“Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?” Galatians 4:21
The Apostle, Paul, hoping to show the Galatian Christians their error in desiring to place themselves under the Law, reaches for the allegorical picture of Isaac and Ishmael from Genesis 16-18. Born of Hagar, Ishmael was the result of a vain attempt of Abraham to produce a promised child with Hagar, who was the servant of Sarah. In Genesis 16:2, Sarai had offered Hagar to Abraham saying, ” it may be that I may obtain children by her. ” In Paul’s illustration in Galatians 4, Ishmael is said to be born after the “flesh,” or of natural means.
“And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.” Genesis 16:2
Backtracking more, the idea of Abram having a child came about in Genesis 12:
“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curses thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. ” Genesis 12:1-3
A great promise but later came a question ,”And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?” “And Abram said, behold, to me thou hast given no seed.” Genesis 15:2-3
But God sharply retorted, “This (Eliezer), shall not be thine heir;
but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. “Genesis 15:4
So Abram, frustrated as to how God’s promises would play out, was narrowed by God’s answer. He realizes the nation of God’s promise must come of his own body. So he opens himself to a second plan — the Hagar opportunity as spoken above. The result is that Ishmael is born of the bondwoman, Hagar.
To understand Paul’s allegory further, Hagar, the bond servant gets stuffy with Sarah after childbirth,
“And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleases thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.” Genesis 16:5-6 Hagar is cast out of the house.
Now, we have yet to see the child of the freewoman, Sarah herself. The reference is to Isaac, the promised child who came 14 years later. So:
“And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. ” Genesis 21:5
Isaac is the free born while Ishmael was the bondservant born.
So, Paul continues with his allegory to the Galatians, “For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.” Galatians 4:22-23
“Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar (Hagar). For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, (in Paul’s time), and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. ” Galatians 4:24-26
According to Paul’s allegory, “these [women] are two covenants.” “As among the Jews the bondage of the mother determined that of the child, the children of the free covenant of promise, answering to Sarah, are free; the children of the legal covenant of bondage are not so.” So one covenant, ” …taking his origin from Mount Sinai. Hence, it appears, he is treating of the moral law.” JFB
“That (legal), covenant gendered to bondage. As Hagar was in bondage to her mistress, so Jerusalem that now is, is in bondage to the law, and also to the Romans: her civil state thus being in accordance with her spiritual state [Bengel].
On the other hand, Jerusalem … above —speaks of “the heavenly Jerusalem.” “New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God” (Revelation 3:12; and 21:2)
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all! Galatians 4:26
“Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” Galatians 4:31
In conclusion, Beloved, cast out the “law-keeping for favor” as the Galatians tried. Freedom and Law cannot coexist. This is Paul’s point. If we want Law, we are under a curse, since if we offend in just one point, we are guilty of all. But, Paul is vehement:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1
Friends, be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, neither the cares of the world, neither some religious quest. Get rid of the whole bondage thing. Stand in freedom from it all.
Love ya
