Sarah and Hagar
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So as you know - for the past few weeks - we had stepped out of the book of Galatians...
In order to walk thru a short Easter Sermon series focusing on the Gospel...
And now today - we jump back into Galatians...
But before we just press on ahead - let’s look back a bit to get ourselves REACQUAINTED with the text...
The last time we were in this book - we saw Paul continue his argumentation as to why the Galatians needed to embrace the TRUE Gospel...
If you recall - False Teachers had come into the churches of Galatia - in order to PERSUADE the people that they needed to be CIRCUMCISED if they wanted to be a part of the Household of God...
And so - OF COURSE - Paul has been combatting the false teachers and their claims.
We’ve seen Paul be UNCOMPROMISING in regards to God’s truth - yet DO WHAT HE COULD to help the Galatians understand the TRUTH of the Gospel...
See Paul - KNOWING what was at stake...
Was willing to FORGOE - BEING FRIENDS with the Galatians - for the sake of - TRUTH!!
Paul - HERE IN Galatians - was NOT - ULTIMATELY seeking their HAND in friendship...
BUT SEEKING their HEART for Christ!!
And so TODAY - Paul will continue with his argumentation…trying to get the Galatians to BE WHO THEY HAVE BECOME...
21 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.
I don’t think it’s mere coincidence that the apostle Paul this week is going to use EXEGESIS - in showing us how the story of Sarah and Hagar from the Old Testament should be interpreted...
Our current Bible Study that we’re walking through as a church deals with Hermeneutics...
…the art and science of biblical interpretation...
If you remember from the class - there are generally speaking - 2 forms of interpretation.
ISEGESIS - which is an approach to interpretation where you BRING your preconceived ideas to the text - making it say what you WANT it to say...
EXEGESIS - which is an approach where you let the Bible speak for itself.
Paul today - is going to use EXEGESIS...
To help the Galatians understand what they are doing.
And in doing so - Paul is going to focus in on the story of Isaac and Ishmael, in relation to Sarah and Hagar.
Remember - Paul is wanting the Galatians to CONTEMPLATE of SLAVERY - and understand how the LAW of God relates to the concept of Slavery - in regards to SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Throughout Paul’s explanation - we’ll see a pattern - and it’s this:
SLIDE:
Two Mothers
Two Sons
Two Covenants
Two Mountains
Two Cities
And so let’s allow Paul to UNPACK his argument for us...
Let’s walk with him - as we see him INTERPRET the OT - and then pull some principles OUT along the way - for us as we leave here today...
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?
What we see Paul do here is - use the term ‘LAW’ in 2 different ways...
“Tell me, you who desire to be under the Law”...
First - he’s speaking to those in the church who are IN THE PROCESS of being persuaded...
Which actually points to the reality that these Galatians (at least not all of them) - they had not COMPLETELY embraced the false teaching of the Judaizers...
It seems that Paul - by describing them this way - shows they may have been - ON THE FENCE...
But the use the term LAW here - no doubt refers to the Mosaic law…and the regulations that came with it...
(those who desire to be under the RULES of the law)...
He then says - do you not listen to - THE LAW?
Here - at the end of the verse - He’s referring to the OT Torah...
And we know this because its FROM the torah that he then points to the story of Abraham and his 2 sons...
So Paul is saying - All of you Galatians who are wanting to head back UNDER the LAW with all it’s RULES and regulations....do you even KNOW WHAT the TORAH says about the 2 sons of Abraham??
Remember - at the beginning of this chapter - Paul’s argument was that the Galatians - in embracing the TRUE GOSPEL - went from SLAVES to SONS...
From slaves (UNDER THE LAW) - to free men and women
And Paul’s first argument TODAY - in pointing back to the story of Abraham’s 2 sons - is this..
SLIDE: TWO MOTHERS: Slave & Free
TWO MOTHERS
TWO MOTHERS
Let’s go back to v21
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?
So here is what the Law says - that SHOULD HELP the Galatians understand - WHO THEY ARE-
remember - Paul has argued - BE WHO YOU HAVE BECOME...
22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.
So Abraham had one son by way of a slave woman...
And let’s go to it in the Bible...
5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!”
And so if we know the story - we know that in Genesis 12 - God established a covenant with Abraham...
Promising him...
Land
Descendants
Blessing
And a significant part of this covenant was the promise of DESCENDANTS...
Abraham (known as Abram at the time) was 75 years old when this promise was given...
You can imagine him thinking - I’M GOING TO HAVE CHILDREN?
His wife Sarai - no doubt had the SAME DOUBTS...
If we know the story - those DOUBTS lead Abraham and Sarai to take matters into their own hands...
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
And so Abraham and Sarai - DOUBT that they will ever have children by just sitting around and WAITING on the LORD...
So they contrive their own plan...
Sarai has one of her Egyptian maids (Hagar) marry Abraham...
And THEY (Abraham and Hagar) conceive a child...
How does Paul describe this mother Hagar? (a Slave Woman)
The OTHER mother - Sarai - described how? ( a FREE woman)...
Now the next verse is gonna shed some light on the nature of these terms… (slave and free)
23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.
SO - here we see a KEY difference between these mothers
Hagar was a SLAVE - attached to the household of Abraham from the OUTSIDE...
a slave
Sarah was a FREE woman - she was the lawful WIFE of Abraham…and therefore part of the Household of Abraham - from the inside.
FREE
Not only this - but v23 here - really points to the ULTIMATE REASON Paul is CALLING the Galatians to - BE WHO THEY HAD BECOME… IN CHRIST!
What’s that reason?
SLIDE:
The motherhood of Hagar was founded by mankind.
The motherhood of Sarah was founded by God.
And we know this from the story itself...
God promised Sarah a child...
Sarah and Abraham doubted God
And IN THEIR DOUBT - [THEY] put into action - THEIR OWN plan
Hagar then gets pregnant...
- So on one side - Hagar - her motherhood was according to the FLESH
- On the other side - Sarah - her motherhood was according to PROMISE!
- So Paul is using THIS as the BASIS of his argument - as to WHY the Galatians should EMBRACE the TRUE Gospel!
And the fact that these are MOTHERS - implies then - the next point...
SLIDE: TWO SONS: Slave & Free
TWO SONS
TWO SONS
But even knowing this - based on our text - we can now add more context...
SLIDE: TWO SONS: Slave (Flesh of Man) & Free (Promise of God)
TWO SONS
TWO SONS
Now - when it comes to the Bible - and Christianity, we see in Scripture that ALL of MANKIND deals with the FLESH...
Believers deal with the flesh - in that EVEN after we’re SAVED - we still deal with the effects of the fall...
22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
This HERE is the profile of a - Believer -
It’s a person for whom their INNER BEING is redeemed - but their Outer Flesh is close by - sin poking at them!
And so BELIEVERS deal with - the FLESH ...
BUT - this isn’t what Paul is referring to...
Unbelievers deal with the FLESH - in that they are (DIFFERENT than believers) - OF THE FLESH!
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
We see here - that UNBELIEVERS are - OF THE FLESH
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
And so this ARGUMENT that Paul is using in Galatia...
That the Galatians should EMBRACE the true Gospel...
Is Paul calling them - to say - HEY - you ONCE WERE - OF the flesh...
…FOLLOWING the prince of the power of the air...
THE SPIRIT that is now AT WORK in the sons of - - DISobedience!
Disobedience - - Which brings us to the birth of Ishmael - son of the SLAVE (Hagar)
15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
This child - born ACCORDING to the FLESH!
The OTHER child - Issac - Born according to the Promise of God...
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.
We see here that what’s different between Isaac and Ishmael...
is that Ishmael’s birth - was VOID of God’s word...
His birth was not a PROMISE of God
Isaac’s birth however - was BASED on God’s word! (His promise!)
So far - we’ve seen:
Two Mothers (one a slave) (the other free)
Two Sons (one a slave) (the other free)
NOW - at this point - let’s PAUSE right here and ask a question:
Why would Paul use this story (of Isaac and Ishmael) as his argument for why the Galatians should REJECT circumcision as a means of salvation?
Many commentators believe that it’s VERY PLAUSIBLE that the Judaizers THEMSELVES would have used this story to try to CONVINCE the Gentile Galatians TO get circumcised!
WHY?
Because THIS STORY…of Isaac and Ishmael would have been used to CLAIM THAT only those who belonged PHYSICALLY to the family of Abraham had any share in the promise.
See - the descendants of Isaac - were the Jews
the descendants of Ishmael - they were the Gentiles
And at Mount Sinai - who received the Law?
The JEWS received the ENLIGHTENMENT of the Law
While the Gentiles remained on the OUTSIDE - alienated from the promises of God and the commonwealth of Israel.
And so the Judaizers most likely would have JUMPED at the chance to say - SEE - if you want to share in the promises of God - YOU MUST be CIRCUMCISED...
which would have CONNECTED them to the Community of the Jews!
And so - we can see how this ARGUMENT from the Judaizers would have carried MUCH WEIGHT with the Gentile Galatians who may have been WONDERING if - - FAITH ALONE in Jesus alone was truly SUFFICIENT enough to save!
And so - with that background - HERE COMES PAUL now - ATTACKING that USAGE of the Isaac and Ishmael story...
Combatting it with a TRUE interpretation
One which actually SUPPORTS faith alone - and not the works based Message of the Judaizers!
And so Paul takes them back to this story...
Two Mothers (one a slave) (the other free)
Two Sons (one a slave) (the other free)
What’s next?
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.
From Two Mothers
To two Sons… to now...
SLIDE: TWO COVENANTS: Slave (Under Law) & Free (Under Grace)
TWO COVENANTS
TWO COVENANTS
Back to v24...
24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.
Many theologians over the centuries have debated long and hard over Paul’s use of the word - ALLEGORICALLY - here...
Typically - an allegory is going to teach a point - by using metaphors....(that there’s a deeper meaning to be found)
And so - BECAUSE we KNOW that Sarah and Hagar REALLY existed - and REALLY had children...
Then the conclusion - is (in this DEBATE) - that Paul must have MISSPOKE - and used the wrong word to describe how he wanted us to interpret this...
NOW - who am I? BUT - -
I don’t see a problem with Paul’s language here -
REASON 1 - God’s word is INERRANT (the original in greek is - Allegoreo (allegorel) (speak allegorically - take figuratively)
REASON 2 - Paul actually gives us permission to INTERPRET this story this way!
I take that to mean - the STORY therefore is REAL...
And Paul is saying - YOU CAN interpret this REAL STORY THIS WAY....
He’s saying - YES - there is a DEEPER meaning here - and you can EMBRACE that deeper meaning - as TRUE!
So what does Paul say?
“These two women are covenants....One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children FOR slavery”
What about the other?
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.
The TWO COVENANTS that Hagar and Sarah represent are the:
The Old Covenant: The Law
The New Covenant: Grace
We see this language in scripture...
14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Paul - in our text - is saying that HAGAR - represents Mount Sinai where the Law was given...
And she BIRTHS only slaves UNDER the Law...
SLAVES - In bondage to SIN…and disobedience
And Paul’s saying to the Galatians - - - NO - DON’T head BACK that way!!
Don’t head BACK to MOUNT SINAI!!
THAT way is VOID of God’s - promise - God’s promise of LIFE to those who rest in the FINISHED work of Christ!
God has PROMISED THAT HIS work (in JESUS) is - SUFFICIENT - - how do we know?
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Paul’s saying - COME OUT from under the Law - - it is finished!
Jesus FULFILLED the Law!!
Paul made the argument a few weeks ago - You’ve gone from SLAVES to SONS...
And now BEING SONS - you’re now - FREE!!
Back in v7 of Galatians 4...
7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Paul’s saying - What you Galatians are TRYING to do - in getting circumcised - to fulfill the Law...
JESUS ALREADY DID!!
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Paul’s saying - you ONCE were a slave -
5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
Paul’s saying - YOU ONCE were a SLAVE to sin.....UNDER the LAW.....but NO MORE!!
You’re now FREE!! IN CHRIST!!
And that FREEDOM - based on the Promise of God!
MEANING - SLIDE....
The promise of God is that His work is sufficient for His people
And that’s where the Covenant of GRACE comes in!!
It’s the WORK OF JESUS - that saves!!
Don’t HEAD BACK to Mount Sinai - where ONLY SLAVES to SIN are birthed...
See - Mount Sinai didn’t BRING A DELIVERER...
There’s ANOTHER mountain we stand on...
26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
You see?
SLIDE: TWO MOUNTAINS: Slave (Sinai by Law) & Free (Zion by Grace)
TWO MOUNTAINS
TWO MOUNTAINS
Deliverance comes from Mount Zion....NOT from Sinai...
And then Paul correlates Mount Sinai - with a specific location...
Back to our text
25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
Paul correlates Mount Sinai - with ARABIA...
What’s the big deal?
Arabia is the land of Ishmaelites!
Do you see the REVERSAL Paul is about to make??
He’s not done!
What did this say?
Paul says - Hagar is Mount Sinai - and she corresponds to - - Present Jerusalem - FOR SHE is IN SLAVERY!!
IN CONTEXT - Present Jerusalem - at the time - was held in bondage by the Roman occupation!
IN SLAVERY
And Paul connects Hagar - and Mount Sinai - to Present Jerusalem!
Next verse:
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.”
So Paul CONTRASTS -
Present Jerusalem - in bondage to Rome...
TO
the Jerusalem Above (the Heavenly Jerusalem) - NOT in bondage but - FREE
And so we see:
SLIDE: TWO CITIES: Slave (Present Jerusalem) & Free (Heavenly Jerusalem)
TWO CITIES
TWO CITIES
Paul knew that LIFE ETERNAL wasn’t going to be found in the RELIGIOUS SYSTEM - centered in Present Jerusalem...
Paul knew this instead...
14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
What city is that??
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
Galatians (2) The Figurative Meaning (4:24–27)
Paul reminded the Galatians that their true spiritual identity was to be found above, not below, forward, not behind
And this entire time - the apostle Paul has been CONSTRUCTING his argument - BASED on the story of Sarah and Hagar...
Let’s look at the breakdown...
SLIDE: Chart
This chart - would have been very offensive to a 1st century Jew....
NOW - think about how the Judaizers would have responded to this chart...
*Think of White Supremacists....today - they are fanatical about - BEING WHITE
Well - Judaizers - were FANATICAL about being - JEWISH
Well look at what this chart is saying ...
The Judaizers - in Galatia - were TRYING to get Gentile Galatians - to embrace THE LAW - thru circumcision!
In a sense - the Judaizers were trying to GET Gentile Galatians - to back to Mount Sinai...
And they would have PROUDLY said - YES, YES WE ARE trying to do that!! Those Gentiles aren’t WORTHY of God without circumcision!
Well what does Paul do?
Paul - in his argumentation....
Takes present Jerusalem…the CENTER of the Judaizers RELIGIOUS SYSTEM...
Connects it to Mount Sinai....and the Old Covenant Law
AND THEN...
Connects all of that - to the SLAVE WOMAN - Hagar...
And the disobedient BIRTH - according to the FLESH - of Ishmael -
Whose descendants are??? - - the Gentiles!!
So Paul connects the Jewish Supremacists (Judaizers) with those who SOUGHT to be justified before God - ACCORDING to the FLESH!
Think of that - This LINE HERE (left side)
represents all those who try to get to heaven by way of BEING A GOOD PERSON!
DOING good deeds!
That’s all ACCORDING to the FLESH...
Well - remember WHAT THAT MEANS…!!
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
v3 - LIVING in the passions of our FLESH - carrying out the desires of the FLESH...
IS
v2 - the path of DISOBEDIENCE!
And so GOING back to Mount Sinai...
Going back UNDER the Law… AS a BASIS for your SALVATION
Is to JUMP on the PATH of - DISOBEDIENCE and SIN
Paul KNOWS a better way…based on God’s PROMISE...
a New Covenant - under God’s GRACE
Leading to the New Heavenly Jerusalem!!
Amen??
So what’s the conclusion?
Remember a couple weeks ago we talked about how Paul was UNCOMPROMISING when it came to the truth?
Here we see his PRESCRIPTION...
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.
Paul’s saying - to the Galatians - You’re members of the Children of Promise!
And what you’re experiencing from these FALSE TEACHERS...
Is actually no different than what Isaac experienced from Ishmael...
9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.
10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.”
Paul - in Galatia - comes to the same conclusion…regarding the False Teachers...
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.”
- Paul comes to his conclusion...
Paul wants the Galatians to FREE THEMSELVES from the grip of the False Teachers...
…and to EXPEL them - from their midst
There’s a fine line to walk within the church - when it comes to PURSUING UNITY...
- We pursue unity over matters that are not central to the core doctrines of the faith...
BUT
When it COMES to the core doctrines of the faith - in this case - the Gospel itself...
Know this:
- Legal bondage and Gospel freedom cannot coexist.
What have we seen today?
SUMMARY
We’ve seen Paul’s argument for the Galatians to reject circumcision as a means of salvation...
And Paul uses the story of Sarah and Hagar to do so...
Two Mothers
Two Sons
Two Covenants
Two Mountains
Two Cities
On the side of the False Teachers - we find that the path to God by way of the Law is a FUTILE path...
A path which is - ACCORDING to the FLESH!
Disobedient and SINFUL
Trying to get to God by way of the Law is a path that leads to eternal destruction!
On the other side we have the TRUE Gospel...
a path to God by way of God’s GRACE
A path which is - ACCORDING to the PROMISE of God
A path we come to BY FAITH alone in Christ alone...
A path that leads to the NEW - Heavenly Jerusalem...
How does this impact us?
We know what’s at stake…right?
Eternity is at stake...
And so just as Paul guarded the TRUE Gospel today....
May we do the same...
In our homes
In our places of employment (looking for opportunities to share the gospel and defend the gospel)
In our schools
Within our circles of friends
Within our church
May we do the same - for the glory of God
And for the joy of His people...
Let’s pray