Galatians Study Part Fourteen: 4:21-27
NLT: “Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.
“24 These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. 25 And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. 26 But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. 27 As Isaiah said,
“Rejoice, O childless woman,
you who have never given birth!
Break into a joyful shout,
you who have never been in labor!
For the desolate woman now has more children
than the woman who lives with her husband!””
NASB: “Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. 23 But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. 24 This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear;
Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor;
For more numerous are the children of the desolate
Than of the one who has a husband.””
Paul continues with contrasting slave and free and ties this in with the law and promise. He takes them back to Abraham, this time focusing on Abraham’s sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael was born of a slave woman, but the birth of Isaac was the result of a promise from God. We can look at this as representing two covenants.
The first covenant is of the law, given at Mt. Sinai, which brings slavery and Hagar represents it. The second covenant is of the promise that brings with it freedom and is from the Jerusalem which is above.
Reading this reminds me of the encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus, where Jesus explains to him that we must be born again, meaning born from above. In John 3:6 we read that Jesus proclaimed to Nicodemus that, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (NASB) Our natural birth is not enough as we must be born from above, born of a promise from God.
This somewhat ties in with what Paul is sharing with the Galatians. Ishmael was born in the normal manner, or of the flesh so to speak. Yet Isaac was born when his mother was old and past the time of having children. He was born because of God’s promise to Abraham, or from above.
Paul asked them, “Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law?” Paul is trying in various ways to show the Galatian believers what it means to revert to being under the law. It changes everything. In chapter three he showed they brought themselves under a curse, the same curse from which Jesus redeemed us. He shared how they were children of Abraham through belief in Jesus. He showed how the purpose of the law was not to make one righteous, but to show us our sin and lead us to Jesus so we would be justified by faith. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we become sons of God and no longer slaves. He shows how they were losing their joy by returning to slavery after having started by faith.
The Galatians had a choice to make. Did they wish to be set free through faith in Jesus or did they wish to remain under a curse and slaves to the law.
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