Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye
not hear the law For it is written, that Abraham had
two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a
freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was
born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by
promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are
the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai,
which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this
Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to
Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her
children. But Jerusalem which is above is free,
which is the mother of us all. (Galatians 4:21–26)

Paul wrote, “Whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning” (Rom. 15:4),
and in his letter to the Galatians, he uses an
illustration from these writings to show that the Old
Testament law had been replaced by a superior one
and therefore no longer needed to be observed.
One of the biggest problems that the first-century
church faced was a failure on the part of many
Christians (especially from the nation of Israel) to
understand that Christianity was not merely an
outgrowth or faction of Judaism. The Jews who had
not converted to the Christian faith saw this as a
“sect” of Judaism (Acts 28:22), and unfortunately
there were many in the church who seemed to think
this way also. It was for this reason that many Jews
were demanding that all Gentile converts be
circumcised and observe the law of Moses (Acts
15:1). After Paul’s departure from the Galatian
churches, it is apparent that these Judaizers had
convinced many that they needed to keep the OT
law in order to be saved. It is this issue that Paul is
addressing in the Galatian letter.

Paul begins by saying that he is amazed (and surely
disappointed) that these Christians had so quickly
accepted another gospel besides that which they
had received from an apostle who had received his
message directly from the Lord (Gal. 1:6–12). Paul
points out that he (an apostle) did not allow these
Judaizers to force the circumcision of Titus when he
came (2:1–5). He reminds them of how he had
rebuked even Peter for fearing those of the
circumcision who might see him eating with Gentiles
(2:11–16). Paul then shows the Galatians that they
were digressing when he asks them, “Having begun
in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh”
(3:3)? Paul then shows that the promise was not
bound together with the law, but with faith, and that
the law was but a tutor to lead us to Christ (ch. 3). In
order for the child of promise to take his place, the
son of the bondwoman had to be removed.

So it was that the law of Moses––to which they had
been in bondage (4:24, 5:1)––was now replaced by
the law of Christ, in which now we have liberty (5:1,
13)!

After reading the text listed below, see if you
can answer the following questions.

Non-trivial Questions (Genesis 20:1–21:34)

1. What lie did Abraham tell to Abimelech?
2. In what way was this lie partially true?
3. How did God punish the household of
Abimelech when Sarah was taken?
4. How old was Abraham when Isaac was
born?
5. What provoked Sarah to request that
Hagar and Ishmael be cast out?
6. In what place did Abraham dig a well and
make a covenant with Abimelech?