Introduction
Galatians 4:21–31: Drawing upon the example of Abraham’s two sons by Hagar and Sarah, Paul demonstrates that anyone who seeks to be subject to the Law is a slave like Hagar and her son, but those who have faith in Christ are like the descendants of Sarah because she was the mother of Isaac, the child born according to God’s promise.
Today’s Key Verse: Galatians 4:28 GNT
Now, you, my friends, are God’s children, as a result of his promise, just as Isaac was.
Read
21 Let me ask those of you who want to be subject to the Law: do you not hear what the Law says? 22 It says that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman, the other by a free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born in the usual way, but his son by the free woman was born as a result of God’s promise. 24 These things can be understood as a figure: the two women represent two covenants. The one whose children are born in slavery is Hagar, and she represents the covenant made at Mount Sinai. 25 Hagar, who stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia, is[a] a figure of the present city of Jerusalem, in slavery with all its people. 26 But the heavenly Jerusalem is free, and she is our mother. 27 For the scripture says,
“Be happy, you childless woman!
Shout and cry with joy, you who never felt the pains of childbirth!
For the woman who was deserted will have more children
than the woman whose husband never left her.”
28 Now, you, my friends, are God’s children as a result of his promise, just as Isaac was. 29 At that time the son who was born in the usual way persecuted the one who was born because of God’s Spirit; and it is the same now. 30 But what does the scripture say? It says, “Send the slave woman and her son away; for the son of the slave woman will not have a part of the father’s property along with the son of the free woman.” 31 So then, my friends, we are not the children of a slave woman but of a free woman.
Reflect
Abraham had two sons. Because he didn’t believe he could have a son by his wife, Sarah, he first had a son by Hagar, Sarah’s slave (Genesis 16). Hagar’s son was named Ishmael. Later Abraham and Sarah had a son named Isaac, who was the child God had promised (Genesis 21:1–8), and his descendants became the people of Israel. In his argument, Paul quotes from Isaiah 54:1 (verse 27). Why do you think Paul uses the example of Hagar and Sarah in his argument with the Galatians? What does being a child according to God’s promise mean to you?
Pray
Lord God, in faith, I trust in your promises. Thank you for calling me to be your child as a result of your promise. May all I do and say this day reflect your love and grace. Amen.
Tomorrow’s Reading
Galatians 5:1–15: Paul writes about the freedom believers have in Christ.
