The Hagar Sarah Analogy In Galatians 4 Religion Essay

The church at Galatia, founded by Paul was at a point of instability. In Paul ‘s absence they were introduced to the jurisprudence by some Judaizers from Jerusalem, who insisted on the Circumcision stand foring the compact of God with Abraham. Their claim was that to be saved one must maintain the jurisprudence and Circumcision. Paul had antecedently preached Jesus to the Galatians but in his absence these Hebrews from Jerusalem came prophesying the jurisprudence to the Gentiles. It is to this terminal that Paul writes to the Galatians, with the exclusive purpose of re-establishing the undiluted message of redemption that he had antecedently preached to them.

In seeking to clearly present his message, Paul uses the Hagar-Sarah analogy, together with historical and cultural allusions to drive place his point to the Gentiles and to rectify the false instruction that they had received. The intent of this essay therefore is to supply an analysis of the Sarah Hagar analogy as used by Paul in the book of Galatians 4.

Hagar-Sarah Analogy

The term analogy refers to similarity or comparing, etc. ‘Analogy plays a important function in job resolution, determination devising, perceptual experience, memory, creativeness, emotion, account and communicating. ‘ The primary intent of analogy is to exemplify and cast visible radiation on one country of cognition by mention to a similar, for case Paul uses the Hagar-Sarah analogy to rebut false instructions.

The apostle Paul was faced with a undertaking of rectifying unorthodoxies taught by some Judaizers. The textual and historical stuff suggests that their instruction hindered the Christians at Galatia, doing them to follow after the jurisprudence of Circumcision. Hebrews came from Jerusalem learning that what Paul had taught could non be taken at face value, his instructions and apostleship were questioned, and to the Galatians this must hold been true, since this message was coming from Jews from Jerusalem, the 1s who received the jurisprudence, Abraham ‘s posterities. Their message was that an person can non merely accept Jesus and make off with the jurisprudence ; accepting Jesus is good but one besides needs to maintain the Law of Moses every bit good as partake in Circumcision of the flesh ( foreskin ) .

Even the cursory reader of Galatians could non neglect to experience the force of Paul ‘s righteous choler. In Galatians 3:1, he charges: ‘You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ‘ It would look that Paul was annoyed by the Galatian ‘s attitude of accepting another message apart from the message they had foremost received. The philosophy of the Judaizers displeased Paul so much that he made a comparing of Hagar and Sarah.

The Hagar-Sarah analogy represents bondage which is found in detecting the Law of Moses and freedom which is found in Jesus Christ. At this occasion it is of import to give a briefing on these two adult females.

Hagar

Hagar was the slave or housemaid of Sarah, who gave birth to a boy on Sarah ‘s petition in an effort to carry through God ‘s promise, Genesis 16:1-2. Hagar ‘s boy mocked Isaac after he was wean, this angered Sarah who sent Hagar and her boy off, observing that her boy would non portion in Isaac ‘s the heritage, Genesis 21:8-10. It would look that Hagar was the chief parent in her boy ‘s life as there is no record in Bible to bespeak that she was married, Genesis 21 ; 20. Some believe that the Keturah spoken of in Genesis 25:1 that Abraham married refer to Hagar.

On rating of this theory, it can be stated that Hagar was an Egyptian, Genesis 16:1, whilst some school of idea suggest that Keturah was an Ethiopian. In add-on, Hagar was stated as giving birth to one boy, viz. , Ishmael. The Bibles record that Ishmael would be blessed and 12 states would come from him ( 1 histories 1:29 ) . Keturah on the other manus is noted in Genesis 25:2 and 1 Histories 1:32 as holding six boies, Ishmael ‘s name was non mentioned. These biblical mentions do non favor Keturah as Ishmael ‘s female parent, but instead Hagar. Hence it can be deduced that Hagar and Keturah are different people.

Sarah

Sarah was the married woman of Abraham, the adult male whom Bible refers to as believing God, who in bend God credited him as righteous, Genesis 15:6. Sarah was a low adult female. She was the female parent of Isaac, the lone boy that she gave birth to in her old age. Sarah was besides the proprietor of a housemaid or break one’s back miss, Genesis 16:1. Subsequently her name was changed by God from Sarai to Sarah because of God ‘s compact with them, Genesis 17:15. So, Sarah was a free adult female, decently married ; the bearer, along with Abraham her Husband of God ‘s Promises.

This analogy which Paul presents is of great significance, it shows what is of import to the Christian experience and endurance. Through chapters one to four there is a patterned advance, in which Paul addresses the distractions which came against the belief of the Galatians into following another Gospel. The 4th chapter high spots an analogy which is geared to gnaw the instructions of the Judaizers. There is a school of idea which hold that Paul does non give a right history of Bible because of the manner in which he uses this analogy ; grounds of this can be seen in the work of Tondo, who suggest that Paul was a false prophesier because he tried to invalidate the importance of the jurisprudence in his Sarah Hagar analogy. Another school nevertheless asserts that Paul ‘s usage of this analogy is appropriate because it proves to the Galatians and Judaizers that the lone manner for them to be justified or made righteous is by the sacrificial decease of Christ on the cross. He does this by indicating his audience to the failing of the Law, comparing it to Hagar the slave miss. His statement meant that works or human attempt would non be sufficient to set world in right standing with God. This is seen in the manner he links two adult females and their boies.

In Galatians 4:22-23 Paul focuses on the two boies and the two adult females or female parents associated with Abraham. Paul first introduces the boies non by their names, indicating to Bible by utilizing the word ‘written ‘ in verse 22 to examine into or to foreground the insufficiencies of the Judaizers apprehension of Bible. This word ‘written ‘ is merely to admit that it is stated in the Old Testament scriptures. Evidence of the usage of this word ‘written ‘ , to intend the Law is besides seen in the ministry of Jesus Christ, Matthew 4:4. Paul goes farther to talk of one boy who is born of a slave adult female ; neither boy nor female parent ‘s name being given. He so introduces another boy and female parent whose names are besides non mentioned. In this instance this female parent is acknowledged as a free adult female.

When one speaks of slave it carries the thought of one non being in control of his or her life and is owned by person else. In this instance it can be implied that since the female parent is owned by person, the boy automatically is owned by the same individual. The slave adult female and her boy are contrasted with the free adult female and her boy. This portrays the free adult female and her boy as non being slaves or in bondage to anyone. Paul continues by indicating out the mode of birth of both boies. He foremost refers to the slave adult female ‘s, boy ‘s birth as ordinary. The idea which Paul seems to convey is that it did non necessitate a particular miracle in the birth of this boy, instead it was done out of human attempt and pick. Additionally, the Apostle purports that the free adult female ‘s boy is as a consequence of a promise, which seems to bespeak that the lone ground that this free adult female gave birth to a boy is as a consequence of a promise or understanding and this promise was given by God. This can be substantiated by the Genesis history in chapter 21:1-2. Ridderbos cited in Boles noted that Isaac ‘s birth was so ‘unnatural ‘ it prompted some Judaic theologists to construe it as a virgin birth. Boles farther explained that Isaac ‘s birth signifies the grace of God on the lives of those who are non able to utilize their attempt to carry through something desired.

Paul now expounds on the analogy of the free adult female and the slave adult female. It is interesting that Paul uses these adult females to talk of two compacts. His attack is to contrast the Judaizers philosophy to that of freedom found in Jesus Christ. At this point it is of import to analyze the compacts that the Apostle references in verse 24 of Galatians 4. In analyzing these compacts it is indispensable that one understands what a compact is to better appreciate why the Apostle chose to show himself in this mode.

Covenants by and large speak of particular understandings between two or several parties as cited by. Paul hence represents Hagar as the compact given at Mount Sinai which gives birth to kids who are to be slaves, Galatians 4:24. On nearing this poetry it seems that Paul is showing a false instruction by foregrounding Hagar ‘s kids, seeing that she had one boy as reflected in Genesis 16:15. He farther remarks that Hagar speaks of Mount Sinai in Arabia which reflects the present metropolis of Jerusalem, because she is in bondage with her kids, Galatians 4:25. The Apostle ‘s intervention of these poetries, 24-25 indicates that this compact which represents Hagar is the jurisprudence given at Mount Sinai and her kids are the people to whom it was given. This response to the Judaizers seems to propose that their reading of the Genesis history carried greater truth than they were cognizant of and that they could non maintain the jurisprudence absolutely therefore they tried to detect the jurisprudence by their attempts and in so making it would ne’er convey about redemption but like Abraham it is merely in God ‘s boy, Abraham ‘s seed Jesus Christ can one be made justified or declared Righteous by God. Paul references Mount Sinai in Arabia and the present metropolis of Jerusalem and her kids, which in this instance would be mentioning to the Judaizers, to be in bondage due to their disbelief in Jesus Christ entirely. These two poetries appear to intend the same thing it hence indicates the Paul uses them to emphasize his point.

A contrasting position is so used in verse 26 of Galatians 4 to show a Jerusalem non the present metropolis of Jerusalem. Paul shows her as the one ‘that is above ‘ to indicate out that she is at a higher degree than the present metropolis indicating that she is free or non in bondage and is our female parent, our mentioning to himself and the Galatians Christians. This taken into position would intend that the kids of Sarah would include everyone who is free, intending the Galatians who foremost accepted the Gospel of redemption which is found merely in Jesus Christ and by the credence or religion in this Gospel they are made free and declared righteous in the sight of God.

Paul returns in poetry 28 by confirming his stance that Galatians Christians are in a better place than the Judaizers. He does this by placing them with Isaac as the kids of promise, non the posterities of Abraham who have non received Jesus as Lord of their lives. Paul so moves on to repeat his point in poetry 29 by showing a historical scene of Ishmael, who is non mentioned in this chapter, Genesis 21:8-10. Normally the first Born who in this instance was Ishmael, inherits from the male parent. However it did non use in this case because the promise was given entirely to Abraham and Sarah and hence could non be applied to Abraham and Hagar. The apostle equates the mocking or persecution of the Galatians to the unorthodoxy promoted by the Judaizers as similar to Ishmael and Isaac, in that the Galatians, like Isaac, were the rightful inheritors of the promise, therefore the statement of the Judaizers had no footing. Paul so sought to contextualize the jurisprudence that the Judaizers held on to by explicating the restrictions of the jurisprudence by doing a comparing between the free adult female and the bond adult female. He put the issue into perspective by clarifying that the bond adult female, like the jurisprudence dullard no relevancy to the dispensation of Grace, John 1:12-13 and 17. Consequently, Christ is presented as the lone manner that the Galatians Christians are free and called kids of freedom, Galatians 4:31.

Decision

In drumhead therefore, the chief subject of Paul ‘s Hagar-Sarah analogy used by Apostle Paul in Galatians 4 is to rebut the philosophy of the Judaizers. He does this by foregrounding the cardinal failing of their place. Theirs was a philosophy of bondage his was one of freedom in and through Christ. His was reliable because it was rooted in the compact ; theirs was non. In order to drive place and seal his statement, Paul ‘s historical and cultural allusion would non hold been lost on their readers, peculiarly the Judaizers who were legalizing their philosophy by mentioning to their Judaic heritage. Paul uses the really thing that they relied on to sabotage their place.