Galatians 4:21-5:1 – Slavery and Freedom

As usual, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²¹Tell me, ones desiring to be under law, do you not hear the law? ²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. ²³But, on the one hand, the one out of the slave woman was born according to flesh, [while] on the other hand, the one out of the free woman [was born] through promise.

²⁴These are an allegory, for they are two covenants. On the one hand, one [is] from Mt. Sinai giving birth into slavery, which is Hagar, ²⁵and this Hagar is Mt. Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶On the other hand, the above Jerusalem, which  is [the] mother of us, is free, ²⁷for it is written,

“Rejoice, O barren one, the one not having children, the one not giving birth, break forth and exclaim, because many are the children of the desolate one rather than the one having the husband.”

 ²⁸And we, brethren, are children of promise, according to Isaac, ²⁹but just as the one born according to flesh was then persecuting the one [born] according to spirit, thus also now. ³⁰But what does the Scripture say?

“Cast out the slave woman and the son of hers, for the son of the slave woman will never inherit with the son of the free woman”.

 ³¹Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of slavery but of the free woman. ^5:1Christ freed us to the freedom, therefore be standing firm and do not be being bound again to a yoke of slavery.

I’m really glad I finally got a chance to actually study this passage. I have of course read it over and over through the years, but I would have to say I’ve always found it a little intimidating. Paul clearly and specifically identifies the Sarah/Hagar account as an allegory and, if I may add, a rather detailed one at that. It leaves one wondering, “Where are all the other ‘allegories’ in the Bible?” Does this mean we should go back through the OT and look for an allegory in every story that’s told? Who did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego really represent and what was the significance that David selected five smooth stones and on and on, ad nauseum. I think that unanswered question is what always left me feeling a little intimidated by the passage.

What to make of this? Of course the blanket explanation of it all is that Paul is writing under inspiration. If the Holy Spirit intended Sarah and Hagar’s experience as an allegory, He is certainly free to explain it to us through Paul. Since I don’t write under inspiration, I must limit my understanding of the Bible to what is clearly presented. In this case, we are told that it was an allegory. When it comes to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, I may find interesting parallels, but I could never say with authority, “This is an allegory, and Shadrach stands for this, etc.”

I would suggest it to be spiritually presumptuous to take this one passage and, based on it, to run through the Bible declaring allegories wherever my supposedly sanctified imagination found them. Apparently that has been a problem down through the centuries. Luther said, “[Allegories] are dangerous things. Unless a person has a thorough knowledge of Christian doctrine he had better leave allegories alone.”

Then I like what Luther went on to say, “Allegories are not very convincing, but like pictures they visualize a matter … Having first fortified his case with invincible arguments, [Paul] can afford to inject the allegory to add impressiveness and beauty to his presentation.”

“Allegories are not very convincing.” I think Luther is right and herein would be some wisdom, I think. It would be far better for us to study the Bible to mine the clear truth it presents, than to spend our time looking for allegories. As Luther says, “They are not very convincing anyway.” I certainly would never change my life for some “truth” I imagined I found in an allegory. The allegory can only, as in Paul’s case, illustrate truth already presented “with invincible arguments.” Only rightly divided truth bears on my heart and makes me different.

For whatever it’s worth, before I leave the matter, I want to assert that looking for practical applications is an entirely different business from looking for allegories. The Bible is a book of discipleship and I believe we should read every line with a heart longing to see the world through God’s eyes, to learn from other people’s lives as we observe the choices they make and God’s evaluations thereof. As it says in I Corinthians 10:6-11, “⁶Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. ⁷Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”  ⁸ We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. ⁹We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. ¹⁰ And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. ¹¹ These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the end of the ages has come.”

I think this is something entirely different than looking for allegories, trying to find “secret” truths, which will only prove to the rest of the world how smart I am …and do nothing to make me a sweeter, more humble, Christ-like person.

So if the Holy Spirit, in Scripture, declares something to be an allegory, wonderful. So it is. Beyond that, I should spend my time mining for the clearly presented truth. Then when I see the lives of the people of the Bible illustrating that truth, I should take heed to their example. But beyond that, I officially accept that it is the truth that matters and not my imaginations.

The other thing that I find interesting is Paul’s observation, “… just as the one born according to flesh was then persecuting the one [born] according to spirit, thus also now.” I suppose it is a maxim of note that the Law will always persecute the Spirit. I actually don’t mean that exactly but you get my drift – those who are of the law, legalists, will always persecute those who enjoy the freedom of real Holy Spirit-filled life. Even in the secular world, the people who guard “the rules,” cannot bear people who actually live for the goals. People are forever making up rules to “help” the rest of us accomplish our goals. But having done so, they immediately lose all ability to see the goals and care only for their rules. I realized some time ago that even at work goals are far more important than rules and that sometimes you actually have to break the rules to accomplish the goals. But what I also realized is that doing so exposes you to the wrath of the rule-keepers who usually have the authority to punish you in one way or another when you do break their rules. Never mind that what you did actually accomplished the goal. As my old boss often said, “No good turn goes unpunished.” Jesus’ most bitter enemies were not the Romans but rather the “religious” Jews. Through the book of Acts there are only a couple of instances where the Apostles got in trouble with the secular people. It was almost always the “religious” Jews who opposed them or stirred up the secular people to oppose them. The whole matter is somewhat of a paradox to me right now but it is interesting to note Paul’s “even so now.”

Finally, I love the opening verse of chapter 5: “It is for freedom Christ has set us free.” Reminds me of “And when you know the truth, the truth shall set you free,” and “And if the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed!” Interestingly, this morning I laid down this study, headed to church and our pastor’s message was “beware of false freedom.” His point was solidly out of Gen 3 and supported by the passage from II Peter 2:19, “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption.” I suppose it would be worth an entire post just to distinguish between the freedom Christ gives and the false “freedom” that sin allures people with. Don’t know if I’ll wade into that but I certainly enjoy the real freedom I have in Christ. It is a freedom even to study a passage like Galatians 4:21-5:1 knowing when I’m done I’ll be glad I did … and I am!