Cast Out the Bondwoman

2018-05-20

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Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? (22) For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. (23) But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. (24) Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. (25) For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. (26) But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. (27) For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. (28) Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. (29) But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. (30) 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. (31) So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. (Galatians 4:21-31)

The Allegory of Hagar’s Son and Isaac

The last portion of this chapter compares Abraham’s two children, Hagar’s son (Ishmael) and Isaac, to bondage to the law and the freedom of Christ. Paul calls this an “allegory” (hapax legomenon). God had promised a physical descendant of Abraham to be his heir (Genesis 15:4), and Abraham believed that promise (Genesis 15:6). The patriarch, however, decided to take matters into his own hands, and marry his wife’s servant girl Hagar to get an heir (Genesis 16:3-4). The LORD however promised a son from his wife in her old age (Genesis 17:16). Ishmael was the son of that maidservant Hagar, and Isaac was the son of promise from Sarah, Abraham’s first wife. Ultimately Jesus Christ descended from that son of promise.

Agar is Mount Sinai

Ishmael was born of the flesh, meaning Abraham and Sarah found a way to circumvent God’s promise to get a son through another woman. This decision caused a lot of hurt to many. God’s promise was for a son through Abraham’s first wife Sarah, and it was a miracle since she was old (Genesis 18:11). The former is compared with Mount Sinai, where the old covenant (mainly the Ten Commandments) was received. The law, which condemns us as sinners, is bondage to us.

The Jews of Paul’s day were Jerusalem’s children in this passage (Galatians 4:25). They were the ones who persecuted the Christians in the first century over issues like circumcision. The Galatians, who added works such as circumcision to Christ in order to be saved and live the Christian life, forewent their freedom to return to bondage.

The Jerusalem Which Is Above

Life in Christ is freedom. New Jerusalem, the Jerusalem from above, is the only Jerusalem that matters. In Christ, we are not under bondage of trying to keep the law. If you are saved, you are a citizen of this new Jerusalem: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name” (Revelation 3:12). We see this city that God built is also called Holy Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2, 10), and comes down from heaven to the new earth.

Even today, the Jerusalem that is in the Middle East is a source of contention. The current President has elected to move the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which was a political statement that angered many. So many are too concerned with old Jerusalem, and not even giving any focus on the New Jerusalem, which is the only Jerusalem that matters! This current Jerusalem God calls “Sodom and Egypt” (Revelation 11:8)! Why are do we want to go back under the old system of things?

The Children of the New Jerusalem

In the New Jerusalem, there is no bondage. There is no sin there. Christ is king there. This is why Paul calls this New Jerusalem “the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26).

Paul’s Old Testament quotation in Galatians 4:27 is from Isaiah 54:1. Note that this verse is immediately after a notable prophecy about Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. This New Jerusalem is made by God only, not by human hands (Isaiah 54:5). The children of this new city are even greater than that of old Jerusalem.

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. (Genesis 15:5)

God’s promise to Abraham concerning his multitude of descendants is ultimately fulfilled in the New Testament. The largest number in the Bible is attributed to children of Rebekah:

And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. (Genesis 24:60)

This great multitude is fulfilled when the rapture of the saints occurs:

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands (Revelation 7:9)

Think about this: thousands of millions are numbered, but the number of saints in heaven will be innumerable on the Day of Christ. These are the children of promise, born of God, and not (necessarily) the physical descendants of Abraham.

The Children of the Old Persecute Those of the New

In Paul’s day, the Jews were the main persecutors of the Faith, which is not so much the case today (Galatians 4:29). But in the first century, those born after the flesh (physical descendants) were persecutors of those who were born again (children of promise).

Paul quotes Genesis 21:10 (see Genesis 21:8-10 for context) in Galatians 4:30. Ishmael, a teenager, was mocking the small child Isaac. However, since Isaac was declared the true heir by God (Genesis 21:12), Hagar and Ishmael were thrust out. We have a pattern to observe here. Since Christ fulfilled all of the Old Covenant and its customs, we are to put away all of those things, and stand alone in the grace of God in Jesus Christ. All legalism must be thrown out our lives and out of our churches, as we are not saved by any of those things and they are not profitable.