Through the Bible: Galatians 4-6
Hundreds of years before Paul wrote Galatians 4 with its fantastically complicated allegory, Moses told the story of Hagar and Sarai in Genesis 16. In Moses’ account, there are two women; Hagar and Sarai, and two children; Ishmael and Isaac. In Galatians 4:21-31, Paul utilizes the salvation history of the Jews to contrast slavery with freedom; law with grace; flesh with spirit; and Mount Sinai with the New Jerusalem. It’s a brilliant, divinely inspired passage, but just as the apostle Peter himself said, Paul’s writing can be hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16). So let’s unpack what Paul was teaching in Galatians.
Two Covenants
First, Paul suggests that Hagar and Sarai represent two covenants. In Genesis 12, God promised to Abram that He would make Abram into a great nation (verse 2). Verse 5 references Sarai, but there is no mention of her Egyptian servant Hagar. Interestingly, the very next passage (verses 10-20) recounts Abram’s time in Egypt, and specifically mentions that Abram “acquired male and female slaves” there (Genesis 12:16), so it is very possible that Abram acquired Hagar at this point. This is key to understanding the Galatians passage: God made a covenant with Abram before Hagar ever entered the story.
Through Isaac, God’s covenant with Abram was established. However, God was gracious to Hagar, promising to Abraham that Ishmael would also become a great nation (Genesis 17:19-20).
Two Mountains
Next, Paul wraps one allegory inside another. Hagar and Sarai represent two covenants, and they also represent two mountains. Those mountains, in turn, point back to the two covenants.
Confused? Hang in there.
According to Paul, Hagar represents Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Law (Exodus 20). Then, Paul says that Mt. Sinai represents the “present Jerusalem.” So it seems as though Hagar equals the Law, which equals Jerusalem, which equals the Jews.
Still confused? I get it.
Wouldn’t the Jewish Sarai represent the Law? Not for the Paul, because in Paul’s view, the Law was slavery. Paul’s entire argument in Galatians was that the Gentile believers were not obligated to observe the Jewish laws of circumcision and dietary restrictions in order to come to Christ. Since Sinai was in Arabia, it was more symbolic of Egyptian slavery than it was of Christian freedom.
On the other hand, Sarai represents the New Jerusalem, where Christ Jesus has freed us from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Which means For Paul, Sarai and Hagar are not Jew and Gentile. They are freedom and slavery, and followers of Jesus are not children of the slave, but children of the free woman (Gal. 4:31).
Two Choices
Finally, Paul uses Isaac and Ishmael to highlight the difference between children of promise and children of slavery. Even though God assures Abram that Ishmael will also become a great nation, it would be through Isaac that all the nations would be blessed. Why? Because Christ came through the line of Isaac, and Christ sets us free (Galatians 5:1).
And here is what makes the allegory so confusing, but also so beautiful. Yes, the Messiah came through the line of Isaac, and so salvation comes from the Jews (John 4:22). But because salvation is by grace through faith, it is now available to Gentiles. As far as Paul was concerned, the Jews– the children of Isaac, were still enslaved to the Law. But Gentiles–the children of Ishmael, now have complete access to salvation apart from the law.
It’s almost like Ishmael and Isaac were switched at birth–at the new birth, that is!
Ok… But So What?
Hopefully, this post has helped you unpack what is arguably the densest metaphor in all of Scripture. But my guess is that you probably aren’t reading the Bible through this year so you can compete on Bible Jeopardy. You want to know not just wha the Bible means, but what it means for you. So here’s one takeaway from this head-spinning allegory:
Your identity is settled. So live like it.
Every day you’ll be tempted to define yourself by your failures, your performance, or your past. But Paul wants you to see yourself the way God sees you—born of promise, not of slavery; a child of the free woman, not the bondwoman. That means you don’t live for approval anymore. You live from approval. Not trying to become God’s child, but walking in the freedom of already being His.
Freedom isn’t a feeling—it’s a birthright in Christ. Don’t trade it for chains.
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