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The meat of the word, part 10

In the types and shadows of the Old Testament, one in particular stands out in importance. It is about Abraham’s children. God promised Abraham an abundance of children, comparing them to the stars of heaven and the sands of the sea.

Paul interprets this in Galatians 3, not in biological terms but in spiritual terms. Abraham’s children are those who follow His example of faith in Christ. But there is more to it than that. In Galatians 4 the apostle goes on to show that one must also be born through “Sarah,” who represents the New Covenant.

Sarah, the Mother of the Promised Son

Genesis 17:18, 19, 20, 21 tells us,

¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael [son of Hagar] might live before You.” ¹⁹ But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.”

We see that Hagar and her son received a blessing from God that was similar to what He gave to Abraham. Ishmael would be fruitful and would be multiplied “exceedingly.” But the Covenant itself was established with Isaac, the son of Sarah.

So Paul tells us in Galatians 4:22, 23,

²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. ²³ But the son of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh [natural childbirth], and the son of the free woman through the promise [supernaturally].

Paul then explains the type and its antitype:

²⁴ This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. ²⁵ Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.

Paul learned this by divine revelation while he was in Arabia shortly after his conversion on the Damascus road. He wrote earlier in Galatians 1:11-17,

¹¹ For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached to me is not according to man. ¹² For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ… ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away to Arabia and returned once more to Damascus.

In my view, Paul actually went to Mount Sinai in Arabia to pray and receive divine revelation. He took note that Mount Sinai was also known as Hagar and that Arabia was the inheritance given to Ishmael.

Hagar and Jerusalem

Paul’s revelation was that Mount Sinai, or Hagar, was the place where the Old Covenant was given to the Israelites (Exodus 19:8). The connection to “the present Jerusalem” lies in the fact that the religious system of worship in Jerusalem was the center of Jewish Old Covenant religion. When the religious leaders rejected the Mediator of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ, they declared Jerusalem to be under the legal authority of Hagar and Ishmael.

The Old Covenant made demands upon the people but did not give them the ability to be perfectly obedient, for it could not change the heart. Hence, the Jews remained in slavery to sin, because their animal sacrifices were no longer effective.

God had told Abraham that Sarah would be the mother of the promised son. So she was the prophetic type of the New Covenant and the mother of New Covenant believers. Every son has two parents, each of which plays an important role. Father Abraham begat Isaac, but Mother Sarah gave birth to him. In other words, we must have the faith of Abraham, but this must also be New Covenant faith.

Who’s your mama?

The Hagar View of Prophecy

Those who consider the earthly Jerusalem to be the capital of the Promised Land (and the Kingdom of God itself) inadvertently and blindly declare that they are children of Hagar. New Covenant believers declare that the Kingdom’s capital is the heavenly Jerusalem, not the earthly city. As in the case of Abraham, we seek “the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).

Whereas Zionism and Christian Zionism seek an earthly country, New Covenant believers “desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16). The contest between Hagar and Sarah and between their sons has morphed into the modern contest between Zionism and Sionism. Zionism seeks to inherit the old land of Canaan, which appeared on the surface to be the inheritance of Abraham. But it was only a type and shadow of the real inheritance.

The Sarah View of Prophecy

Sionism is the rallying point of New Covenant believers. Mount Sion is Mount Hermon (Deuteronomy 4:48) and is located near Caesarea Philippi. This is where Peter made his famous declaration of faith. Matthew 16:13-16 says,

¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

From there, six days later, Jesus took three of his disciples and went up the Mount, where He was transfigured before them (Matthew 17:1, 2). There they heard the voice of God speak from heaven, confirming Peter’s confession: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” (Matthew 17:5).

Jesus was not transfigured upon Mount Zion in Jerusalem; He was transfigured on Mount Sion far to the north. It was not fitting for Him to be transfigured under the authority of Hagar but of Sarah. Hence, Mount Sion has become the place where we rally around Christ. It represents the New Jerusalem, which is our mother (Galatians 4:26).

This should put Christian Zionists on notice that they need a different mother. Giving lip service to Sarah while promoting the interests of Hagar is not pleasing to God, nor can it ever bring forth the promise of God. Galatians 4:30, 31 concludes,

³⁰ But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.” ³¹ So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.

Abraham’s reluctance to cast out Hagar and Ishmael has been passed down to us as well, and this is the reason Christian Zionists find it difficult to work toward the establishment of Sarah and the “better country” that Abraham was to inherit. Yet the Scriptures are clear. This is strong meat, and few today, it seems, are able to eat it without choking.