Until this point, Paul’s approach has been confrontational and impersonal. He has been writing like a scholar or debater, marshaling every possible argument and illustration to get his message across. He has taken the stance of a determined lawyer in court or a learned theologian in the classroom, giving a dispassionate and irrefutable presentation.
In this session Paul's approach dramatically changes. He did not so much preach or teach as simply pour out his heart in personal exhortation. He wrote, in effect, “I care about you more than I can say. I love you dearly just as you have loved me dearly. Please listen to what I’m saying, because it’s so vitally essential.”
To hear an audio recording of the session click the YouTube link at the end of the notes.
THE CONTEXT
Until this point, Paul’s approach has been confrontational and impersonal. He has been writing like a scholar or debater, marshaling every possible argument and illustration to get his message across. He has taken the stance of a determined lawyer in court or a learned theologian in the classroom, giving a dispassionate and irrefutable presentation.
He has referred to the Old Testament to teach the Galatians the basic truth of the gospel that he had taught them many times before: Salvation is by God’s grace through faith alone. He has used both his own experience and that of the Galatians to reinforce his teaching. But for the most part, he has sounded detached, seeming to be more concerned about principles than people.
The apostle’s approach changed dramatically in 4:12, moving from the purely doctrinal to the more personal. In fact, verses 12–20 are Paul’s strongest words of personal affection in any of his letters. He did not so much preach or teach as simply pour out his heart in personal exhortation. He wrote, in effect, “I care about you more than I can say. I love you dearly just as you have loved me dearly. Please listen to what I’m saying, because it’s so vitally essential.”
Galatians 4:12-20 NKJV Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. You have not injured me at all. You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them. But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.
Galatians 4:12-20 MSG My dear friends, what I would really like you to do is try to put yourselves in my shoes to the same extent that I, when I was with you, put myself in yours. You were very sensitive and kind then. You did not come down on me personally. You were well aware that the reason I ended up preaching to you was that I was physically broken, and so, prevented from continuing my journey, I was forced to stop with you. That is how I came to preach to you. And don’t you remember that even though taking in a sick guest was most troublesome for you, you chose to treat me as well as you would have treated an angel of God—as well as you would have treated Jesus himself if he had visited you? What has happened to the satisfaction you felt at that time? There were some of you then who, if possible, would have given your very eyes to me—that is how deeply you cared! And now have I suddenly become your enemy simply by telling you the truth? I can’t believe it. Those heretical teachers go to great lengths to flatter you, but their motives are rotten. They want to shut you out of the free world of God’s grace so that you will always depend on them for approval and direction, making them feel important. It is a good thing to be ardent in doing good, but not just when I am in your presence. Can’t you continue the same concern for both my person and my message when I am away from you that you had when I was with you? Do you know how I feel right now, and will feel until Christ’s life becomes visible in your lives? Like a mother in the pain of childbirth. Oh, I keep wishing that I was with you. Then I wouldn’t be reduced to this blunt, letter-writing language out of sheer frustration.
Galatians 4:12-16 NKJV Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. You have not injured me at all. You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
(v. 12)—Paul had been a proud, self-righteous Pharisee, trusting in his own righteousness to save him. But when he came to Christ, he abandoned all efforts to save himself, trusting wholly in God’s grace. He urged the Galatians to follow his example and avoid the legalism of the Judaizers.
Philippians 3:3-9 NKJV For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
Though the Jews had persecuted him during his first trip to Galatia, the Galatian believers had not harmed Paul. Instead, they had enthusiastically received him when he preached the gospel to them, so he asked how they could reject him now.
Remember, Paul founded the churches in the southern Galatian cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.
Acts 14:19-20 NKJV Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
(v. 13)—Some think the illness to which Paul was referring, in verse 13 was malaria. That could explain why Paul and Barnabas apparently did not preach at Perga, a city in Pamphylia (see Acts 13:13–14). The cooler and healthier weather in Galatia and especially at Pisidian Antioch (3,600 feet above sea level), where Paul went when he left Perga, would have brought some relief to the fever caused by malaria. Although malaria is a serious, debilitating disease, its attacks are not continuous; Paul could have ministered between bouts.
14)—The Galatians had welcomed Paul in spite of his illness, which in no way had been a barrier to his credibility or acceptance.
(v. 15)— The plucked out your own eyes comment may be a figure of speech or an indication that Paul's illness had somehow affected his eyes.
There’s a comment in 6:11 that may indicate that he had some vision problems.
Galatians 6:11 NKJV See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!
In either case, it reflects the great love the Galatians had initially expressed for the apostle.
(v. 15)— Also indicates that the Galatians had been blessed. “Blessing” can also be translated “happiness” or “satisfaction.” Paul points out that the Galatians had been happy and content with his preaching, so he wondered why they had turned against him.
(v. 16)—The Galatians had become so confused that, despite their previous affection for Paul, some had come to regard him as their enemy. The apostle reminds them that he had not harmed them but merely had told them the truth—a truth that had once brought them great joy.
Galatians 4:17-20 NKJV They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them. But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.
(v. 17)—the they were the Judaizers. The Judaizers appeared to have a genuine interest in the Galatians, but their true motive was to exclude the Galatians from God’s gracious salvation and win recognition for themselves.
(v. 18)—Paul encouraged the Galatians to have the same zeal for the true gospel of grace that they had had when he was with them.
Paul used the same phrase that I talked about Sunday “My little children”. This is the only time that we know of that Paul used this affectionate phrase, which John uses a lot in 1 John.
He said that he wished that he was there to say all things in person because he was at his wits end. That’s what he meant when he said that “I have doubts about you”
GOING DEEPER
The Pharisees and scribes were known for their legalism and rigid adherence to the law, like the Judaizers Paul talks about in Galatians. Read Matthew 23:1–28 to see what Jesus said about their hearts.
Matthew 23:1-28 NKJV Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. “ But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it. ’ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it. ’ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
TRUTH FOR TODAY
The seeds of Christlikeness are planted at the moment of conversion.
Colossians 2:8-10 NKJV Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Peter adds that believers have been granted “all things that pertain unto life and godliness”
II Peter 1:2-4 NKJV Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
If you are a Christian, the life of God dwells in your soul, and with it all that you need for heaven. The principle of eternal life is already in you, meaning you have claim to heaven as a present possession.
John 5:24 NKJV “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
You are a new person. Whereas you were once enslaved to sin, you have now become a slave of righteousness.
Romans 6:18 NKJV And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Instead of receiving the wages of sin, which is death, you have received God’s gift of eternal life.
Romans 6:23 NKJV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And eternal life means abundant life.
John 10:7-10 NKJV Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
It is like an artesian well of spiritual power within us, satisfying and enabling us to live the life to which God calls us.
John 7:38 NKJV He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
As Paul writes, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Galatians 4:21-5:1 NKJV 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: 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, which things are symbolic. 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, 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.” 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.” So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Galatians 4:21-5:1 MSG Tell me now, you who have become so enamored with the law: Have you paid close attention to that law? Abraham, remember, had two sons: one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. The son of the slave woman was born by human connivance; the son of the free woman was born by God’s promise. This illustrates the very thing we are dealing with now. The two births represent two ways of being in relationship with God. One is from Mount Sinai in Arabia. It corresponds with what is now going on in Jerusalem—a slave life, producing slaves as offspring. This is the way of Hagar. In contrast to that, there is an invisible Jerusalem, a free Jerusalem, and she is our mother—this is the way of Sarah. Remember what Isaiah wrote: Rejoice, barren woman who bears no children, shout and cry out, woman who has no birth pangs, Because the children of the barren woman now surpass the children of the chosen woman. Isn’t it clear, friends, that you, like Isaac, are children of promise? In the days of Hagar and Sarah, the child who came from faithless connivance (Ishmael) harassed the child who came—empowered by the Spirit—from the faithful promise (Isaac). Isn’t it clear that the harassment you are now experiencing from the Jerusalem heretics follows that old pattern? There is a Scripture that tells us what to do: “Expel the slave mother with her son, for the slave son will not inherit with the free son.” Isn’t that conclusive? We are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.
THE CONTEXT
In this portion of Galatians, Paul—continuing to contrast grace and law, faith and works—employed an Old Testament story as an analogy or illustration of what he had been teaching. Specifically he compared the two sons of Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac.
Many years after God first promised a son to Abraham, Sarah had not yet conceived. Abraham was old and he feared that, according to the custom of the day, his chief servant, Eliezer of Damascus, would be his only heir. He cried out to God in despair, and the Lord reaffirmed His original promise, saying, “This one shall not be your heir; but one who will come from your own body, shall be your heir”.
Genesis 15:1-4 NKJV After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” But Abram said, “Lord God , what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”
But when, after several more years, Sarah still was barren, she induced Abraham to father a child by her female slave, Hagar.
The birth of Hagar’s son, Ishmael, was “according to the flesh,” not because it was physical but because the scheme was motivated by purely selfish desires and fulfilled by purely human means. The birth of Isaac, however, was “through the promise.” His conception was supernatural, in the sense that God miraculously enabled Abraham andSarah to produce a child after she was far past normal childbearing age and had been barren all her life. When Isaac was born, his father was 100 and his mother was 90.
The conception of Ishmael represents humanity’s way, the way of the flesh, whereas that of Isaac represents God’s way, the way of promise. The first is analogous to the way of religious self-effort and works righteousness. The one is the way of legalism; the other is the way of grace. Ishmael symbolizes those who have had only natural birth and who trust in their own works. Isaac symbolizes those who also had spiritual birth because they have trusted in the work of Jesus Christ.
KEYS TO THE TEXT
Old and New Covenants: The word “covenant” is from the Greek word diathēkē, a general term for a binding agreement, sometimes translated “testament.” A covenant always involves two or more specific parties, although the terms may be stipulated and fulfilled by only one. The Old Testament consistently uses the term to refer to God’s covenants with His people—covenants that God alone initiated and established and that sometimes were conditional and sometimes not. Through Moses, God gave the “old covenant” of law at Mount Sinai and required His chosen people, the Jews, to keep all the commands He gave in conjunction with that covenant. The “new covenant”
was made through Jesus’s death and resurrection and is a covenant of salvation by faith and grace. Paul uses the two mothers, their two sons, and the two locations as a further illustration of two covenants. Hagar, Ishmael, and Mount Sinai (earthlyJerusalem) represent the covenant of law; Sarah, Isaac, and heavenly Jerusalem represent the covenant of promise.
Unpack
Galatians 4:21-27 NKJV 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: 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, which things are symbolic. 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, 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.”
The two sons were Ishmael, son of Sarah’s Egyptian maid Hagar (Gen 16:1-16), and Isaac, Sarah's Son (Gen. 21:1–7). Ishmael was the son of the slave and Isaac the son of the lady of the house. Ishmael was born of the flesh meaning a normal human birth, although Abraham was still an old man but we have heard of old men being able to impregnate younger women so that’s not a supernatural occurrence.
Ishmael’s birth was motivated by Abraham and Sarah’s lack of faith in God's promise and fulfilled by sinful human means.
God miraculously enabled Abraham and Sarah to have Isaac when Sarah was well past child bearing age and had been barren her entire life.
Paul used the two births symbolically for two covenants. The one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar.
By using the two births symbolically Paul was using a story that conveyed a meaning beyond the literal sense of the words. In this passage, Paul uses historical people and places from the Old Testament to illustrate spiritual truth. This is not an allegory. An allegory is a fictional story where real truth is the secret, mysterious, hidden meaning. The story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac is actual history and has no secret or hidden meaning. Paul uses it only as an illustration to support his contrast between law and grace.
Mount Sinai is an appropriate symbol for the old covenant, since it was at Mount Sinai that Moses received the law (Exod. 19).
Hagar, since she was Sarah’s slave is a fitting illustration of those under bondage to the law.
Galatians 3:23 NKJV But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.
Hagar was actually associated with Mount Sinai through her son Ishmael, whose descendants settled in that region.
The law was given at Sinai and received its highest expression in the temple worship at Jerusalem. The Jewish people were still in bondage to the law.
Then Paul says that the Jerusalem above is free. He’s referring to heaven.
Hebrews 12:18, 22 NKJVFor you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,
Those who are citizens of heaven are free from the Mosaic Law, works, bondage, and trying endlessly and futilely to pleaseGod by the flesh the mother believers are children of the heavenly Jerusalem, in contrast to the slavery of Hagar’s children, believers in Christ are free.
27 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.”
Paul quotes from Isaiah 54:1 and applies it to his symbolism. Isaiah was prophesying about Israel's future after her captivity to Babylon. She would once again thrive and grow, as a formerly barren woman who now begins to have many children.
Paul connects this prophesy to his symbolism about Abraham's wife Sarah. She waited and waited and finally gave birth to a free son of her own, just as God had promised. In a similar way, when the time was just right, God sent Christ to earth as a man to provide a way for those under the law to be truly free.
As we two weeks ago and again last week;
Galatians 3:23-29 NKJV But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 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. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 4:28-5:1 NKJV 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.” So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Ishmael persecuted Isaac. Ishmael mocked Isaac at the feast celebrating Isaac’s weaning.
Genesis 21:8-9 NKJV So 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.
We don't really know how old Isaac was most believe that he was somewhere between two and five. Ishmael was probably about at least a teen. Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 and some think that Ishmael was born when Abraham was in his mid to late 80s.
Genesis 21:9-12 NKJV So Sarah told Abraham to send Hagar and her son away so that there would be no question as to who would be Abraham's heir.
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.
So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
The promise was made to Abraham who believed God and was counted as righteous and we are heirs through the child of promise Isaac:
Genesis 26:1-5 NKJV There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Stand fast (5:1)—Stay where you are, Paul asserts, because of the benefit of being free from law and the flesh as a way of salvation and the benefit of the fullness of blessing by grace.
Being free is being delivered free from the curse that the law pronounces on the sinner who has been striving unsuccessfully to achieve his own righteousness but who has now embraced Christ and the salvation granted to him by grace
Don't entangled again, “to be burdened by,” “to be oppressed by,” or “to be subject to,” a yoke of bondage.
"Yoke” refers to the apparatus used to control a domesticated animal. The Jewsreferred to the “yoke of the law” as good, the essence of true religion. Paul argued that for those who pursued it as a way of salvation, the law was a yoke of slavery.
TRUTH FOR TODAY
Galatians 4:21–5:1 is an extended series of contrasts between the way of law and the way of grace, the way of works and the way of faith, the way of man and the way ofGod. Following that same pattern, we also explicitly or implicitly see the contrastsof Hagar/Sarah, Ishmael/Isaac, children of Satan/children of God, commandments/promise, wrath/mercy, bondage/freedom, old covenant/ new covenant, Sinai/Zion, present Jerusalem/Jerusalem above, fleshly/spiritual, rejection/inheritance, and lostness/salvation. Throughout this letter, and indeed throughout all of Scripture, such contrasts reflect and demonstrate the contrast of the ages: the way of Satan and the way of God. But in God’s ultimate and unchangeable plan, Satan and his way will be destroyed, and only the way of God will remain, forever and ever. Vacillating between the two is unacceptable.