Two Paths

Galatians 4:21-31

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
    break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
    than those of the one who has a husband.”
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. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “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.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

By Pastor Dan Hickling

“Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons . . .”—Galatians 4:21-22a (NKJV)

False teachings about the Jewish Law’s place in the Christian life were spreading fast among the Galatian believers. Left unchecked, the truth and transforming power of the gospel would be totally neutered. So Paul launches an attack on this misplaced emphasis on the law by enlisting Abraham to illustrate the law’s limitations and faith’s place in God’s purposes. The apostle points out 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” (Galatians 4:22b-23 NKJV).

A little history lesson here: From the Book of Genesis, we know Paul is referring to Ishmael and Isaac. Both were sons of Abraham, but there’s an important contrast between them Paul wants us to know. Ishmael was born through Abraham’s union with Hagar, who was a bondwoman (or servant) in Abraham’s camp.

If you go back and read Genesis chapter sixteen, you’ll find that this pregnancy was the result of compromise. God had promised Abraham he would have a son, even though he and his wife, Sarah, had been never been able to conceive. Sarah took matters into her own hands and suggested Abraham impregnate Hagar. It was a natural move, one that didn’t require any trust in God’s promise, and Ishmael’s existence represented this.

The other son, Isaac, was conceived under completely different circumstances. He was the son God had promised to Abraham and Sarah despite their barrenness. Isaac was the son whose existence seemed impossible in the eyes of man, but who was born according to the promise of God. Isaac’s existence represented God’s faithfulness and power to deliver on His promises—promises that must be received and realized through faith, not natural effort.

Paul is eventually going to bring this illustration full circle, but for now we need to understand there are two possible paths in life. There’s the path that results in Ishmael, where we don’t really put our trust in God, we take matters into our own hands, and we try to live life by our own strength and efforts. But then there’s the path of Isaac, which rests and relies on God to fulfill His promises, however impossible they may seem.

May we recognize this difference in our daily decisions and choose the path of Isaac by trusting the Lord to do what He’s promised and what only He can do.


*  This devotion was found at Bible.com titled “Live Free: the book of Galatians” by Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale.