On the surface, Paul’s message about Sarah and Hagar in Gal. 4:22-23 doesn’t make sense. After all, we all know how a man and woman come together to make a child.
Sarah symbolizes Heaven, and Hagar symbolizes the Earth. In the last days, God will glorify Jerusalem.
Why did apostle Paul connect Hagar with Sinai and Jerusalem in Galatians 4? Was it to free believers in Yeshua (Jesus) as God’s Messiah from obedience to God’s Law?
Abraham obeyed God and had himself and all the men in his household circumcised and they all agreed to do it, including Ishmael. In the flesh, there’s no reason for circumcision, but if you believe in God, there’s every reason for it. Actively trusting God’s words — called “faith” and “belief” — is what makes one righteous.
Taking a closer look at 1st Kings 2, we see a pattern of The Adversary (haSatan) and anti-Messiah revealed by two men in Scripture who lead parallel lives more than 1,000 years apart.
In part three of a study on Genesis 21, we read about the confrontation between the ruler Abimelech and Abraham. Meanwhile, Ishmael grows up and becomes a problem in Abraham’s household, so Abraham sends him and his mother away.
Genesis 21 has close parallels with apostle Paul’s illustration in Galatians 3-4 on the “son of the promise” from the “free woman” and the “son of the flesh” from the slave woman.
Genesis 21 has close parallels with apostle Paul’s illustration in Galatians 4 on the “son of the promise” from the “free woman” and the “son of the flesh” from the slave woman.