Hagar semor

 Paul reminded his readers that Abraham had two sons (those born later are not important to his illustration), and that they should consider which of the two they were most like. One son, Isaac, was born of Sarah, the free woman; the other, Ishmael, was born of Hagar, the slave woman.

The entire analogy involves five sets of twos: two mothers, two sons, two covenants, two mountains (Mount Sinai and Mount Zion), and two cities (the present Jerusalem and the heavenly one)

Key Ideas*

Sarah and Hagar

Hagar

Sarah

Ishmael, the son of slavery

Isaac, the son of freedom

Birth “according to the flesh”

Birth “through the promise” Sarah

Old Covenant

New Covenant Sarah

Mount Sinai

Mount Zion Sarah

Present Jerusalem

Heavenly Jerusalem Sarah

Paul’s use of this account is marvelous (; see comments there). Ishmael was born by the flesh through “the slave woman” (). Isaac was born by the promise and was the heir. One represented bondage at Sinai, the other freedom when the promise finally came. When Christ, the seed, came, the old was done away. Now that the promise has come, believers are co-heirs with the promised Seed by adoption through God’s grace. To go back under the Law would be to undo the fulfillment of God’s promise. Those adopted by the Seed become seeds and are set free from the bondage of the Law (). Just as Ishmael and Isaac were in conflict (), so the flesh and the Spirit do not harmonize. The flesh struggles against the Spirit, often mocking it (). Therefore believers are to “get rid of the slave woman and her son” (), that is, to remove the threat of the flesh and “live by the Spirit” ().

25 Hagar is Mount Sinai Notice Hagar was not intended to be a wife. She never ought to have been anything but a handmaid to Sarah. The law was never intended to save; it was only designed to be a handmaid to the covenant of grace. When God delivered the law on Sinai, it was apart from His ideas that any man would ever be saved by it. He never conceived that man would attain perfection by it.

Galatians, Philippians, Colossians: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition 1. Two Sons of Abraham 4:21–27

When Hagar conceived and gave birth to Ishmael, there was not voice or word of God that predicted this

The difference of the two covenants rests here . the one was made with man, the other with Christ.

The son of the free woman was born as the result of a promise, directly fulfilling God’s word to Abraham. Luther observed that the principal difference was the absence of the word of God in the birth of Ishmael:

 The promise is the absolute opposite of flesh, since it is a word from God that will be fulfilled by God

those who are attempting to be justified on the basis of keeping the law will be cast out of God’s presence forever

King James Version Chapter 4

30 Nevertheless what saith fthe scripture? gCast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman

Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. gal 4;30