Gal. 4:26-31 - Allegory: Sarah

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."
28 And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise.
29 But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.
30 But what does the Scripture say? "CAST OUT THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN."
31 So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.

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Sarah - Mother of the Promise

Vs. 26 - “Jerusalem above” - A heavenly Jerusalem. There will be a new Jerusalem. (See: Rev. 21:2, 10-27; Heb. 11:8-10; 12:22-24). This City of David, Zion, God’s Holy City will be without sin. It is the city of Promise, where God will walk among us, and we will see Him face-to-face.

- “She is our mother” - The new Jerusalem is not stained by sin as is the present city. Note: Sarah is not our spiritual mother, but the “mother of the promise” - her son was a miracle, provided by God. Our spiritual destination, will be the Heavenly City of David, created by God for us. This is His holy place. The grace that saves us flows from there into our hearts.

Vs. 27 - “Baren mother...” - Quoted from Isa. 54:1. A note from a commentary: “A childless woman was often scorned in the ancient Near East and sometimes replaced by a secondary wife (e.g., Sarah and Hagar). With no sons to care for her in her old age, she was particularly vulnerable. Thus, barrenness is a frequent image of loneliness and helplessness. In this verse Jerusalem is a barren woman who will have a child (like Sarah, Rachel, or Hannah). Indeed she will have many children. Thus her sadness will turn to joy. (Psa. 113:9)” see note 1. We are commanded to care for widows in scripture (e.g., the Law, Proverbs, James), which reflects God’s concern for the vulnerable and helpless. That is not the emphasis in these verses.

Vs. 28 - “Children of promise” - Sarah perceived herself as despised because she was without child. She will triumph over the scorn, because her descendants will be innumerable. The Messiah will be a descendant of Sarah’s offspring. The children of promise are the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. (See: John 6:37; 1 Tim. 2:4; Rev. 15:4)

Vs. 29 - “he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him” - Hagar mocked Sarah because she, a slave woman, bore a child for the master and Sarah could not. Ishmael was a smart aleck, taunted and mocked Isaac. Ishmael figured he had status being the first born. It didn’t work out that way. Ishmael was not the miracle baby, but merely (!) a function of natural physical effort. Isaac was favored because his birth was a miracle of God. God chose Isaac to be the conduit for the promised savior. Ishmael did, however, benefit from being Abraham’s child.

Vs. 30 - “Cast out the bondwoman...” - This was a demand from Sarah to Abraham. God reassured Abraham that it was okay to send Hagar and Ishmael away. Ishmael would never be the source for the promised salvation to come. However, he would be a father of a nation, because he was Abraham’s son. Again, we see that Sarah does not comprehend what God has done, or will do - she is still trying to manage God. (Gen. 21:10).

Vs. 31 - “we are not children of a bondwoman“ - Hagar, Mount Sinai and the Law - Paul uses these as symbols of attempting to reach God on our own effort. This is called “Salvation by Works”. It cannot, it will not work. There is no way to bridge the chasm separating us from a Holy and Perfect God by our own effort.

- “but of the free woman” - Sarah, Isaac, the New Jerusalem - Paul uses these as symbols of salvation by faith, not of works. The bridge has been provided by Christ’s death and resurrection. He is the only way to God. “For salvation is found in no one else. For there is no name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit”. Titus 3:5

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End of Chapter
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Note 1: “HCSB Study Bible”. Holman Bible Publishers. 2010. (Isaiah notes by Tremper Longman III. Westmont College. Ph.D., Yale University.)

Gal. 4:21-25 - Allegory: Hagar

21 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.

A Look at History

Vs. 21 - “do you not listen to the law?” - Doesn’t this sound impertinent? He is rubbing their faces in it. “Okay, you say you want to follow the Law - then follow it. Follow all of it!” Earlier in the Letter, Paul is “amazed”. He also calls them “foolish”. So, yeah, perhaps he is a little snarky here.

Vs. 22 - “Abraham had two sons” - His first son was Ishmael, by Hagar, who was a slave (See Gen. 16). His second son was Isaac, by his wife Sarah. (See Gen. 17:19, 21; 21:3, 12).

Vs. 23 - “born according to the flesh” - In Gen. 15 God promises to bless Abram, who asks how this will happen since he is childless. In fact, Abram’s only heir is his personal servant which is not what God intended, so He repeats the promise. Sarah is impatient. (“Oh you of little faith...”) She offers her servant, Hagar, to Abram. Perhaps God needs assistance because He isn’t acting fast enough for Sarah.
In an interesting display of weakness, Abram agrees. (This happens after Abram was declared righteous because of his faith.) He has sex with Hagar, who immediately is pregnant. As you can imagine, this causes problems. Not good when the slave says, “Neener, neener, neener! I’m preggers and you’re not!” Sarah is not pleased, so she complains to Abram. He says, “Not my problem.” Sarah kicks Hagar out. God rescues Hagar, and assures her Ishmael will be the father of nations. This is the “child of the flesh”, (v. 23, below) because Sarah and Abraham tried it their way instead of relying on God’s promise.

- “through the promise” - God reminds Abram of the promise: that his descendants will be by God’s will. It will be obvious that God brought it about, not machinations of men and women. Fourteen years later (! - talk about needing to be patient - !), Sarah gets pregnant. Abraham (name change!) is 100 years old, Sarah is 99! This is the promised child! Sarah’s pregnancy is only slightly less miraculous than Mary, the mother of Jesus. Isaac was born to people who were way beyond child bearing age. There are extremely long odds for both Abraham and Sarah to be fertile! It is a miracle from God for this to be true. Similarly, the birth of Christ Jesus not a biological anomaly, but a miracle from the Spirit of God.

The pattern of people stepping in to do it their way is seen several times throughout the Bible, usually resulting in bad consequences. For example:
Moses struck the rock to get water, rather than speaking to it as commanded. (Num. 20:8-12 )
The Jews made a golden calf to worship because they were tired of waiting for God to respond. (Exo. 32-1-8)
King Saul did sacrifices rather than wait for the priests to arrive to fulfill their duties. (1 Sam. 13:8-13.)
God did prophesy Ishmael would be the ancestor of many nations, although he was not the ‘child of promise’ and was rejected. Some of the present day ethnic Arab peoples are descendants of Abraham via Ishmael!

Vs. 24 - “allegorically speaking” - Paul is painting a picture using these two women, comparing or contrasting Hagar and Sarah. The account of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar is well-known in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jesus and David and are descendants of Abraham through Isaac. Islam claims Abraham as their father through Ishmael. Just mentioning their names invoke mental images - especially for the Jewish believers in the early church. Paul almost always started his evangelism in synagogues in the towns he visited. People (Gentiles) unaware or unfamiliar with the Bible story would need to have it told and explained.

Sarah - favored and blessed - the ‘mother’ of the nation versus Hagar - used, abused, rejected and rescued, and kicked out again.

- “Two covenants “ - The two covenants are the Abrahamic and the Mosaic. The covenant with Abraham was “one way”- God promising and delivering on the basis of faith. (See: Gal. 3:6-8)The Mosaic covenant was “two-way” (that is: conditional) - the Jews would be blessed if they kept the commands given. (Gal. 3:18-20). All Jews are familiar with both covenants.
Abraham - the father of their nation, through whom the world would be blessed. They are still waiting for the promise to be kept (what irony).
Moses - the man who led them out of Egypt to the Promised Land. The man to whom God gave the Law. The man who led them through the desert of their unbelief.

Vs. 25 - “Hagar is Mount Sinai... the present Jerusalem” - Tying the Hebrew’s most holy mountain to a slave woman, and linking both to Israel’s capital and most important city makes us stop and think. What is the connection between these three: a woman whose descendants have beleaguered the Jews, the mountain where God laid out the Mosaic covenant, and the city of David?

- Mount Sinai is the location where God gave the 10 Commandments. (Exo. 24:12, 31:18). Mt. Sinai isn't mentioned until the Exo. 19:2. (See: Note 1, below)

- Hagar was a slave woman twice kicked out of her mistress’s house. The first time because she got snippy with the boss lady. (Gen. 16:4) The second time, Sarah was worried that Ishmael might steal Isaac’s inheritance, plus Ishmael was getting snarky. (Gen. 21:8-13) It seems Sarah still did not trust the Lord to fulfill His promises. She convinced Abraham to banish Hagar and Ishmael. God intervened, saving Hagar and Ishmael. (Gen. 21:14-20).

- Hagar was freed when Abraham sent her away. She was no longer a slave. God rescued her - she did not earn or deserve this - because Ishmael was Abraham’s son. Similarly, the Jews arrived at Mt. Sinai free from slavery to the Egyptians. They escaped by God’s grace and power, nothing more!

- The city of Jerusalem had been attacked by the Israelites from the time of Joshua, through the period of the Judges, and was finally captured and made David’s capital. (See: Josh. 15:63; Judg. 1:21; 2 Sam. 6:5, respectively) From the time of king Saul up until the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites were a basically a free nation (from about 1100 B.C. to about 630 B.C.). When Babylon crushed Judah and Benjamin (that’s all that was left of the 12 tribes), the nation of Israel was a slave nation (if it existed at all) until 1948. Babylonians, Egypt, Greece, and Romans all ruled over the Jews. The nation ceased to exist in 77 A. D., when Rome had enough and crushed Jerusalem. The Temple was turned into rubble. The people were scattered.

- “She is in slavery” - The connection is this: More than physical slavery, Jerusalem was still under slavery to sin. Likewise, Hagar although freed from slavery to Sarah, she was not freed from sin. The Israelites were freed from Egyptian slavery. Even though God gave them the Mosaic Covenant they were still slaves to sin. Jerusalem, the jewel of the nation could not erase the strain of sin, even though reclaimed and rebuilt from the ruin caused by the Medes/Persians/Babylonians. The temple in Jerusalem in Jesus and the Apostle’s time had the form but not the substance of Judaism. It may have had the dimensions, and all of the courts, and gates - even a Holy of Holies. This temple lacked the Ark of the Covenant, with Aaron’s rod, Manna, and the tablets with the Ten Commandments. It lacked the presence of God. The Jews did all the rituals, but it was hollow.

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Note 1: Mt. Sinai and Mt. Horeb may be the same mountain, or Sinai may be a mountain peak in the Horeb range.) It is located in the south one-third of the Sinai Peninsula.
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Gal. 4:16-20 - Christ Formed in You

16 So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17 They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them.
18 But it is good always to be eagerly sought in a commendable manner, and not only when I am present with you.
19 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you--
20 but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

False Teachers Will Try to Isolate You

Vs. 16 - “Have I become your enemy” - Paul is saddened the Galatians have changed their feelings towards him. News they were unhappy made its way to Paul, which generated the question, “Why do you think I am your enemy?” It is possible Paul had chastised them earlier. Their disquiet had made its way back to Paul. He starts this letter with “I am amazed...” (Gal. 1:6), and later, “You foolish Galatians...” (Gal. 3:3), indicating he was unhappy.

Vs. 17 - “They wish to shut you out” - This gets to the heart of the “enemy” question. False teachers are denigrating Paul in order to turn the hearts and minds against him. This is the way of cults - get their followers to trust only the cult leaders. This is what Paul means by “so you will seek them.” He believes the faux teachers’ motives were bad - drawing people away from the gospel - as taught by Paul and the Apostles, as told by Jesus. If the teachers are simply misinformed their motives may not be with evil intent. If the teachers are deliberately luring people from Christ into works, their motives are from Satan, and therefore evil.

Vs. 18 - “Eagerly sought in a commendable manner” - Every teacher wants his students to believe and follow the teachings. Why teach if you don’t want people to learn and gain from your work? That does not mean every teacher has honorable purposes in leading others, nor does it mean all teachers have evil intentions. Remember Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple in Jonestown, Guyana, and the horrible ending there. Recall the U.S. government raid on the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas. Perhaps one of the most horrifying cults (although not Christian related) was the Charles Manson group in California. The charismatic leader drew people to himself, to listen to him, and trust no others. The believers withdrew to separate themselves from society - tragedy ensued. It is commendable when a teacher leads people to Jesus Christ for salvation - Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected! Faith in His work, that He is the Messiah, the Son of God. "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

- “not only when I am present with you” - As long as Paul was with them teaching and discipling them, they listened eagerly and gathered to listen. Paul knew it was good. He is saddened they no longer wanted to listen and learn. It is always good for people to want to hear from you and listen to you, whether you are with them or not.

Vs. 19 - “My children” - He is not turning his back on the Galatians. Paul loves the people he has led to Christ, and wants them to know Christ intimately as he knows Him. Peter, John, and Paul all refer to the believers as “my children”. Although they know Christians are children of God, they have a fondness and love for them because they are co-heirs to the promise.

- “I am again in labor” - Even though Paul is not there among them, he is still striving to see them grow and mature in Christ. He is teaching. He is praying.

- “until Christ is formed in you” - That is the goal - “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Not, “Christ Plus”, but Christ alone. There are at least two promises from Christ - abundant life and eternal life. (See John 10:10, and John 14:2,3, 1 Cor. 15:19) The goal of discipleship is to see the disciples grow to become more like Christ.

Vs. 20 - “I am perplexed” - Paul is puzzled, “When you already know the truth, how can you be lured away?” As it says in Psa. 73:16, “When I pondered to understand this it was troublesome in my sight...” He wants to see them and talk with them. His goal is their return to the truth. When that happens, his tone toward them will change. His heart and mind will be relieved, and will rejoice with them as their faith in. Christ grows. His tone as he communicates with them will be joy and not puzzlement and frustration.

Note 1: from commentary by Chuck Smith
Note 2: from commentary by Jameson, Faucett & Brown. ***