Allegorizing scripture is a dangerous thing as we can use it to make scripture say basically whatever we’d like it to. There are no guardrails once you begin turning biblical stories into allegories. We’ve probably all done it – You are a young David and Goliath is an allegory of some big problem you currently face. The things you want to do to resolve it are the “stones in your sling”. We can easily then tie our own ideas into these allegories and thus think we have biblical warrant for what we want to do.
Let’s first define our terms. One definition of “allegory” from dictionary.com is:
a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another.
However, there is one place in Scripture I know of where the inspired author, in this case the Apostle Paul, tells us that a real historical event is an allegory of a higher truth. That we can trust. I put this in the “Paul can do this under inspiration as he’s writing the scripture under the Holy Spirit’s direction, but don’t try this at home” category.
21 Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the Law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the servant-woman and one by the free woman. 23 But the son by the servant-woman had been born according to the flesh, while the son by the free woman through the promise. 24 This is spoken with allegory, for these women are two covenants: one from Mount Sinai bearing children into slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“REJOICE, BARREN WOMAN WHO DOES NOT GIVE BIRTH;
BREAK FORTH AND SHOUT, YOU WHO ARE NOT IN LABOR;
FOR MORE NUMEROUS ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE DESOLATE ONE
THAN OF THE ONE WHO HAS A HUSBAND.”
28 And you brothers, in accordance with Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh was persecuting him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. 30 But what does the Scripture say?
“CAST OUT THE SERVANT-WOMAN AND HER SON,
FOR THE SON OF THE SERVANT-WOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN.”
31 So then, brothers, we are not children of a servant-woman, but of the free woman.Galatians 4:21-31 LSB
Now there is a lot here, so let’s start breaking it down. In vs. 21, Paul is questioning his audience, and he tells us exactly what subset of the Galatians he is talking to – “you who WANT to be under the law”. Why would anyone desire to be under the law? Because that is our natural state and it is so for this reason – we are glory-stealers by nature and want to earn or at least contribute our efforts to our salvation. It’s a part of our inherent pride. If you want to rile some folks up, tell them there is nothing they can do, ever, to make themselves presentable to Holy God – that all their righteousness is as filthy rags. We by nature think we’re basically good and thus can contribute to our own salvation by showing our merit. Thus, we want to be under law – just tell me what to do to earn good favor with God and I’ll do it.
So, Paul asks such people – Tell me, have you listened to the law? Do you really see what it demands? Of course, the real answer is no because the law demands perfection in all parts. To fail in one part is to fail all. The law was given basically to crush us – to shut our mouths, prove us guilty. It was given to show us our total inability and thus drive us to desperation, where we then see Christ as the glorious God-provided answer to our desperate need. But these are people who still desire to be under the law because they don’t have eyes to see this, or ears to hear it. They want to contribute to their salvation and their standing before God.
Paul then goes to the Old Testament scripture to show them the difference in what they want (law) and what they need (gospel) and he does so in a vastly interesting way. He goes in vs. 22 to “it is written” and goes all the way back to Genesis 16 concerning Abraham and Sarah and Hagar and, as he says, “Abraham had two sons, one by the servant-woman and one by the free woman.”
The biggest thing to remember here is the unidirectional and unconditional covenant that God made with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. Notice how totally God-centered it is; it is God saying numerous times what HE alone will do to and through Abraham.
1 And Yahweh said to Abram,
“Go forth from your land,
And from your kin
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”Genesis 12:1-3 LSB
Our God, Yahweh, gets even more specific with Abraham in Genesis 15 when Abraham questions God’s promise about making him a great nation since he is currently childless.
2 And Abram said, “O Lord Yahweh, what will You give me, as I go on being childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Since You have given no seed to me, behold, one born in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, “This one will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” 5 And He brought him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your seed be.”
Genesis 15:2-5 LSB
Now in Galatians 4:23, Paul begins to show the spiritual truth he’s conveying out of this historical event when he says “the son by the servant-woman had been born according to the flesh.” According to the flesh. We see this in Genesis 16 where Sarah and Abraham cook up a plan for themselves to accomplish what God has promised HE would do. Sarah, being quite old and still barren, decides it’s time to “help God out” and offers her servant girl to Abraham so he can essentially commit adultery and get her pregnant. They can then present this child to the holy God of the universe and show him how they helped him fulfill HIS promise to them. See the issue and how it so exquisitely compares to those who “want to be under the law?” Look at us God! See what we’ve done to help out!
And we know that God is not impressed with their efforts to commit sexual sin in order to produce a child as they grew impatient waiting on God to fulfill his own promise. But God is waiting until it is far beyond human hope for Sarah to have a child so He can then miraculously give her one – so HE gets all the glory and there is no human explanation, and we can’t steal any glory from God doing exactly what HE said HE would do. This is key to understand what Ishmael represents – human effort to do what God has said HE alone can and will do. Ishmael is a son “of the flesh”, he is not a son “of the promise” – the result of GOD working to do what HE promised HE will do. The vital point here is WHO is doing the fulfilling of what God promised to do – God alone, or Abraham and Sarah’s cooked up plan to get what they think is God’s result their way? It is a question of who gets the glory?
Can you even imagine, after they did this and Hagar had Ishmael, if God had said, “WOW! Thanks! I was still trying to figure out how Sarah at nearly 100 years old could get pregnant and deliver a boy, but luckily you two devised a plan with this other younger woman and look! A boy that is Abraham’s seed! I’m so glad you came up with this because I was wondering how I was going to accomplish the promise I made to Abraham!”
Perish that utterly blasphemous thought and I hope you see the utter ridiculousness of that last paragraph, but this seems along the lines of what Abraham and Sarah were thinking at the time. We are no better when we do things thinking we’re helping God out, or worse yet, backing him into a corner where He must do something we want. “Son of the FLESH” indeed, not Promise.
The point for you and I today is to learn from this, because we are so prone to it as well. We want to help God out when the last thing he needs is our “help”. God has zero needs, he is the all-sufficient one, we get our next heartbeat and breath as gifts FROM Him. We give him nothing, He gives us EVERYTHING. As it should be, and he gets all the glory.
Now in vs. 24-27 Paul tells us the allegory – “This is spoken with allegory, for these women are two covenants”. Hagar represents the old covenant, the law, while Sarah represents the new covenant, the gospel of grace. Hagar represents Mount Sinai and the law and children of slavery – slaves to sin and in particular the sin of pride in thinking they can impress God in their fallen state with superficial “law-keeping”. If that is possible, then there is no need of a Savior in a new covenant and the cross was a colossal mistake on God’s part. Sarah, after a hundred years of a barren womb, God then uses to fulfill his promise miraculously and creates life within her womb. Isaac, the son of promise. He represents God in his grace doing exactly what He said He would do and fulfilling His promise. Let’s not overlook that word “grace” because as we’ve seen, none of the involved parties deserved any of this. But grace by definition is undeserved favor, granted merely because God is gracious and wishes to display the glory of His grace.
Paul is showing us from this true historical event, the massive difference in our efforts vs. God’s grace. Every other religion in the world is represented by Ishmael, the result of human beings trying to work, to produce, to show their goodness and thus please a perfectly holy God, to impress him with our efforts so He accepts us. The Christian gospel alone is Isaac – beyond hope, sinful, with the only hope being that God unilaterally moves and does something completely gracious that we are utterly unworthy of. Fully dependent on God that for the promises He makes in scripture, He then completely provides the means for us to receive.
You know, it really ALL boils down in every case to this one thing – Sola Deo Gloria. For God’s glory alone. If your religion doesn’t boil down to this, you’ve missed the point. If what you do and how you live do not boil down to this, you’ve missed the point. If you think you can “help God out” like Abraham and Sarah did with Hagar, then you’re missing the point entirely. Our entire job is to read and study what God says in His word, and then live in faith in Him fulfilling what He says He will do.
Sola Deo Gloria.