Hebrew definition for “keep,” Strong’s number 08104. Write out the full definition below.
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Reason from your word study and the scriptures. When did God command Adam and Eve to “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth?” Was it before or after the fall? When God reviewed everything he had made, what was his opinion of the dominion mandate? Did God create Adam or Eve to “keep” the Garden? What was Eve’s role?
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From the very beginning, Adam was called to “dress” (labor) and “keep” (protect) (Genesis 2:15). God did not directly warn Adam that a being called Satan was in the Garden of Eden. He did however, command the crown of his creation to “subdue and take dominion” (Genesis 1:28). “Subdue” and “dominion” are, in part, military terms. In other words, God implied there was going to be a struggle that would threaten paradise. There was going to be a battle, and Adam needed to be prepared.
In one sense, dominion is “the power of governing.” Humanity takes dominion through faithfully adhering to the governments God established. There are different jurisdictions (the area over which legal authority extends) in God’s government. There is self-government, family government, church government, and civil government.
When God created the heavens and the Earth and placed man on the planet, the first administration he established was family government, with Adam in charge. He ordained patriarchy before there was sin and the need for church government or civil government. Think about the significance. Family was the only government God established on earth at creation. Adam was the federal head over the human race. Thus, patriarchy was the first government model for the ordering of human civilization established by God at creation.
The scriptures teach Eve was deceived, but Adam sinned. God held Adam ultimately responsible for the fall in the Garden. In the same way, all the failures we see in our nation could be traced in some degree to a disappointment of manhood, especially fatherhood. The American home is out of order and our nation is spinning out of control.
Fatherhood in the Bible
The Bible is replete with examples of fatherhood from which we can learn. For instance, the difference between Abraham and Lot speak volumes. God chose the patriarch Abraham for not only his faith, but also his commitment to be a godly father. Genesis 18:19 reads, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”
We find devout, godly fathers like Abraham influencing the world for righteousness throughout history. Noah moved with fear to save his entire household, while the rest of the world perished in the flood (Hebrews 11:7). God also used the tribe of the Rechabites as an example of honoring our fathers to bring honor to God, our Heavenly Father (Jeremiah 35:1-19).
In the Bible we also see tragic failures of fathers, some of whom were called by God. Lot is called a “righteous man,” but one has to question his priorities as a father. He led his family to Sodom, where afterward he functioned as an elder at the gates (Genesis 18). The city was so wicked it brought down the judgment of God.
The full account is found in Genesis 19. God agreed to spare the city if just ten righteous souls could be found within it. God found no trace of righteousness within Lot’s associations. Thus, he proceeded to destroy the city and the surrounding areas with one exception, Lot and his family. Though warned of God not to look back, Lot’s wife disobeyed and was turned into a pillar of salt. Before leaving the city, Lot was willing to turn his daughters over to a band of sodomites to abuse. His daughters later committed incest with him to perpetuate the family line, while he was inebriated.
In fact, the children born from this perverse union established the tribes of Moab and Ammon. These tribes first introduced the practice of child-sacrifice in the earth, which shed the blood of the innocent to appease the demonic realm. Today we call this same practice “abortion.”
The Bible further speaks of great men, mighty leaders, valiant kings, and anointed prophets who failed miserably as fathers. The toll it took upon Israel was great. These men’s refusal to govern their families according to God’s Word cost Israel their blessed status in the world.
Read 1 Samuel 8.
Reason from the scriptures. What preceded the people’s cry for a king? Who was reigning over the people before their call for an earthly king? Whom did the people reject?
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According to the Bible, it is not the sins of the mother. It is not the sins of the siblings. It is not the sins of the church. It is not the sins of civil government. It is the sins of the fathers that are passed to the children (Romans 5:12). The Bible says these fatherly sins can negatively influence generations to come. This Bible principle not only points out the father’s responsibility, but it also reveals what a privileged position it is in God’s kingdom.
Arrows in the Hand of a Mighty Man
Read the following scriptures and record your observations of fatherhood. Genesis 18:19 and Acts 10:1-2; 30-33. 2 Corinthians 12:14 and 1 Timothy 5:8. Deuteronomy 6 and 2 Chronicles 17:3. 1 Samuel 3:13 and 1 Kings 1:6. Amos 2:4. And lastly, Luke 15:18-24.
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Nearly every child-rearing scripture holds the father responsible for training his children in the fear and admonishment of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). The enemy knows when a righteous man has children he will seek to raise his offspring in God’s ways. They in turn will have children; their children will have children, and so on. The children of a God fearing man will “speak with the enemies in the gate” or, as other translations read, “subdue” their enemies at the gate. This is God’s promise.
Record Psalm 127:4-5 below.
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Based upon this revelation, men should develop a multi-generational vision to raise their children to do justice and judgment, just like faithful Abraham. In God’s economy, children are a blessing and his kingdom “ammunition.” They are arrows “in the hand of a mighty man.” Fathers are commissioned of God to raise these “arrows” straight, strong, and true. At the proper time, they are to be shot from the bow of family to accomplish God’s purposes in the earth.
Read Malachi 2:14, 15 and Psalm 112.
Reason from your word study and the scriptures. According to Malachi, why did God create the institution of marriage? What was he seeking? Whose seed will endure─ the seed of the wicked or the seed of the godly?
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God desires a godly seed in the earth. This is the purpose of marriage from God’s perspective. According to the Lord, marriage is not just a recreational sport, but procreation, dominion venture. One of the reasons God gives a young man a “dear one” of his youth, a bride, is so he can advance his kingdom through a godly seed on earth.
Relate what you have learned to your own life and the world around you. Are you a patriarch, leading your family to do justice and judgment according to the Word of God? Are you a submitted woman, allowing the headship of God to cover you and your children? Is your home in order, according to Ephesians 5:22-33? Are you allowing God to decide the number of arrows he wants you to have? Do you see children as a blessing from God and the means by which he advances his kingdom on earth? Does your church understand the importance of rearing children and their inherent value in the kingdom of God? What can you do in the culture to create an environment that fosters the idea of patriarchy? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Founding Fathers and Patriarchy
Finally, let us look at biblical patriarchy against the backdrop of American history. In many ways, America was a patriarchal society during the period of the American Revolution. During that time, men and women functioned in traditional roles. Women managed the household and cared for the children while the men worked and influenced society externally. A woman’s influence on society was just as meaningful, albeit closer to home and internal. A woman’s powerful influence was in the raising of godly offspring that brought and secured liberty for the nation.
Because of their biblical worldview, colonists understood the inherent dignity and worth of women. They also knew the family could not function (hence society could not function) without a productive, capable woman fulfilling her calling under the direction of her husband. A woman’s role was essential to the wellbeing of the community, not just her own family. Family was the main unit of society. A woman participated in the public life of the colony through her husband. When a man voted, he was casting a family vote. When he could not vote, his wife could cast that family vote in his stead. Despite her many strengths of character, a woman was still seen as the precious “weaker vessel,” described in 1 Peter, deserving respect and protection.
Did this biblical view of women degrade or elevate womanhood during the founding of our nation? According to John Adams:
From all that I had read of History and Government, of human Life and manners, I had drawn this Conclusion, that the manners of Women were the most infallible Barometer, to ascertain the degree of Morality and Virtue in a Nation. All that I have since read and all the observations I have made in different Nations, have confirmed me in this opinion. The Manners of Women, are the surest Criterion by which to determine whether a Republican Government is practicable, in a Nation or not. The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Swiss, the Dutch, all lost their public Spirit, their Republican Principles and habits, and their Republican Forms of Government, when they lost the Modesty and Domestic Virtues of their Women.
Adams went on to declare:
The foundations of national Morality must be laid in private Families. In vain are Schools, Accademies and universities instituted, if loose Principles and licentious habits are impressed upon Children in their earliest years. The Mothers are the earliest and most important Instructors of youth.
To read the complete letter, visit the Massachusetts Historical Society online.
Writing to his daughter, Abigail Adams the second, in 1783, John Adams maintained:
It is by the female world, that the greatest and best characters among men are formed. I have long been of this opinion to such a degree, that when I hear of an extraordinary man, good or bad, I naturally, or habitually inquire who was his mother? There can be nothing in life more honourable for a woman, than to contribute by her virtues, her advice, her example, or her address, to the formation of an husband, a brother, or a son, to be useful to the world.
To read the complete letter, visit the Massachusetts Historical Society online.
Benjamin F. Morris, writing in his magnum opus, The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States, published in 1864, expressed the sentiments of our Founding Fathers and Mothers best, “Female life and influence during the heroic age of the republic were in harmony with the precepts of religion, and gave grace and purity and dignity to their public and private character.”
Morris then goes on to quote an unnamed source about the domestic life during the Revolutionary period:
"The domestic life of that period,” says a writer, “revealed all we know of its refinement and elegance, its dignified courtesy and inflexible morality, can be contemplated only with a respectful admiration. It was in keeping with the frankness and sincerity of ascendant politics. Women unhesitatingly evinced their sympathies with whatever was generous and honorable in public, but rarely, if ever, in forgetfulness of feminine propriety. Though patriotic, they were content to be women still, and were anxious for the distinctions of delicacy and grace. They perceived it was their nobility not to be men, but to be women worthy of men. In possession of every right with which they were endowed by nature, they had no desire to usurp men’s prerogatives.”
In summary, it is important for God’s purposes that men be authentic men─faithful husbands, strong fathers, loyal sons, loving and protective brothers, good friends, and responsible citizens. This type of manhood brings blessings. As we see in the lives of Abraham to John the Baptist and beyond, biblical patriarchy is one of the keys to advancing the kingdom of God in the earth. Patriarchs founded God’s chosen nation, Israel. Patriarchs set America on its blessed course. By God’s grace, each young man can be a patriarch so that future generations might know the blessings of God.
For a fuller treatise of the subject, read The Kingdom Leadership Institute Manual: Raising Up Leaders a Time Like This Demands.
Proceed to lesson 10
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