As I’ve said before, I love Star Wars. And, as I may not have mentioned,
the original trilogy is the best. My favorite episode is 6: The Return of the Jedi. There is a line
that has forever been immortalized by one rebel alien: “It’s a trap.” When I think
of Admiral Ackbar—the orange Mon Calamarian—I think of that line. In fact, when
I saw his “cousin” in Rogue One a few
weeks ago, I immediately thought of that line. And now, after studying this
passage in Galatians, all I can say is, “It’s a trap!”
Galatians 4:21-31 says, “Tell me, those of you who
want to be under the law, don’t you hear the law? For it is written that
Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and the other by a free woman. But
the one by the slave was born according to ⌊the impulse of⌋ the flesh, while
the one by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. These
things are illustrations, for the women represent the two covenants. One is
from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery—this is Hagar. Now Hagar
is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is
in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is
our mother. For it is written: Rejoice, childless woman, who does
not give birth. Burst into ⌊song⌋ and shout, you who are not in labor, for the children
of the desolate are many, more numerous than those of the
woman who has a husband. Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are
children of promise. But just as then the child born according to the
flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so also now. But
what does the Scripture say? Drive out the slave and her son, for the son of
the slave will never be a coheir with the son of the free woman.
Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free
woman.”
Paul had concluded verse 20 by saying, “I don’t know what to do about
you,” and Luther points out, “Here Paul would have closed his Epistle because
he did not know what else to say. He wishes he could see the Galatians in
person and straighten out their difficulties. But he is not sure whether the
Galatians have fully understood the difference between the Gospel and the Law.
To make sure, he introduces another illustration.”[1] Paul had already gone through
his personal encounter with Christ, and the agreement of the other apostles
with Paul’s status as an able teacher; he had already gone through all the
theology about grace and Christ as opposed to the law; he had even explained
his own heart regarding his Galatian brothers, and reminded them of their
reception of him. With all that said, he says, “I don’t know what to do about
you,” and then brings in an illustration that totally traps the Galatians. Their
only out is to say, “Okay, Paul, we want to follow the way of promise.”
Paul follows in the footsteps of Jesus, The Great Debater, when he
totally turns his tone around in verse 21 by saying, “Tell
me, those of you who want to be under the law, don’t you hear the law?” It harks back to Jesus, who often asked the
Pharisees, “Have you not read…?” (cf. Matthew 12:3, 5; 19:4; 22:31). In Jesus’
case, the Pharisees were supposed to be top notch scholars of the Word; Jesus
consistently pointed out that they didn’t know it even close to as well as He
did, and as such their indictments of Him could do nothing but fall flat. Paul
here touches on the fact that the Galatians were wanting to follow the Law, so
he brings up a passage where the Law itself says, “The law leads to slavery.”
Now before we go any farther, two potential objections must be put to
rest. First, “The stories in Genesis are not the Law,” and second, “This
illustration Paul uses has nothing to do with the original context in the
Genesis story.” As far as the first, when Paul speaks of the Law, he is
speaking of the hrwt (Torah), the first five books of our Old
Testament, often referred to as “the Law of Moses.” Any Jew back then would
have understood all of Genesis as being part of the Law. As for the second
objection, it is true that Paul takes it farther than the original Mosaic
intent. In fact the word the HCSB translates as “illustrations,” is literally
the word from which we get “allegory.” Two things are true despite the fact
that Paul took this illustration farther than Moses’ original intention: first,
the Jews had no problem with allegorical interpretations of their Scripture (cf.
the writings of Philo);[2] second, this passage is in a
text that is bound with other texts that fall under the description of 2
Timothy 3:16 (God-breathed, inspired Scripture). Even though allegory is a
terrible way to understand Scripture, God inspired that it should be used to
accomplish His purpose in this specific passage.
To fully understand this passage of Scripture, I have adopted my outline
from John MacArthur’s commentary: verses 22-23 are the historical background,
verses 24-27 are the divine interpretation, and verses 28-31 are the personal
application.[3]
Paul gives the historical background in verses 22-23: “For it is written
that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and the other by a free woman.
But the one by the slave was born according to ⌊the
impulse of⌋ the flesh, while the one by the free woman was born as the result of a
promise.”
The story Paul is talking about is fleshed out by Moses in Genesis 15-16
and 21. In Genesis 15, God comes to Abraham and says, “You will inherit a large
reward.” Abraham basically replies by saying, “How is that, since it will leave
my family after I die since my heir is a servant and not my son?” God answers
and says, “No. You will have a child. In fact, your descendants will be as
numerous as the stars.” Abraham believed that message. Chapter 16 picks up the
story presumably when Sarah, Abraham’s wife, hears the news. She says, “Abraham,
I haven’t been privileged to have a child. Sleep with my servant and she will
have your son for me.” Abraham listens to her. Ishmael is born from the slave
woman, Hagar. Then chapter 21 rolls around, and we read in verses 1-3, “The LORD came to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what
He had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his
old age, at the appointed time God had told him. Abraham named his son
who was born to him—the one Sarah bore to him—Isaac.” Thus we see that Abraham had two sons, one by
the flesh and the other according to the promise of God.
Paul explains the divine interpretation in verses 24-27: “These things
are illustrations, for the women represent the two covenants. One is from Mount
Sinai and bears children into slavery—this is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount
Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery
with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our
mother. For it is written: Rejoice, childless woman, who does not
give birth. Burst into ⌊song⌋ and shout, you who are not in labor,
for the children of the desolate are many, more numerous
than those of the woman who has a husband.”
The Jews would have freaked out here. We can follow Paul’s comparison
easily, and so could they, that the two women represent two covenants: Hagar’s
descendants were slaves and Sarah’s descendants were free. However, Paul
switches it by saying that Hagar corresponds to present day Jerusalem. Under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul understood Judaism as being trapped in
slavery. The Jews—especially the Judaizers—would have declared Paul crazy. Paul’s
point though is that this is an interpretation of the Law, and the Law itself
is here declaring the fleshly way—that opposed to faith—as enslaving. While the
Judaizers promised freedom, Paul says they only enslave.
He then says that while the Jerusalem on earth is enslaved, there is a
Jerusalem that is free, and it is the spiritual Jerusalem that bears children
according to the promise. When Paul says, “The Jerusalem above is free, and she
is our mother” (verse 26), he has just explained how believers now are children
of Abraham (3:10-26). God is our Father through the promise to Abraham. The
point is not that Sarah is our spiritual mother,[4] let alone that Abraham is our
spiritual father. The point—the goal Paul has been aiming at since 3:1—is that
God is a keeper of His promises and there is ZERO we can do to add to it or
earn it. Paul then quotes a verse to say, “Rejoice in this truth! Refuse to be
deceived anymore and rejoice in your freedom and blessing.”
Paul applies it to the Galatians personally in verses 28-31: “Now you,
brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as then the child
born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so
also now. But what does the Scripture say? Drive out the slave and her
son, for the son of the slave will never be a coheir with the son of the free
woman. Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the
free woman.”
And here Paul explicitly ties it all together, proving the point I made
above. However, in the midst of it, he explains why the Judaizers have been
troubling them. He ties it back to Genesis 21:9, where Sarah sees Ishmael
mocking Isaac. Paul says, “Just as then the child born according to the flesh
persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so also now.” The Judaizers
were jealous of the Galatian’s freedom and were trying to trouble them. Paul
then quotes Genesis 21:10 in order to tell them what they should do with the
Judaizers. “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son
of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!” Paul wants them to kick out the deceivers. He
wants them to not even feign fellowship with the fakes. He doesn’t want them to
be confused anymore about who they trace their lineage from.[5] The Galatians are not from
earthly Jerusalem, but spiritual Jerusalem. They are free; they are not slaves.
This is true of us today too, if you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If you belong to Him, you are free; you are no longer a slave to sin, death,
and the Law. It isn’t about what you do or don’t do; it’s about who your Father
is.
If you don’t know Jesus, you are still a son or daughter of the slave
woman. Here’s the good news though: God is in the adoption business. We all
started out as children of Hagar, but through Jesus’ death on the cross—believing
that He was and is who He claims to be—we can be made children of God. If you
don’t yet believe, I beg you to place your faith in Him today! If you do
believe, never return to slavery! (More on that next time.)
And just like that, Paul concludes the brunt of his theological section.
Sure, there’s more theology, but the focus of the rest of the book is
application. Be prepared for challenges. And, now that you know that belief in
Jesus is the way to escape the trap of slavery, warn everyone you meet—like Admiral
Ackbar—“It’s a trap to ignore the truth of Jesus and take any path but the way
of God’s promise.”
Til next time.
Soli Deo
Gloria
[1] Martin
Luther, A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, trans.
Theodore Graebner, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1939; repr., Grand Rapids, MI:
Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1999), WORDsearch CROSS e-book,
Under: "Galatians 4".
[2] R.
Alan Cole, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries – Galatians, (Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Academic, 2008), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 180.
[3]
John MacArthur, Galatians, 123-127.
[4] It
is important that the free woman is never named as Sarah in this allegorical interpretation
that Paul gives.
[5]
Perhaps I will touch on this at a later time: Paul is not being very loving
towards the Judaizers. How does that fit into the “live in love” theology I have
come up with?
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