Galatians 4:21-27
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 slave woman and one by the free woman. 23 But the son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. 24 This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from Mount Sinai giving birth to 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 enslaved with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. 27 For it is written:
‘Rejoice, infertile one, you who do not give birth;
Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor;
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
Than those of the one who has a husband.’”
Do you not listen to the law: Paul is trying to highlight the self-righteousness existent in the church. They are forcing Moses on people, but were they actually keeping the law themselves? Furthermore, when Paul is speaking of the law, he seems to be referring to the Torah. This is evidenced in his emphasis on Abraham and Sarah’s story. The very Gospel that they are now rejecting is in the Torah! The believers are abandoning the promise made to Abraham by associating with the law.
Two covenants: Paul highlights two different covenants here using allegory. The Old Covenant is represented by Hagar and the promise or New Covenant is represented by Sarah. Hagar is the result of Abraham trying to pave his own path to an heir. This is similar to what was occurring in the Galatian church. The believers were substituting their own works for the work of God in Christ. They were trying to pave their own way to God. This is the result of the flesh. The flesh seeks to substitute for the work of God. It seeks to live independently from God. Consequently, the bond child was born according to the flesh because it was a substitute for the work of God. But the other child is born according to God’s agenda and promise. Christians are children of the promise because they have relied on Jesus and not works of the law.
Jerusalem above: Paul is pitting Judaism against Jerusalem. Judaism is based on the law and consequently breeds bondage. But the Jerusalem from above is the eternal covenant, the New Covenant, that brings freedom. According to Paul, we can’t have freedom and bondage. We cannot mix law and Gospel. The law existed to point out sins, but Jesus has arrived to save us from the power of sin (Galatians 3:19-23).
More numerous than those of the one: Abraham, though Sarah and the promise, has more children than Hagar. This is because the Gospel is an offer to the whole world and actually is actually effective at saving people.
