Gal 4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.
Gal 4:23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.
Gal 4:24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.
Gal 4:25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
Gal 4:26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
Gal 4:27 For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband."
Gal 4:28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
Gal 4:29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.
Gal 4:30 But what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman."
Gal 4:31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.
The promise from God that Abram would have a son of his own through his wife is found in Genesis 15:4. His wife Sarai did not trust in God's promise of an heir, so she got her female slave Hagar to be Abram's new wife so that she would conceive a child. This child, Ishmael, was promised to Hagar.
Gen 16:11 And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction.
Gen 16:12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen."
This was a promise of a curse that God would have on Ishmael that he would be at constant war with other nations and would be like a wild donkey of a man; rebellious and stubborn. When Isaac came along through Sarai, this was to fulfill the promise He had made to Abram. Genesis 17 describes this covenant through Abram which was that his offspring would be God's people and would be blessed with this everlasting covenant. "...Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him." Genesis 17:19
Gen 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,
Gen 17:2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly."
Gen 17:3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,
Gen 17:4 "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
Gen 17:5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
Gen 17:6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
Gen 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
Gen 17:8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."
Gen 17:9 And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.
Gen 17:10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
Gen 17:11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
Gen 17:12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,
Gen 17:13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.
Gen 17:14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
Gen 17:15 And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
Gen 17:16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."
Gen 17:17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
Gen 17:18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"
Gen 17:19 God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
Gen 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.
Gen 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year."
So in Galatians 4:22,23 we can historically see where Paul is going to go with his argument. In verse 24 he tells us,
Gal 4:24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.
Gal 4:25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
Hagar, the slave of Sarai, conceived Ishmael who was given a promise of curse and outward blessing for a time. Paul uses this allegorically to show how the Jews who are persecuting the Christian church by demanding they be circumcised, observe certain days, etc are descendants of that promise given to Ishmael, as they are enslaved to the law given on Mount Sinai. Paul then contrasts the present day Jews with "us".
Gal 4:26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
Gal 4:27 For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband."
Gal 4:28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
Paul tells the readers that they are not like Ishmael, rather are of their mother Sarai, who was promised to Abraham an heir that would be the people of God; an everlasting covenant. He quotes Isaiah 54 to demonstrate that this has always been the case. This is key to understanding the flow of argument in what Paul is saying. Isaiah 53 is about the Messiah of Israel and concludes 53 with His death,
Isa 53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Isa 53:11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
Isa 53:12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
And so this leads in Isaiah 54 in which Isaiah tells the children of the barren woman to rejoice and to expand their tents. (I believe this is in reference to the kingdom of heaven on earth).
Isa 54:1 "Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married," says the LORD.
Isa 54:2 "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.
Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1 to illustrate that we (the believers ) are of the promise given through Isaac, being set free from the law and having our transgressions bore on the Messiah. This argument totally destroys any sort of promise of salvation given to those who try their best, exercise their free will or strive to please God, as Sarai bore a child after committing a great sin by giving her slave as Abram's wife in order to bear a son. Sarai and Abram did not deserve a son and especially a promise of an everlasting covenant from God. But, as Romans 9 tells us,
Rom 9:7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named."
Finally Paul concludes with,
Gal 4:31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.
We as believers were given the promise before we were born and had done anything good or bad (Romans 9).
No comments:
Post a Comment