The Christian Under Human Government (5) - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2025

Although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Romans 1:21,23

The Christian Under Human Government (5)
Shortly after the Flood, Noah honored God with an impressive sacrifice that pleased Him . Sometime later, however, Noah failed and got drunk. Soon afterwards all his offspring fell into idolatry, even Shem and his descendants through whom the Messiah would come. Idolatry means that they replaced the worship of the true God with serving false gods, as the devil blinded them (2 Cor. 4:4). Through the Flood, they had seen the awesome greatness of their Creator-God as Judge. Yet, going their own ways (Acts 14:16), they now worshiped His creatures.

From this disaster, God called Abram, who had been an idol worshiper himself, just like all the others (Josh. 24:2-3). He put his trust in the only true and wise God, and so became the father of all believers (Rom. 4:16). Abram left a culture of idol worshipers, his family, and his country, to go and live in the land that God had promised him (Heb. 11:8). When he arrived there, he was surrounded by the ungodly Canaanites, but he respected them, and they respected this man who lived as a pilgrim among them. When a severe famine occurred, Abram decided to go to Egypt instead of asking the Lord what to do. Eventually, he became guilty of lying because he was afraid of the ungodly government there.

Finally, he came to his senses and went back to where he had served the Lord. As a true pilgrim and worshiper of God, he lived among people perhaps worse than in Egypt or Mesopotamia. The lessons the father of all believers (Rom. 4:16) had to learn, we also must learn, under whatever government we are placed.

Alfred E. Bouter