In the previous lessons, we studied ...we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:3-5) The sons born to Abraham were symbolic of this Truth.
Abraham (formerly known as Abram) was married to Sarah (formerly known as Sarai). A little background, prior to the flood, ...the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:5-8)
This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Genesis 6:9-10) After God delivered Noah and his family and the animals with them on the ark from the flood, ...God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. (Geneis 9:1) Many nations of people descended from Noah's three sons. (Genesis 10) One of the descendants of Shem was Terah. Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. (Genesis 11:26)
And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11:31-32) Just like during Noah's time, there were many people on the earth, But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, the same was true with Abraham.
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family
and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (Genesis 12:1-4)
God promised Abraham that he and his wife, Sarah would have a child, but they were old, and many years had passed, and they still did not have any children. One day, the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ... But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless,... And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “...one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:1-6)
We must remember God's commandment, that ...a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24) Well, Abraham was married to Sarah, so when God said, “...one who will come from your own body shall be your heir,” He meant the child would be conceived by him and Sarah. Unfortunately, Abraham believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness, but Sarah's faith wasn't as strong.
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. (Genesis 16:1-4)
Abraham believed God so he should not have heeded the voice of Sarah. More often than not, women make emotional choices, and then we ALL have to live with the consequences of those choices. Many don't like to hear this, but that's why Paul instructed the churches, Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. (I Timothy 2:11-14)
Just like Eve with Adam, Sarah lead Abraham into transgression, by committing adultery with her maidservant, which lead to a child being conceived out of wedlock. As we can imagine, things did not go well, ...and when Sarai dealt harshly with her [Hagar], she fled from her presence. (Genesis 16:6) And the Angel of the Lord said to her: “Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” (Genesis 16:11-12)
The symbolic truth is that when we make decisions and choices according to the flesh, God will allow us to do whatever we want, but things won't turn out the way we hope, because with sin come bondage. God made Abraham an awesome promise, but Abraham didn't wait for the promise, and ended up with a son who was a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. And what was even worse is when the promised descendants come, he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you." ... Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” (Genesis 17:1-6, 15-16)
Abraham loved his son Ishmael, And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” (Genesis 17:19-21)
This leads us to the next symbolic truth, that we can't do whatever we want to do, and then expect God to bless our disobedience. He will forgive us our sins, and He may still bless us after we repent, but we will still have to live and deal with the consequences. Unfortunately the consequences for Abraham were heartbreaking. After Isaac was born, ...the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.” (Genesis 21:9-13)
This is our final symbolic truth, that when we wait on the promise of God, it is free, having no guilt or penalty for sin attached. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16) But you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? The law keeps us in bondage according to the flesh, and sin can not remain in the presence of God. Just like Ishmael had to leave, we have to get sin out of our lives. But we can't do it on our own. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ... And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:24-26, 29)
For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia [Genesis 21:8-21], and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.”[Isaiah 54:1] (Galatians 4:24-27) Yes, through Ishmael, Abraham has many more children, or descendants, but they were not a blessing to the world, and is in bondage with her children, in the presence of all his brethren. But through Isaac, Abraham descendants and the whole world was blessed and can be free by his Seed who is Christ!
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say?“Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” [Geneis 21:10] So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. (Galatians 4:28-31) "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:26) AMEN!
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