Under the influence of the false teachers (the Judaizers), the Galatians wanted to live under the law. Paul wanted to turn them back to accepting salvation by grace alone. He confronted them directly by saying, “Do you know what the law really says?”The Galatian believers, most of them not from a Jewish background and thus with little more than an elementary understanding of the Jewish law, may have answered an indignant “yes.” Hopefully they would have halted long enough to realize the impossible standards under which they were placing themselves.
Paul turned to an argument from the Jewish Scripture and the life of Abraham, father of the Jewish nation, to illustrate his point. The story, originally recorded in Genesis 16, was summarized by Paul as a fundamental spiritual lesson demonstrated by Abraham, his two sons, and his two wives.
In ancient times, a mother’s status affected the status of her children. Paul reminded his readers that Abraham had two types of sons—one born of a slave-wife and one born of his freeborn wife. Paul wanted the Galatians to consider which type of descendant these Judaizers were more like and then decide which they themselves desired to be like.
Besides the contrast in the status of the mothers, the two boys were different in another important way. Abraham’s son by the slave woman was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise of descendants for Abraham. Ishmael’s birth was engineered by Abraham and Sarah to “make the promise come true” by their own plans and efforts, rather than waiting on God’s timing.
By using this illustration, Paul was showing that what happened to Sarah and Hagar pictures the relationship between God and mankind. Though perhaps difficult for us to follow, this was a common type of argument in Paul’s day. Paul was pointing to a great spiritual truth illustrated by this story, namely, the superiority of Christianity over Judaism.
The two women, Hagar and Sarah, represent God’s two covenants. The two well-known covenants were made with Abraham and with Moses. The one covenant with Moses had begun at Mount Sinai with the giving of the law.
Hagar was a slave-wife; thus, her children would be slaves, for a child’s status equaled the status of his or her mother. Although both sons had the same father, their mothers were different and their descendants became two different races—Ishmael, the Ishmaelites - Arabs; Isaac, the Jews. The Jews proudly considered themselves children of God’s covenant.
However, Paul refuted the claim, reminding them of the “two covenants” and explaining that because of their behavior, the Jews were actually children of the covenant with Moses, the covenant of the law. The Judaizers claimed superiority for their point of view by claiming that the blessings of the covenant came to descendants of Abraham through Isaac.
Trying to win salvation by obeying the law leads to slavery, and as the Jews persisted in this pattern, they showed themselves to be enslaved to their law. Although the Jews had descended from Abraham and Isaac, as they tried to piously obey their laws, they were actually slaves to it. As slaves, they were more like Ishmael than Isaac.
So what happens to Ishmael (the Jews) and Isaac (Christians) today? Judaism and Christianity could not coexist as paths to the same goal any more than Ishmael and Isaac could share Abraham’s inheritance. Perhaps most ironic was Paul’s bold clarification of this old story. The Jews had long held that this verse described God’s rejection of the Gentiles.
But Paul turned the tables: “You had it wrong. Jews and Gentiles are included together in God’s inheritance when they become believers, or ‘Isaacs.’ Those who reject grace lose their share in the inheritance, whether unbelieving Jews or unrepentant Gentiles. Those are the ‘Ishmaels.’” Those in slavery to the law will not share the family inheritance with those who have experienced freedom in Christ and salvation by faith alone.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what i have read today?)
Are you thoroughly confused? I pray not. Boil it down to this - salvation is in Christ alone. It is not ours by birth or ancestry or family. We have to each individually and personally accept Jesus Christ into our lives. And when He comes into our lives, everything changes. I want to put Christ first, ahead of myself. I want to put others ahead of me.
Philippians 2:4 says "Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others." Our society, our world tells us something different. Our world tells us to focus on me. My problems, my opportunities. It’s always very interesting as I talk with people, and as I hear them talk with others. I can pin point where they are in life by simply hearing the focus of their conversations.
Most people, we focus on OUR attitude, OUR problems, OUR lives. We want to talk about us. Jesus never did this. He was always focus on others. Other peoples problems, other peoples attitudes, other peoples lives. This is so key if you’re going to have the same attitude as that of Jesus Christ.
I heard about a school teacher named Miss Thompson. Every year when she met her students she would say, `Boys and girls, I love you all the same. I have no favorites.' Of course she wasn't being completely truthful. Teachers have students that they like more than others. In fact, some teachers have students they just don't like.
Teddy was a boy Miss Thompson just didn't like. His hair was unkept. His clothes had a musty smell. He certainly wasn't an attractive boy. He wasn't likable. When she got his papers she got a certain pleasure of putting X's next to the wrong answers. Whenever she put an "F" at the top of the page, she always do it with flair. Knowing her dislike for Teddy, the school counselor one day allowed Miss Thompson to view Teddy's records.
The records read: `First grade: Teddy shows promise with his work and attitude but he has a poor home situation. Second grade: `Teddy could do better. His mother is seriously ill. He receives little help at home.' Third grade: `Teddy is a good boy but he's too serious. He's a slow learner. His mother died this year.' Fourth grade: `Teddy is very slow, but well behaved. His father shows no interest.' She knew more that she wanted to know. Christmas came and the boys and girls in Miss Thompson's class brought her Christmas presents. They piled them high on her desk and among them was one from Teddy.
His was the gift that was wrapped in a brown paper bag held together with some scotch tape. On the package was written the simple words, `For Miss Thompson from Teddy'. When she opened Teddy's present out fell a gaudy rhinestone bracelet with half the stones missing and half a bottle of cheap perfume.
The other boys and girls in Miss Thompson's class began to laugh over Teddy's gift, but she quickly put on the bracelet and put some perfume on her wrist and held it up for the boys and girls to smell. They took their cues from Miss Thompson's and they responded with the oohhs and aaahhs. `Doesn't it smell lovely?' said Miss Thompson. The children agreed.
At the end of the day when school was over and all the children were leaving, Teddy lingered behind he finally came over to her desk and said softly, `Miss Thompson, you smell just like my mother and her bracelet looks real pretty on you, too.
I'm glad you like my present.' When Teddy left that day, Miss Thompson got down on her knees and she asked God to forgive her. The next day when the children came they were welcomed by a new teacher. This Thompson had become a different person. She was changed. She was transformed. There was a metamorphosis that happened. She was no longer just a teacher. She had become an agent of God. She was now a person committed to loving children and doing things for them that will live on after her. She helped all the children, especially Teddy and by the end of the school year all the children in her class showed improvement especially Teddy. He had caught up with most and was ahead of some.
She didn't hear from Teddy for a longtime. Then she received a note that read, `Dear Miss Thompson, I wanted you to be the first to know I'm going to be graduating second in my class. Love Teddy."
Four years later she received another noted, `Dear Miss Thompson. They just told me I'd be graduating first in my class. The university has not been easy. I wanted you to be the first to know. Love, Teddy."
Four years later: `Dear Miss Thompson, as of today I am Theodore Stollard, M.D. How about that? I wanted you to be the first to know. I'm getting married next month, the 27th to be exact. I want you to come and sit where my mother would have sat if she were alive. Dad died last year. You're the only family I have now. Love, Teddy.'
Miss Thompson went to that wedding and she sat where Teddy's mother would have sat. She deserved to sit there because of the time and the effort and allowing God's transforming grace to metamorphosize her, to transform her."
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