This may be cheating, but I thought I'd share anyway. In the future I think I'll be posting my Sunday School lessons every Sunday, either right before or after church. The style is that of a combination of manuscript and transcript. A manscript, if you will. Let me know what you think.
1/16/11
Galatians 4:21-5:1 (NRSV)
The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah
21 Tell me, you who desire to be subject to the law, will you not listen to the law? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. 23One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. 24Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. 25Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabiaand corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written,
‘Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children,
burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs;
for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous
than the children of the one who is married.’
28Now you, my friends, are children of the promise, like Isaac. 29But just as at that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. 30But what does the scripture say? ‘Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman.’ 31So then, friends, we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman. 51For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Initial thoughts. Words/phrases that stand out.
Verses 21-23: Tell me, you who desire to be subject to the law, will you not listen to the law? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. 23One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise.
- While Paul may have been defending some argument previously, here he goes on the offensive. These verses are setting up his offense.
- He tells the Galatians, “OK, you want to follow the law, let’s go ahead and listen to what it says.”
o The second part of the verse may literally be translated, “Do you not hear the law?”
o Paul, a former Pharisee, would have incredible authority on matters regarding scripture and the Law and the Galatians would be aware of this. His authority on these matters would likely have passed that of the Jewish Missionaries.
- In verse 22 he is reminding them of a story they are probably familiar with (from his own ministry and/or the Jewish Missionaries), that of Abraham and the promise of a child.
o The Jewish Missionaries would probably have used this story to illustrate why they needed to become circumcised.
o The slave woman was Hagar, the free woman was Sarai (Sarah)
- For Paul’s offense, he gives his thesis in verse 23.
o Ishmael, the child of Hagar, the slave woman, is a child of the flesh
o Isaac, the child of Sarai, the free woman, is a child of the promise.
§ Paul has spent a lot of time talking about the significance of the promise so his readers anticipate where he might be going with this, but he puts his own personal spin on the story.
Verses 24-27: Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. 25Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written,
‘Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children,
burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs;
for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous
than the children of the one who is married.’
- Paul wants to speak figuratively concerning both mothers, both represent two different covenants.
o We must not understand these two different covenants as Judaism and Christianity, but two separate understanding Israel’s heritage.
§ Paul is saying that the Jewish Missionaries interpret the heritage one way, while I am telling you the correct interpretation.
- Paul begins by talking about Hagar. Hagar was herself a slave.
o Paul’s likening her to Mt. Sinai is a recognition of the giving of the law to Moses, saying that the law (separate from promise) causes slavery.
§ The image of the “present Jerusalem” can reference that Jerusalem was literally enslaved by Roman authorities.
- Sarai is not likened to any geography, but bears children according to God’s promise.
o The promise was given to Abraham through Sarai way before Mt. Sinai.
o The Jerusalem above is a symbol for the Kingdom of God, or heaven.
o Paul says that she is ‘our’ mother. Both his and the Galatians
§ She is the Galatians (gentiles) mother because she was herself a Gentile. The Jewish identity was formed from her family, but she herself was not a Jew
Verses 28-30: Now you, my friends, are children of the promise, like Isaac. 29But just as at that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. 30But what does the scripture say? ‘Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman.’
- As above, Paul says that the Galatians are like Isaac, who came not from natural descent, but a promise.
o The Galatians, gentiles not Jews, receive entrance into God’s kingdom not because of family heritage, but because of God’s promises
- Ishmael persecuted Isaac for being the child of the promise, and Paul likens that to the Jewish missionaries in Galatia. They are being persecuted for receiving the Spirit apart from Jewish feasts, festivals, and most importantly, circumcision
- In verse 30 Paul proof texts the Torah to tell the Galatians they need to get rid of the missionaries in Galatia. If the missionaries are trying to force Jewish holidays and circumcision upon the Galatians (who have already received the Spirit through promise), they forfeit the grace they once received.
Verses 31-5:1 So then, friends, we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman. 51For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
- Paul is a bit redundant, but wants to drive home his point. As those who have received the Spirit through promise, the Galatians should not attempt to return to any law.
- He says that the whole point of Christ’s freeing us is freedom, not slavery.
o In trying to live according to the Jewish calendar, holidays, and circumcision the Galatians use the freedom they have received from Christ in order to become slaves. This is ridiculous.
Scripture: these verses speak to the centrality of Scripture. Paul could have easily told the Galatians to abandon the Torah and other Israeli texts, but doesn’t insisting that they have relevance for the Gentile community. This is one of the main reasons this class was set up as it is.
As a demographic that has more opportunity than ever to understand scripture, do we take advantage of it? Why/why not?
What could we do differently?
I want to argue that the answer is not simply to read our bibles by ourselves everyday (although that is a good practice), but, as we are, to come together in community and read these words together. The texts were originally to be read out loud in group settings, so that is the intention of this class.
(Further, Paul here describes Scripture as a story, as a narrative. We should never understand God’s written Word as a list of rules and propositions, but as God’s narrative. It is a story began long ago incorporating peoples from all walks of life. Were scripture merely rules and propositions, it would have hardly any relevance to a people and culture other than the original, but that Scripture is a story, it involves us. We too are a part of this story, and God’s involvement with God’s people then relates to the way God involves Godself now.)
Freedom: Paul wants his readers to understand that through Christ, and a properly understood reading of scripture, we gain freedom. All shackles are thrown off. This is not the type of freedom we might imagine as Americans. It is not inalienable rights, not the freedom to own a gun or property, but “manifests itself through the formation of concrete communities where the old barriers of nation, race, class, and gender are overcome in communion at one table.” (Richard Hays, New Interpreter’s Bible)
Do we believe in this freedom? If so, how is this freedom manifest? Autonomy (self-law)? Or through Christ?
Further, how do we live it out, how do we participate in it? Are there ways we can better live out this freedom?
