Galatians 4:21-31 - “Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? [22] For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. [23] But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. [24] Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. [25] Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. [26] But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. [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."[28] Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. [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. [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." [31] So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.”

1) PAUL GIVES A QUICK OVERVIEW OF SOME OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY

Galatians 4:21-23 - “Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? [22] For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. [23] But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.”

Recapping the events Paul refers to:

a) Abraham and Sarah had received the promise that they would found a great nation, but were discouraged and doubting (see Genesis 15:1-6). Abraham is willing to settle for Eliezer, his servant, substituting for his actual son, but God will have none of it. God’s plan is to give Abraham a son precisely because it was impossible for this to be accomplished without His own divine provision. This was always God’s design.

b) In Genesis chapter 16 Abraham and Sarah, still weak in faith, devise a plan by which they will use their own resources to produce God’s promised heir (see Genesis 16:1-2 and 15). Now we can see, in Galatians 4:23, that when Paul says Ishmael was “born according to the flesh,” he means that Ishmael was the product of Abraham and Sarah’s own self-reliance and initiative. Ishmael’s birth was the exact opposite of Isaac’s, which came about simply by relying on God’s promise and ability.

c) Fourteen years later, God renewed His promise to Abraham of an heir, and again, Abraham has a hard time believing it (see Genesis 17:16-19). Abraham still wants to help God keep His promise through Ishmael instead of waiting for Isaac. Again, God will have nothing to do with this plan. God selects the name Isaac (“laughter”) for the promised son to remind Abraham and Sarah of how He does what is ridiculously impossible in mere human terms.

d) Finally, when all looked hopeless, God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah (see Genesis 21:1-2). Abraham finally sees the lesson made complete. The only response acceptable to God’s path of promise is trust, not self-reliance.

2) TIMELESS LESSONS FOR THE CHURCH FROM THE JEWISH TORAH - Galatians 4:24-27 - “Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. [25] Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. [26] But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. [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."

a) These two women, Hagar and Sarah, and their two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, represent two different and opposite approaches to God. Hagar represents the path of human effort and self-reliance to complete what God has already offered by promise and trust. And Paul says Hagar is a standing reminder - an ongoing pattern of religion apart from the grace of God in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

b) Religion, apart from divine enablement through the Spirit, can only produce slavery and bondage. Notice how strongly Paul makes this point in Galatians 4:24-25 - “Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. [25] Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.”

Religious observance, Jewish or Gentile, ancient or modern, western or eastern, that diminishes the person and work of Jesus Christ can only produce bondage. Remember Paul’s strong teaching in Galatians 4:8-9 - “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. [9] But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”

3) THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM AND THE LIFE OF FREEDOM IN CHRIST JESUS - Galatians 4:26-31 - “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. [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."[28] Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. [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. [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." [31] So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.”

Freedom can only come through the “Jerusalem above”(4:26). What Paul means by this phrase, in contrast with the Jerusalem on earth and its bondage to the law, can be seen in Colossians 3:1-3 - “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. [3] For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

The freedom that Paul describes is not the freedom of anarchy, but the freedom to become. It is the freedom of having “Christ formed in you”(4:19). It is the promised freedom of the New Covenant - a new heart to freely desire the things of the Spirit of God (see Ezekiel 36:26-27 - “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”)

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