June 25
“It is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar – for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children – but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all,” Galatians 4:22-26.
The apostle Paul records some historical facts. Abraham had two sons. The one son was Ishmael, who was born of a bondwoman, Hagar, a servant of Sarah. He was born according to the flesh – that is, according to natural sexual relations. The other son was Isaac, who was born according to the promise – he was born of Sarah, who was long past the age during which it was possible to have children. But he was born according to God’s promise. God promised that He would give Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age, through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Isaac was an ancestor of the promised Savior, Jesus Christ.
Now Paul says that these “things are symbolic.” He makes a spiritual application to the historical facts. He is speaking of the Law and the Gospel. Hagar represents Mount Sinai, where God gave the Law on two tablets of stone. Mount Sinai was located in Arabia, which was also the homeland of Hagar’s descendants. The Law of God puts all people under bondage. As sinful human beings, we are slaves to the Law, which demands perfection, and we are not able to meet that demand. It is not possible for natural man to fulfill the Law of God perfectly. We cannot save ourselves by works of the Law. “By the deeds of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight,” Romans 3:20.
Paul adds that “Jerusalem which now is” corresponds to Mount Sinai in Arabia. Jerusalem at that time was the place where the religious leaders were teaching a way of salvation by works. The apostle makes it very clear that if people want to be saved by what they do, they will remain in bondage to sin, death, and the devil! The Law, the Ten Commandments, do not show us a Savior; they show us our sins and the impossibility of saving ourselves.
For our salvation, we must flee to “Jerusalem above,” which is free. This is also a symbolic expression. “Jerusalem above” represents the holy Christian Church, which is comprised of all and only believers in Christ as God’s Son and our only Savior. In the holy Christian Church, we hear and believe the message, “God’s Son has set us free!” With His innocent suffering and death on Calvary’s cross, He paid the price so that we could be declared forgiven and free.
Christians are born into the family of God by faith in the Gospel. We believe that, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved,” John 3:16-17.
“Jerusalem the golden,
With milk and honey blest,
Beneath thy contemplation,
Sink heart and voice opprest.
I know not, oh, I know not
What joys await us there,
What radiancy of glory,
What bliss beyond compare.
O sweet and blessed country,
The home of God’s elect!
O sweet and blessed country,
That eager hearts expect!
Jesus, in mercy, bring us
To that dear land of rest,
Who art, with God the Father,
And Spirit, ever blest.” Amen.