Galatians 4:23-26. 23But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
Usually, when we try to interpret the Old Testament allegorically, we get ourselves into a heap of trouble. This is because we typically decide what we want the stories to mean first, then we interpret them to mean exactly that. Obviously, that is not what Paul is doing as he interprets the stories of Genesis 15–21. The allegory he sees comes directly from the text, not his own imagination.
Paul sees in the Genesis text what Bible scholar D.A. Carson calls “a pattern of pairs.” The slave woman and the free woman. Mount Sinai and Jerusalem. Two Jerusalems: one below and one above (the New Jerusalem). These pairings contrast slavery and freedom, damnation and atonement, heartbreak and joy.
Included in these pairs are the “two covenants.” If we were to ask the Judaizers, “How might a person please God?” they would say, “By keeping the law. Daniel pleased God by keeping the law, as did Isaiah, David, and Moses.” But how did Abraham please God? There was no law yet. Abraham pleased God by simply trusting—by walking with God in faith.
Paul is making it clear throughout Galatians that the law covenant of Mount Sinai did not replace the faith covenant of Abraham. By contrasting “two covenants,” Paul is likely also pointing his readers to the New Covenant, sealed by Christ in the Heavenly Jerusalem above. This New Covenant of faith, promise, forgiveness, and the new heart is now our reality in Christ.
Again, we ask the same question as before: “Which side are you on?” To which of these pairs are you attaching your life? Which provides you with your hopes and dreams? Do your own good works give you your meaning, your identity, or your validity? Or does your heart burn with the freedom that comes from being in Christ as your Master? Do you live in a “Jerusalem” that is enslaved to either religious or irreligious self-empowerment, or do you live in the Heavenly Jerusalem of God—the city of love and righteousness from a good heart transformed by grace?
You: Which side are you living on today?
You in Christ: Can you contrast living by faith with living by the flesh (law)? Think of a situation you will face today. How will faith respond?
Christ in you: What do you think living in the “Jerusalem above” looks like in our day-to-day lives?
Pray: Father, Your Son has set me free. Keep me in this freedom today. Amen.
