Christ Conversation Sunday, April 17, 2016 Galatians 4:21-31: An Allegory of Freedom With Galatians 4:21-31 (see 4:24) we step into the realm of allegory; a literary devise Paul rarely uses. Instead, Paul often speaks of types in Scripture. What is the difference? Types, or typology, interprets present or very recent past as being similar to events or people recorded in the past. The sacrifice of a lamb in the Old Testament is a type of Christ’s sacrifice as the Lamb of God: both deal with mercy, grace, forgiveness, justice and the way of restoration to God. Allegory refers to a person or thing that has hidden meaning in itself – indeed, the hidden meaning is the meaning. While allegory does not dismiss the literal as being real, the literal is a form through which the hidden is revealed and needs no fulfillment in the future; no similar circumstances at all need be. Let’s see how Paul moves between type and allegory in Galatians 4:21-31. Type: The two sons of Abraham (4:22-23 compare 4:29) correspond to present situation the Galatians face. Abraham’s two sons involve one born free and one born slave. In the Old Testament, the status of the mother was the status of the child. In this case, the son of the slave, Ishmael, was born naturally (according to the flesh in v. 23 simply means through natural processes). The son of the free woman, Isaac, was born through the promise of God – Sarah was far too old to have a child. It was the promise of God that enabled Sarah to become pregnant. Paul applies the freedom and slavery type to the present day Galatians. o The Galatian Believers are like Isaac, the children of promise. They are born of the Spirit by the promise and intention of God (Galatians 4:1-7). Those born to Abraham live by faith (Galatians 3:7-9). o The false teachers, those who would bring the Law and all its requirements upon the followers of Christ (Galatians 1:6-9; 3:1-1-3; 5:2-4, 7-8) are leading people into slavery (Galatians 2:3-4; 5:1-2) o The slave mocks the free. Hagar Like Hagar in the Old Testament, the Galatians are to ‘cast out’ the slave and her son. The Galatians should do so with the teachers of the Law over freedom.
Allegory: There is no historical correspondence between Hagar and Mount Sinai and the present Jerusalem. The women, Sarah and Hagar, are seen as two covenants Mount Sinai is the place where the Law was given to Moses. Paul has already defined the Believers in Galatia as children of Abraham – declared righteous through faith prior to the Law. The Jews understood that the covenant and Law established on Sinai was given to the descendants of Isaac – not Ishmael! However, Paul switches it us! Since the Law is connected with slavery, and since Hagar is the slave, and her child, Ishmael, is a slave – Hagar is attached to Mount Sinai and the then present day Jerusalem. Geographically, Mount Sinai is located in Arabia where the descendants of Hagar and Ishmael dwell. The Jerusalem above is the heavenly Jerusalem – the one that descends from heaven in Revelation 21:2-5. Paul quotes from Isaiah 54:1 for the basis that the Gentiles turning to God and the growth of the church by the Spirit is really the promise given. These ‘children’ are the free sons of Sarah and the Jerusalem above.
Paul’s use of allegory is not drawn out of thin air – nor is he coming up with a theology based on allegorical interpretation. Paul uses allegory here because it appears from al his counter arguments, the teachers of the Law were using either an allegorical approach or appealing to Abraham’s true descendants as those who fulfill the Law and covenant of Mount Sinai. Paul has clearly laid out his theology in the first three and a half chapters of Galatians. He returns to these more straightforward teachings as he then allegorizes the two covenants symbolized in Hagar and Sarah. Reflection:
How does looking at these two types of literary use impact your understanding of how to interpret Scripture?
Do you think it important to see the Scripture in light of the form of writing?
What might be a caution in this approach to interpretation?
How might you use types and allegory in your daily speech?
What is this passage teaching?
How would you apply this teaching? _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________