Galatians 4:21-31 - Listen to the Law

Last week Brock spoke about preachers who faithfully and accurately proclaim the truth of God’s Word with Christ-centered messages that God uses to form Christ-like faith and character in His people. This next section continues that theme.

The undershepherds of Christ — His preachers and teachers — have not only the NT but the OT as well to proclaim God’s grace through the person and work of Jesus.

Therefore the people of God have not only the NT but the OT as well to learn about God’s grace through Jesus. Yes, the OT is also about Jesus Christ.

Now, I should point out that what Paul says here is by no means the only evidence of the Christ-centeredness of the OT. This is just the reference before us this morning. But it is a very eye-opening text of Scripture. It shows that there was a greater meaning and purpose than even God’s people fully understood at the time that they experienced these various events. And this was the case throughout the whole OT era.

However, after the coming of Christ into the world and the apostolic era in which NT Scripture was recorded, we have a full and clear understanding of those OT times. And therefore we should learn from them. They are a gift to us; in fact, for those who are in Christ, the OT record is no less than our family history, for God has adopted us. So, Abraham and Sarah are our ancestors, “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God,” as the apostle John wrote.

By grace through faith we are grafted (as Paul says in Romans 11) into the family tree. And so, God desires that we understand the OT. Paul wrote this letter because among the Galatians there was widespread misunderstanding of the Hebrew Scriptures. There was mishandling of the Book of the Law going on.

Sadly, this has always been the case. Perhaps you’ve heard what Paul told his pastoral protege Timothy, where he wrote, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” This is sometimes translated “rightly dividing the word of truth.” The word literally means “to cut straight” but the sense is to proceed on a straight or right path.

Some have gone too far with the concept of “dividing,” taking it to mean that OT Israel and the NT church are not one people but two peoples with separate destinies. But Paul’s words here at the end of Galatians 4 add to all the biblical evidence that disproves that theory.

And yet, there is a clear division in view here.

We do need to rightly see the divide among people according to God’s Word. That divide is on display here, and it is displayed not to puff us up with pride, but rather, to hem us in with humility. Notice verse 21 again. Paul says, [21] “Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?”

Do you not hear what God is saying in His law? Do you understand or comprehend it? The Judaizers were using the law of God to manipulate these Galatians believers. They were burdening these poor, young Christians with slavery to laws that were already fulfilled and put aside by Jesus Christ. So Paul once again uses the law to dismantle false beliefs about the law.

And in doing so, our false beliefs are dismantled as well – so that we may rightly handle God’s Word, so that we may rightly interpret His Word in our study and worship. Paul helps us see the divide and to think deeply about which side we are on. So let’s look at this together.

Again verse 21, Paul writes, “Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?” When the word “law” is used, it can have varied meanings based on the context. Here Paul uses the word “law” to refer to the book of Genesis – to events that occurred well before God gave the law to Moses at Mount Sinai.

Genesis is also considered “the law.” The first five books of the OT are commonly called the Torah (which means “law” in Hebrew). They are also called “the Pentateuch” (which means “five scrolls” or “books” in Greek). So Paul is referring to the first five books of “the law” of God.

Now the Judaizers — these ethnic Jews who professed faith in Christ but also held that the ceremonial rules and rituals of the Mosaic law must be kept — took pride and found confidence in their physical descent from Abraham. But Paul is pointing out that not all of Abraham’s physical descendants inherited God’s promises. Notice verse [22], “For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.”

If you say you want to adhere to the teachings of God’s law, then pay attention to
what it actually says. Moses wrote that Abraham had physical descendants who were not children of the promise. The first son born to Abraham was Ishmael through his servant woman Hagar. God had promised a son to Abraham and Sarah.

But after so many years of trying to conceive, the son had not been given. And like all people, the waiting wore on them. Eventually, they decided to take matters into their own hands, which amounted to an attempt to fulfill God’s promise by their own efforts and invention. Genesis 16 that “Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.”

Now, having more than one wife was commonplace in the ancient world. Abram embarks on polygamy. He takes another “wife;” although, by definition, what he has with Hagar would not be a true marriage. Marriage is between one man and one woman. A polygamous marriage is not really a marriage. John Calvin points out that this union is somewhere between fornication and marriage.

And deviating from God’s design, a harmful outcome occurs quickly. Hagar conceives and soon behaves in a haughty way toward Sarah, apparently looking scornfully on her because she could not conceive. Sarah returns the dishonor. All their plan accomplished was the creation of strife in the household of Abraham.

But even though they did this, God was gracious, and eventually Abraham and Sarah did conceive a son whom they named “Isaac” – which, incidentally, means “he laughs.” Years earlier, upon hearing that God would cause her to conceive in her old age, Sarah laughed. However, God had the last laugh, and what a gracious laugh it was. So here they were — one big, dysfunctional family.

But what does this have to do with the problems in the Galatian church? And what does it have to do with our understanding of the OT Word of God?

Well, notice again verse 22, “Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.” Two descendants by blood. But there was a big difference. Hagar was a slave; her son, then, was also a slave. Sarah was free; her son, then, was also free.

And Paul takes the contrast even further. Look at verse [23], “But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.” Ishmael, born to the slave woman Hagar, was conceived by human effort, whereas Isaac, born to Abraham’s true wife Sarah, was conceived by God’s power — by the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

And after that time, some of Abraham’s blood descendants would be descendants according to man’s effort, while others would be descendants according to the Spirit’s power.

And notice verse [24]. Paul writes, “Now this may be interpreted allegorically.” To be clear, these events literally took place. There’s no question about that. But what played out symbolized something of a much greater magnitude. Paul says, “these women are two covenants.” What does this mean?

Well, the following verses make it clear. Paul associates Sarah with God’s covenant of grace with Abraham, but he associates Hagar with something else. Notice the rest of verse 24, “One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.” Mt. Sinai was the location of God’s covenant action in which He gave the law to Moses. The giving of the law was a continuation of the covenant of grace.

However, even though salvation does not come through law keeping, many Israelites during the time of Moses approached it that way. That was the case on down the line to the first century A.D. And as Paul has already said in his letter to the Galatians, those who view the law in this way are slaves, plain and simple. They are in bondage. The law, apart from grace and in the hands of people who are dead in sins, gives birth to slaves.

Look now at verse [25]. “Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.” Arabia was the desert. It was the antithesis of the Promised Land. And “present Jerusalem” refers to the epicenter of Judaism in Paul’s day.

Now, Mount Sinai and Jerusalem were hundreds of miles from one another. Yet what characterized Judaism in first century Jerusalem (and everywhere) was bondage to the ceremonial law given at Sinai and the rejection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, in this sense, Mount Sinai, like Hagar, produces slaves.

Now, see verse [26], “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” This is a reference to what Scripture calls “the heavenly Jerusalem.” This is the eternal city of God where the heavenly Mount Zion stands. According to Revelation 21, the new Jerusalem will come down and be established on the new earth. The apostle John wrote, “[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

This describes the eternal home of those who are in Christ. And it is these souls — both Jews and Gentiles — who are the true Israel of God. Paul confirms this in Romans 9. He states, “[6] But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, [7] and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” [8] This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”

This connection to Galatians 4 is obvious. To rightly divide is to understand this division: not Ishmael, but Isaac; not human effort, but God’s power; not man’s scheme, but God’s promise; not Israel and the church, but those enslaved by works through law and those freed by faith through grace.

Paul says, “she is our mother.” Sarah, promise, heavenly Jerusalem, and the mountain of grace. And then notice that Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah 54. Isaiah prophesied at a time when Judah and Israel were exiled. Their glorious nation had fallen to their enemies. They felt barren and desolate. They had lost their promised land. But God told them to rejoice. Look at verse [27], “For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!” Do you see the parallel to Sarah? “For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.” Sarah was characterized by her barrenness, but it was followed by new birth. And in a similar way, Israel’s barrenness would be followed by new birth when Christ came into the world.

And the true children of Israel – Abraham’s true offspring — would be many in number and consist not only of Jews, but of Gentiles also. Many would be brought in and would be her children. These children — Jews and Gentiles alike — are those conceived not like Ishmael but like Isaac. In other words, not by normal human means but by the power of the Holy Spirit. These children are those who are not only born, but also, born again.

When we encounter God’s law, we naturally “hear” that we must work hard, do more, and earn our way to God. Our sinful nature proudly assumes that our own effort is required to please God and bring about His promises. But by God’s gracious power at work on us – by the work of His Spirit in us –  we hear that “grace” is how we come to Him and come to know, love, and obey Him.

We come to Him by the gift of faith. Faith was the way for Abraham and Sarah. Faith was the way for the Israelites who truly knew God. Faith was the way for first century Jews and Gentiles who trusted Christ. And faith is the way for us. By the gift of faith we not only come to God, but by that gift we remain with Him and we obey His ways and commands and wait on Him to accomplish His plans for us.

To be sure, walking by faith is not easy, especially when we often continue to naturally hear “it’s up to you.” It was not easy for Abraham and Sarah. They heard “it’s up to you.” But their lives illustrate that God is gracious and that the promise comes by the Spirit. To “listen to the law” is to trust the words of Psalm 46: “Be still and know that I am God.” To “listen to the law” is to trust the words of Isaiah 30:  “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”  To  “listen to the law” is to trust the words of Jesus in Matthew 11: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And to listen to the law is to trust the words of Jesus as He quoted Isaiah in Luke 4, when our Lord said, “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives.”

Freedom for those enslaved to sin. Christ the Lord sets us free from bondage to sins and useless efforts to make ourselves acceptable to God, and He sets us free to obey God not out of fear, but out of love.

Here shortly we will go to the Lord’s table, and as we do, these final verses are relevant. Notice verse [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.” This is a reference to Genesis 21, which says, “Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw
the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.”
The sense is that Ismael mocked Isaac. Obviously, there would be jealousy in Ishmael and his mother, Hagar. And here Paul says that Ismael “persecuted” Isaac.

There was animosity. There was a divide. Sarah then told Abraham to send Hagar
and Ismael away. This would not only remove them from the picture and from the household, but also, Ishmael would no longer have legal rights to his inheritance
as Abraham’s first born son. Archeologists have discovered that this was done sometimes in the ancient world. A slave would be set free in exchange for any rights he or she had to property of any kind. Ishmael was the firstborn son of Abraham.

There was no changing that. And it was never going to work with all of them together. This is why, though it pained Abraham, God confirmed that they should be set free and made to leave. Sarah was right when she said, as Paul quotes in verse 30, “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.” The inheritor was the son conceived by the power of God.  Ismael was a son conceived by human effort to fulfill the promise. The inheritance of Abraham was not for him.

God was merciful to Hagar and Ishmael, but to Paul’s point, the division was clear. Look at verse 31. Paul concludes by telling the Galatians, [31] “So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.”

Are you a child of the free woman or the slave? Which side of the divide are you on? Have you trusted only in the power of God, in the Lord Jesus Christ, or have you been trusting also in your work or your ability or your ancestry to qualify you for the blessing and the salvation of the one true God?

You must put all your hope only in Jesus. You must see nothing else — no ritual or rule or tradition — as contributing to God’s work of grace toward you. Jesus Christ bridged the great divide through His saving work — through His perfect life laid down as He died on a cross of wood, and through His glorious resurrection from the dead by the power of the same Spirit that raises sinners from death to life.

Listen to the law — to the whole counsel of God. It tells you to cast out every delusion of human effort, and cast your whole self before God’s merciful throne of grace.

Let’s bow in prayer.