Down an Unfamiliar Road

Someone once said, “There is nothing that shows your strength better than your Gentleness.” Strength is the ability to do things that need a lot of physical or mental effort. It’s the choice to continue through the pain even when it feels unbearably hard. That’s because Gentleness breeds peace, calm, and consistency of character. It is not volatile or abrupt in its response to the world. Gentleness is strength because it remains constant and clear-minded, involving all manner of situations.

Andy Mort has a blog that he calls, “A Home for Gentle Rebels: Find the Courage to Embrace Your Creative Sensitivity and Change the World from the Inside Out.” He shares several things he learned about Gentleness. One of them is: Being conscious of your feelings. That’s because we don’t always like to confront how we really feel about things. We are often quick to sugar coat and gloss over our natural emotional response to people and situations. But Gentleness acknowledges the truth of what is being felt. If you are sad, then you are sad; if you are angry, then you are angry. Pretending will not make those things disappear, it will just push such feelings beneath the surface. Your emotional response is neither right or wrong, but it IS true.

Another thing about Gentleness is that Gentle people make and embrace the time and space between something happening and when they respond to it. They are not reactionary. They don’t feel any pressure to respond immediately. They always step back and take a good look at what they are facing. They are constantly aware that they must care as much about what others are dealing with, not just themselves. It is so easy to become marginalized and switch off your heart. Certain situations can quickly feel hopeless, pointless, and futile if we allow that to happen. Our experiences can lead us to become disinterested. Staying steady and true to our feelings and those of others can be dealt with in a Gentle way.

It also helps to focus more on the situation. Does it really matter? Why are those involved important? The Gentle spirit will find reasons that ignite a positive motivation. They find an excuse to say, “yes, this is worth my attention and investment.” They are aware of a deeper sense of purpose so that when it feels futile or meaningless, they can draw on a reason to continue that transcends their own ability to muster the energy.

One more factor in Gentleness is deciding what you are going to do before you do it. A Gentle spirit embraces the ability to choose rather than reacting. Using the space between what has happened and what needs to be done, your response becomes a foundation where you know what your next step will be, and you can identify the intention behind it. Gentleness has the insight to see the implications and consequences of action. The action is taken now with a good idea of what will happen as a result of what is done. The rational decision is taken at the expense of a regrettable emotional reaction.

Not only that but connecting with others is what nurtures Gentleness. Cultivating empathy, and an understanding that the world doesn’t revolve around their perception of reality is a habit of the Gentle spirit. Other people care about other things for reasons that you might not yet fully grasp. That doesn’t make them wrong. Empathy comes through Gentle strength; by seeking to experience the world through their senses, you find a place to make a profound difference in their lives.

As the famous anonymous quote says: “Be Gentle, for everyone you meet is fighting a difficult battle.”

Who else is affected by the situation? The Gentle spirit feels the wider impact beyond that which it merely feels for themselves. That’s because Gentle spirited people observe the world. They perceive themselves, other people, and the situations they experience. Reflecting on these things is an important part of learning and growing in the future. The more that you intentionally acknowledge your response to things, the more control you will have over them next time.

Therefore, we can conclude that Gentleness is a strong arm with a soft touch. It is a tender, compassionate approach toward others’ weaknesses and limitations. A Gentle person still speaks truth, sometimes even painful truth, but in doing so, guards their tone so the truth can be well received. We might say this is the virtue and characteristic of what we may often call, “A Gentle Giant.”

Perhaps we can now see why Gentleness is taught in the Holy Scriptures. King David told the Lord, “You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your Gentleness made me great.”[1] And as King Solomon said: A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.[2] And the prophet Isaiah said this about the coming Messiah: “He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and Gently lead those that are with young.”[3]

So, it is no wonder the Messiah Himself called out: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.[4] The Apostle Peter must have taken this to heart because he wrote that we are to honor the Anointed One, the Lord, as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with Gentleness and respect.[5]

So, we are not surprised then that the Apostle Paul instructed Titus to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be Gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.[6] And to young Timothy, Paul gave the following instructions: The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with Gentleness.[7] Also, the Apostle James advises that the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, Gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.[8]

So being Gentle doesn’t mean acting bashful or just being careful not to hurt others. Gentleness is having the ability to cause harm but uses that same power to bring about healing. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

[1] Psalm 18:35

[2] Proverbs 15:1

[3] Isaiah 40:11

[4] Matthew 11:29

[5] 1 Peter 3:15

[6] Titus 3:2

[7] 2 Timothy 2:24

[8] James 3:17

SORRY, I CAN’T HEAR YOU!

Not long ago, I read a story about a young man and an elderly preacher. The young man lost his job and didn’t know which way to turn. So, he went to see this revered man of God. Pacing back and forth in the minister’s study, the young man grumbled and complained about his problem. Finally, he clenched his fist and raising his voice he cried out, “I’ve begged God to say something to help me, preacher, why doesn’t God answer?”

The old preacher, who on the other side of the room, spoke something in reply, something so hushed it was not intelligible. The young man stepped closer to the minister. “What did you say?” he asked. The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So, the young man moved even closer until he was leaning on the preacher’s chair. “Sorry,” he said. “I still didn’t hear you.”

With their heads now closer together, the old servant of God spoke once more. “God sometimes whispers,” he said, “so we have to move closer to hear Him.” This time the young man heard, and he understood.

We all want God’s voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem. But God’s is the still, small voice… the gentle whisper. Perhaps there’s a reason. Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper.

God’s whisper means I must stop my ranting and raving and move closer to Him. And then, as I listen, I will hear my answer. Better still, I find myself closer to God. For when God whispers, it is for our ears only. So, we must stop and listen intently. To tune out all other noises and distractions. God whispers to us the same way we whisper to a friend, to a spouse, or to a child. Emphasizing the message that speaks more than the loudest shout. Whispering is another way of showing love.

There is a story in God’s Word that illustrates this so wonderfully. The prophet Elijah was being threatened by Queen Jezebel, so he ran and hid in a cave. As he mumbled and complained about all the good things he did for the LORD. Finally, he cried out, “Enough of this, God! Take my life—I’m ready to join my ancestors in the grave!” Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush.

Then he was awakened by an angel and told, “Go, stand in attention before God at the entrance of the cave, and God will pass by.” Suddenly a hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper (1 Kings 19:1-11).

The prophet Zephaniah told everyone: Be silent before the Lord GOD, for the day of the LORD is near. And Jesus had this advice for His disciples: When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:6). And our Lord followed His own advice when he dismissed the crowds that came to hear Him and went upon on the mountain by Himself where He prayed alone (Luke 6:12).

So, the next time you can’t seem to get the Lord’s attention or hear anything He has to say, stop and draw closer to Him. This is what the Apostle James advised: Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). And the writer of Hebrews encouraged us: Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). It isn’t that God is not communicating with us, it’s that we need to move closer to Him to hear what He has to say. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XLV)

Rabbi Saba shared in his commentary on the Torah, where the Scriptures say in Genesis that “God created man in His image.”^[1] He argues that this is impossible since God does not possess a body. But also, if it were true, then everyone in the world would look exactly the same. So, the word “image” must contain some other meaning. Since Elohim is a one-of-a-kind God, He made each human individually one-of-a-kind. In fact, there are no two humans with identical fingerprints. And mankind, like God, possesses a heart,^[2] spirit,^[3] and mind.^[4] Rabbi Saba goes on and says that the real majesty of mankind is found in what the Scriptures say: “A ruler over people must be upright, ruling with reverence to God.”^[5] Therefore, God’s greatness is demonstrated by His most advanced creature, the human being, that is unmatched, with no duplicates just as there is no duplicate or match of the Creator Himself.^[6]

Also, in the writings of Rabbi Eliezer, he tells us that when Abraham arose and sent Hagar and Ishmael away from Sarah and Isaac, he was not only sending them from this world but also the world-to-come.^[7] On top of this, we take note of what the venerable Rabbi Moses Maimonides writes concerning Ishmael’s relationship with Abraham: “A person’s son who is born by a maid-servant or a Gentile woman is not considered his son at all, and is given no right of inheritance whatsoever.”^[8]

Maimonides goes on to explain that when a Gentile man fathered a son before converting to Judaism, his firstborn is given no rights concerning an inheritance. However, if a Jewish man fathered a son from a maid-servant or by a Gentile woman since they are not considered his sons any son he fathers afterward from a Jewish woman is considered his firstborn with regard to the laws of inheritance, and he receives a double portion of his father’s estate.^[9]

This connects directly to what Paul says here in verse thirty-one that we who are real spiritual children of Abraham can trace our genealogy back to the free woman Sarah, not to Hagar, the slave woman. As Rabbi Saba tells us, the story of Hagar and her son being sent away into exile were deliberately told in the Torah in order to bring about a hostile attitude between the Israelites and Ishmaelites to be better understood by later generations.^[10] We see that even today between Jews and Muslims.

Preacher Chrysostom gives an interesting exposition on verse twenty-seven. He questions what person is Paul quoting about from Isaiah, who was “barren,” and “desolate?” Clearly, it is the Gentiles that were deprived of the knowledge and Word of God? Who then is she with the husband, asks Chrysostom? Plainly, it refers to the Synagogue. Yet the barren Gentile woman surpassed the free woman in the number of her children, because Israel only embraces one nation, while the Gentile children of the Church came from the Greeks and Barbarians, the continents of earth and islands of the sea – the inhabited world.^[11] While there is nothing objectionable in what Chrysostom says, it is another case of taking the real facts of the Bible and turning them into an imaginary tale.

While Paul’s allegory back then surely fell on ears that understood all his references to Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Hagar, it may not play well to an attentive audience in today’s world.  Present believers may even ask how does God’s promises to Abraham affect them? It seems that many churchgoers today depend so much on their loyalty to their church, its religious rituals, and regulations to provide God’s approval on their lives and their inheritance of everlasting life.  Does that mean churches should disband and let everyone live out their Christian lives as they see fit?  No!  By no means!

First of all, buildings only become churches when the body of the Anointed One assembles there, other than that they are only material structures and symbols of the spiritual Church that worships there. When the body of the Anointed One arrives to adore their God, their LORD, their Savior, Jesus the Anointed One, and the Holy Spirit with praise and worship, as well as hearing anointed messages; brotherly and sisterly fellowship, they can enjoy their spiritual relationship with each other and the Trinity. But when people attend church out of obligation to laws, religious rituals, and regulations conceived by man, believing this will save their souls and qualify them for everlasting life, they inadvertently and unconsciously reject Jesus the Anointed One as the only way, truth, and life; as the only acceptable Master and Redeemer, LORD and Savior, by deciding to be saved by their own efforts, not by faith. Therefore, God finds no reason to include them in His Final Testament and add them to the list of those promised the inheritance of everlasting life with Him.

One might think that by the time Paul started preaching the Gospel, God grew tired of religious rituals and regulations, serving as a feeble attempt on man’s part to obtain salvation by their own efforts.  But the prophet Isaiah tells us that in his day, God already became disgusted. “Listen to the LORD, you Sodom-like leaders. Listen to our God’s directions, you Gomorrah-like people. ‘What makes you think I want any of your sacrifices?’ says the LORD. ‘I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of plump cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to worship Me, who asked you to parade through My courts with your rites and rituals? Stop bringing Me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts Me!’”

Isaiah goes on with God’s message: “As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting – they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to Me.  I cannot stand them! When you lift your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims. Clean up your life! Get your sins out of My sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do what’s right. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. Let’s latch onto this understanding,’ says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are the color of scarlet, I’m the one who can make them as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, I’m the one who can make them as white as wool’”^[12]

No doubt, the reason why Sarah wanted to get rid of Hagar was because of Ishmael. Not only did she see a problem with Abraham’s relationship with this slave girl, but the impact Hagar’s son was having on Isaac. In their story, we find an interesting conversation between Sarah and Abraham, in which Sarah tells him that she saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian making fun of Isaac. So, Sarah said to Abraham, “Throw this slave-girl and her son out! I will not have this slave-girl’s son as your heir along with my son Isaac!”^[13]  In other words, Ishmael was being disrespectful of Isaac. Perhaps Ishmael, whose name means “God will hear,” was making fun of Isaac’s, name which means “laughter.”  So, it could be that Ishmael was laughing, taunting, and mocking Isaac because of his name.

The highly respected Rabbi Rashi offers his comments on this incident. He mentions that when Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian making fun of Isaac, she was angry. Rashi goes on to say that the Hebrew word tsachaq is the same word used as an expression of making merry in front of an idol because it says, “…then they got up to indulge in revelry.”^[14] Another explanation: An expression of illicit sexual relations, as it is said: “This Hebrew slave you brought us came in to mock me.”^[15] In other words, Hagar was bragging that she gave Abraham a son while Sarah gave him none. Another explanation: An expression of murder, as it is said: “Let the boys get up now and sport before us.’”^{[16] [17]}

Added to this was another exposition by Jewish Rabbi Eliezer on this interaction between Ishmael and Isaac.  As he sees it, Ishmael was born with the prophecy of the bow, and he grew up with the bow, as it is said, “God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the desert and became an archer.^[18] He took bow and arrows and began to shoot at the birds. He saw Isaac sitting by himself, and he shot an arrow at him, pretending to kill him. He goes on to say that this is was what caused Sarah to react so forcefully in getting rid of Hagar and Ishmael.^[19] So for the Jews, this taunting by Ishmael was of the worst kind, that might lead to immorality, idolatry, and death. This certainly gives us more insight into what the Apostle Paul was aiming at with this illustration.

Augustine gives us an interesting summary of his understanding of what Paul is saying here. For Augustine, the age of Isaac’s parents signifies that although the people of the Final Covenant are new, their predestination with God and the heavenly Jerusalem itself are ancient. However, for those in the Galatian congregation who are still more interested in Self than in the Spirit, they become the source of heresies and schisms, even though they received the opportunity to be reborn from the Gospel. It began with their being born into a “salvation by works mentality,” which does not go back to the ancient truth, and, therefore, they were born of a very young mother and an aged father without the promise.

 Augustine continues by noting that it was only on account of the antiquity of the truth that the Lord appeared in the Apostle John’s Apocalypse with white hair. Consequently, those born of the Spirit were, therefore, given the opportunity contained in the ancient truth to live a new and temporal life. Thus, the Apostle says that we, like Isaac, are sons of the promise, and just as Isaac was persecuted by Ishmael, so those who began to live spiritually were being persecuted by carnal Jews. Yet this persecution is in vain since, according to the Scripture, the slave woman is cast out, and her son cannot be an heir alongside the free woman’s son. For freedom must now strongly oppose the yoke of slavery by which those luring the Galatians to circumcision were held fast in works of the Law.^[20] I’m not sure how much Augustine’s allegory helps in understanding the conflict between Hagar and Sarah and its effect on us today, but it gives us something to think about.

[1] Genesis 1:27

[2] 1 Samuel 13:14; See Acts of the Apostles 13:22

[3] Genesis 1:2

[4] 1 Corinthians 2:16

[5] 2 Samuel 23:3

[6] Avraham Saba: Tzror Hamor, pp. 21. 22

[7] Pirķê de Rabbi Eliezer: Translated by Gerald Friedlander, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd, London, 1916, Ch., 30, p. 220

[8] Mishneh Torah, Moises Maimonides, Sefer Mishpatim, Nachalot, Ch. 1:7

[9] Ibid. Ch. 2:12

[10] Tzror Hamor: op. cit., Genesis 21:11, p. 277

[11] Chrysostom, op. cit., loc. cit.

[12] Isaiah 1:10-18

[13] Genesis 21:9-10 – Complete Jewish Version

[14] Exodus 32:6 – Complete Jewish Bible

[15] Genesis 39:17 – This was the wife of Potiphar’s claim against Joseph

[16] II Samuel 2:14

[17] The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary, Genesis, Ch 21:9

[18] Genesis 21:20

[19] Pirķê de Rabbi Eliezer, op. cit., Ch. 30, p. 215

[20] Augustine of Hippo: Commentary on Galatians, loc. cit.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XLIV)

It appears that this same oddity of converts to Christianity being persecuted by their own people also happened in Thessalonica. Paul remembers when they were just like the congregations in Judea. They were treated badly by their own people the Gentiles, just as those Jewish believers in Jesus the Anointed One were mistreated by other Jews. It was the same Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets. And they forced the believing Jews to leave their country. They are not pleasing to God because they are against everything and everyone else.^[1] And the writer of Hebrews mentioned that those among his readers sometimes heard people say hateful things to them and mistreated them in public. And occasionally they helped others being treated that same way. In fact, they visited those in prison and shared in their suffering. Yet they were still happy when everything they owned was taken away from them. They continued to be happy because they knew that there awaited them something much better – something that would last forever.^[2] One question is whether we should expect to be treated any better by today’s world? But an even greater question is, how will we react?

British preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), continues his thoughts on the idea of spiritual heritage through the Promised Son, Isaac, instead of through the produced son, Ishmael: My brothers and sisters, says Spurgeon, you are children who were born because of God’s promise, just as Isaac was. But the other son of Abraham, who was born in a natural way, just as Ishmael was, caused trouble for the one who was born by the power of the Holy Spirit. It remains the same today, Spurgeon says, when siblings differ as greatly as Ishmael and Isaac, it is not surprising if they had a falling out, and indulge in unkind words and feelings. Ishmael was older than Isaac, and as they began to play with each other, Sarah, saw the older son of the bond-woman mocking her child, as older ones often do. This may serve us as an indication of what we might expect if we possess the God-given life, and are heirs according to the promise. Those who are under the bondage of the Law cannot love those who are free-born by the Gospel, and in some way or another, will soon display their hostility. While we may not witness the same Hebrew against Heathen confrontations in our lifetime, we can certainly see the similarity in the Godly and ungodly, the heavenly and the earthly members of society.

But Spurgeon sees another level of this kind of jeering and poking fun at Christians. Sometimes the world mocks Christians because they see them as uninformed and backward in their ways, more like children than adults. So, are believers really such weak-minded people that it excites the derision of those who think themselves strong-minded? No! Of course not! The world makes more of this than what really exists. If they laugh at our weaknesses, it’s because they don’t see the strength, we acquired to resist temptation and stay on the straight and narrow way. They may also discriminate against Christians because of what they see as their insignificance and imperfection by worldly standards. What they don’t realize is that we are children of the King and part of His Kingdom that is in us now and soon may be seen in its beauty with a New Jerusalem. Then, we will judge them instead of them judging us.^[3]

Would it be too much of a stretch to also compare this same prejudice to how church-born Christians once treated born again believers? It was not too long ago that members of established nominal churches looked down on Evangelicals and Pentecostals. They also were thought of as coming from the less refined part of town and consider uneducated by the more elite members of society. The houses they lived in, the cars, if they had any, they drove were used models of the lower economic class. And even their jobs were at the minimum wage level. Yet, while the sophisticated stood somber and polite during worship services, the born again stood with arms raised as tears of joy flooded their eyes as they magnified their Redeemer with songs of praise and worship and prayers inspired by the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. But on resurrection day, those who prided themselves on being conformist to church rules, regulations, and ceremonies will remain silent in their graves while the saints go marching into God’s presence to live there forevermore. Thank God that such bigotry is now part of the past.

Alfred Edersheim (1825-1889) examines what Paul says here in verses twenty-eight and twenty-nine to the Jewish converts in Galatia to help them understand their status with God and Abraham. He told them, you are children who were born because of God’s promise, just as Isaac was. But the other son of Abraham, who was born in a natural way, caused trouble for the one who was born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same today. On this ground, says Edersheim, it was out of jealousy that Sarah demanded the bondwoman and her son be thrown out.

But Abraham, who possibly misunderstood her motives, was reluctant to comply because of his fatherly affection for a son, which is quite natural. It was only after God expressly directed Abram to let the woman go that he told her, “goodbye.” The expulsion of Ishmael became necessary, not only because of his illegitimacy due to his mother being a heathen, but in order to keep the heir of the promise unmixed with others, but also for the sake of Abraham himself, whose faith must be trained to give up his own intentions in order to be obedient to his Divine calling, everything – even his natural paternal affection for Ishmael.

And in His tender mercy notes Edersheim, God once more made the trial easier, by granting a special promise that Ishmael will become “a nation” on his own. Therefore, although Hagar and her son were literally thrown out with the barest of necessities – water and bread – for the journey was intended chiefly to try Abraham’s faith since God planned that their poverty would be temporary. Out of His mercy, we read afterward in Scripture that before his death, Abraham enriched his sons (by Hagar and Keturah) with “gifts,”^[4] and at his burial, Ishmael appears, as an acknowledged son, by the side of Isaac, to perform the last rites of love to their father.^{[5] [6]}

4:30-31 Nevertheless, let’s see what the Scripture says about that: “Get rid of the slave-wife and her son, for the son of the slave-wife will never share the family inheritance with the legitimate wife’s son.” So, it’s clear, my brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave-wife, Hagar, but of the legitimate wife, Sarah. 

Paul hopes the Galatians will see the truth through this illustration. If they insist on connecting with God through the religious rituals and regulations – many of which they invented themselves – they enjoy no more chance to be included in God’s promise to Abraham than Ishmael. He was conceived outside of God’s will. Why were they suddenly so blind? Their acceptance of Jesus the Anointed One brought them into the will and the promises of God. Why give that up? What could they gain? That’s why Paul quotes Sarah’s famous line when she saw how Hagar and Ishmael were seen making fun of Isaac, telling Abraham to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael. Sarah did not want Ishmael to divide Isaac’s inheritance with him; she wanted Isaac to get it all.

As he usually does, Paul finds that the Scriptures are his best friend when it comes to any argument involving Faith verse Works. So, what can Abraham, the father of Jewish people, say about faith? First of all, if Abraham was made right with God by the things he did, that gave him plenty of reasons to think highly of himself. But both he and God knew differently. That’s why the Scriptures say, “Abraham believed God, and because of this, he was accepted as one who is right with God.”^{[7] [8]} So, the descendants of Abraham were not given the enviable position of being the children of God by anything they did. In fact, says Paul, God chose the Israelites to be His people before they were even born.^[9]

Therefore, any estrangement between God and the people of Israel was entirely their fault. God was not about to take those He gave His name to before they were born and then later throw them out of the house just because they didn’t turn out to be precisely what He wanted them to be. So, this is what happened: The people of Israel wanted God’s blessing, but not all of them received it. The people He chose did get His blessing, but the others became hardheaded and refused to listen to Him. As the Scriptures say, “God caused the people to fall asleep.”^[10] “God closed their eyes, making it impossible for them to see, and he closed their ears, making it impossible for them to hear. This continues until now.”^[11] And David says, “Let those people be caught and trapped at their own feasts. Let them fall and be punished. Let their eyes be closed so that they cannot see. And let them be troubled forever.”^[12] So I ask: When the Jews fell, did that fall destroy them? No! But their mistake brought salvation to those who were not Jews. The purpose of this was to make the Jews jealous.^[13]

So, what made the Israelites, and now the Galatians, do such a stupid thing? Paul says that it all depends on what spirit controls our life. The Spirit that true believers receive is not a spirit that makes them slaves again to the Law and causes them to fear the coming judgment. The Spirit that dwells in believers makes them God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit, they cry out, “Abba, Father.” And the Spirit Himself speaks to their spirits and makes them sure that they are God’s children. Therefore, if they truly are God’s children, they will get the blessings God promised for His people. He will give them all that He gave to the Anointed One. But still, they must suffer as the Anointed One suffered. Then they will be able to share His glory.^[14] So it should be easy for the Galatians to figure out what spirit they allowed to take over their lives.

Was Paul doing something new going back to the First Covenant and pulling out Scriptures just to back-up his argument for believers under the Final Covenant? No! It was common for Rabbi’s to point out where Scriptures help them make their point. For instance, some Rabbis were talking about prayers (Hebrew, “Tefillah”), and benedictions where they inserted Scriptures into these prayers. And one of them said that David’s words, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer,”^[15] fit in nicely at either the beginning or end of any prayer, no matter how short or long.^[16]

[1] 1 Thessalonians 2:14-15

[2] Hebrews 10:33-34

[3] Charles H. Spurgeon, On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., According to Promise, Persecution Consequent on the Promise, pp, 18-21

[4] Genesis 25:6

[5] Ibid. 25:9

[6] Alfred Edersheim: Bible History, Old Testament, Vol. 1, Ch. 14, p. 91

[7] Genesis 15:6

[8] Romans 4:1-3

[9] Ibid. 2:2a

[10] Deuteronomy 29:3; Isaiah 29:10

[11] Psalm 69:23-24

[12] Deuteronomy 32:21

[13] Romans 11:7-11

[14] Ibid. 8:15-17

[15] Psalm 19:14

[16] Babylonian Talmud: Seder Zera’im, Masekhet Berakoth, folio 19b

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XLIII)

4:27 Isaiah talked about this incident when he wrote: “Rejoice, O childless woman! Break forth into loud and joyful song even though you never gave birth to a child. For the woman who could bear no children now has more than all the other women!”^[1]

But there is more to this story than what Paul quotes here. It involved an expression of the LORD’S love for Israel. The LORD goes on to tell Israel that they are to make their tent bigger. To open their doors wide. Not to think small! Put up a large tent that is strong because they will grow in all directions. Their children will become leaders in many nations and live in cities that were once destroyed. They are not to be afraid! They will not be disappointed!^[2]

Now, remember, Paul says this right after declaring that the New Jerusalem is for the habitation of the Jews descendant through the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So, Jerusalem represents their Mother, Sarah. That means, when they see the earthly city of Jerusalem destroyed, not to lose hope, another Jerusalem is coming. So, call in as many people as possible to become part of spiritual Israel, so when she moves in, they will be able to move in with her. These other people include Gentiles, not just Jews. But according to what the Galatians are doing now, they are not only forfeiting that privilege for themselves, but for all the Gentiles they might reach out to for inclusion.

Similarly, in Hannah’s prayer, we find a revelation concerning this situation. She prayed that people with plenty of food in the past must now work to get food. But those who were hungry in the past now grow fat on food. The woman who was not able to bear children is no longer childless. But the woman with many children is sad because all her children are gone.^[3] The point here is that before Yeshua the Messiah came, the Jews enjoyed all the blessing of God and the wonders He performed for them. They grew as a nation into a world player. But after they rejected the Messiah, God’s blessing began to flow to the Gentiles who before were given no stake in spiritual Israel’s future. They started to grow in record numbers in the church while the Jewish members declined. Even the Psalmist picks up this theme by saying God gives children to the woman whose home is empty. He makes her a happy mother. Praise the Lord!^[4] Oh, if the Galatians only saw what group they were siding with, they would run back to the Lord in droves.

Probably no woman in the Bible represents this more than Ruth the Moabitess. Because of a terrible famine in Judea, a man named Elimelech from Bethlehem moved his wife Naomi and two sons to Moab. There, his sons found no Jewish women to marry, so they married Moabite women. Eventually, Elimelech and his two sons died, leaving the three women all by themselves. Then Naomi heard that things were going better back in Judea, so she decided to return back home. At first, both of her daughters-in-law decided to go with her. But Naomi knew that as non-Jews, they would not be welcomed back in Bethlehem. So, she told them to stay, remarry, and make a life for themselves and their family in their homeland and their gods.

Oprah, one of the daughters-in-law, kissed Naomi and decided to stay. But the other, Ruth, said: “No, I’m going with you.” Even though Naomi insisted that she remain behind because Judea was under the God of Jacob and she may find that hard to accept, Ruth spoke those immortal words, “Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”^[5] We know the rest of the story. Ruth found a new husband in Boaz, and it was through her children that King David came, and the Messiah was promised. So, for the Galatians, here was a woman willing to give up her country and her gods for Yahweh, and He rewarded her with a unique place in the history of His people. So why were they who met Yeshua, the son of Yahweh, now turning away from Him to join those who rejected Him?

To help explain what Paul is saying here, Chrysostom likens the church to a woman with a husband. Their marriage is not the type found in the Legalistic Synagogue where one is married to the Law. The Gentile’s marriage is found in Grace Chapel. For years the one married in the synagogue produced dozens and dozens of children, whereas the one married in Grace Chapel was at first barren. But now, her children outnumber the other woman’s. That’s because the synagogue consists of only one family while the children of Grace Chapel filled Greece, Africa, land, sea, and the whole inhabited world. Do we see as the Apostle Paul did how Sarah foreshadowed our future in deeds and the vision about her in the words of the prophets?^[6]

Scottish theologian and Biblical critic John Eadie (1810-1876) pens an interesting commentary on what Paul says here in verse twenty-seven about Israel’s estrangement from God as represented by Paul when quoting the words of the prophet Isaiah concerning a childless woman whose husband forsook her but ending up giving birth to more children than the fertile woman with whom her husband now lives. Eadie puts it rather poetically as he relates that Isaiah was addressing ancient Israel, not Jerusalem, simply because no children were born there during their exile in Babylon. Her desolate condition is to be succeeded by the blessings of prosperity. Zion in her youth was espoused by Yahweh, but the nuptial covenant was broken, and she was repudiated and suffered the reproach of widowhood, “forsaken and grieved in spirit.”

But fear not! A reunion is promised on the part of the divine Husband by the sending of a fellow Kinsman to be known as her Redeemer, and with a new and significant title, “God of the whole earth.” In a gush of wrath, He hid His face for a moment, but in everlasting kindness, would He have mercy on her.^[7] The result will be numerous offspring. Just what precise historic reference this prophecy is pointing to need not be questioned. It refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jews that would last until their Redeemer came to bring them into a New Jerusalem.

Isaiah is using a very ordinary figure of speech so common among the prophets, in which it promises that after a dark and sterile period, increased spiritual blessings will come, and suddenly there will be enlarged numbers to enjoy them, as chapter fifty-five in Isaiah so vividly describes. But in the Apostle Paul’s use of Isaiah in accordance with the context, Abraham’s two wives are used for the two women in Isaiah’s prophecy. Hagar (unlawful wife) becomes the symbol of the First Covenant, the church of legalism with its children in bondage rites, rituals, and regulations. Then Sarah (the legal wife) is the symbol of the Final Covenant church, composed of both Jews and Gentiles. Hagar is tied to the old Jerusalem below, and Sarah has links to the New Jerusalem above.

Eadie believes that this prophecy borrowed from Isaiah and used by Paul was intended to prove and illustrate a marital relationship between believers and God. Eadie says that some of the early church fathers took a different view of this prophecy. The Roman Catholic Church Writers Clement, Origen, Chrysostom, and many others, suppose she “that bears not, the barren one,” is the Gentile church as opposed to the Jewish church or synagogue; but this is against the scope and language of the allegory. The Jerusalem that existed here below up until Paul’s time was the Jewish dispensation, the children of the bond-maid Hagar; the New Jerusalem above, which prior to the advent was sterile and childless is now a fruitful mother, her children greatly more numerous than those of her rival, for all believers like her son Isaac are the seed of Abraham, children of promise.^[8]

4:28-29 Don’t you get it; my dear children in Galatia, God’s true children are those of promise, just like Isaac.  But just like back then, the same is happening now, those who are children of the flesh want to persecute those who are children of the spirit.

Now Paul turns his attention to Isaac and the true spiritual children of Abraham. It’s important to note that after Peter and John healed the crippled man who was sitting the gate “Beautiful” in Jerusalem through the power of the Anointed One, just as people gathered for prayer, the man was now leaping for joy. So, Peter took the opportunity to preach to them. And one of the things he says was that beginning with the prophet Samuel and all the prophets who followed spoke for God by telling us this time would come. And what those prophets talked about is for you. You received the agreement that God made with your forefathers. God said to your father, Abraham, “Every nation on earth will be blessed through your descendants.”^[9] So, God sent His special servant Yeshua. He sent Him to you Jews first. He sent Him to bless you by causing each of you to turn away from your evil ways.^[10]

This is how Paul explained it to the Romans when he told them that this means that not all who call Abraham their father are God’s true children. Abraham’s true children are those who become God’s children because of the promise He made to Abraham. And that promise was hinged upon the fact that since Sarah was unable to give birth to a child in the normal way of procreation, He planned to give her a miracle child to be the recipient of all the promises He made to Abraham. That Promised Son was Isaac, and through him, the Promised Messiah came into the world.^[11] Couldn’t the Galatians see that by turning away from the Promised Messiah, they were forfeiting all the promises God gave to Him? No wonder Paul earlier called them “stupid.”

So, in effect, the Jews who persecuted Yeshua were descendants of the Promised Son Isaac, who was the forebearer of the Promised Son Yeshua. How odd is that? Paul went on to tell the Romans that believers must not be ruled by their sinful tendencies. They must not live the way their immoral inclinations wanted them to. If they use your lives to do what their corrupt passions tell them to do, they will die spiritually. But if they use the Spirit’s help to stop doing wrong things with their bodies, they will develop a real, true Christian lifestyle.^[12] This may not have resonated right away with the Galatians, but as soon as they put themselves under the authority of the Law, their sinful tendencies will spring up like grass after a fresh rain. This was not only true then, but it is true today. If we try to earn salvation by obeying church laws and requirements, our sinful nature will keep it from happening. Only surrendering to God’s grace will make it possible, because we cannot save ourselves, only He can save us.

[1] Isaiah 54:1

[2] Ibid 54:2-5

[3] 1 Samuel 2:5

[4] Psalm 113:9

[5] Ruth 1:16

[6] Edwards, M. J. (Ed.). On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., p. 70

[7] Isaiah 54:4-5, Cf. 51:2

[8] John Eadie: Commentary on Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit, pp.370-371

[9] Genesis 22:18; 26:5

[10] Acts of the Apostles 3:25; See Romans 4:13-18

[11] Romans 9:8-9

[12] Ibid. 8:12-13

byusing ourNEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XLII)

Now, says Haimo of Auxerre (820-885 AD), not only were the transgressors subject to physical punishment, but they were even subject to the curse contained within the Law itself: “Cursed is everyone who does not remain subject to all these laws.”^[1] As long as a person is bound by commandments of this sort, they are servants in some fashion. However, the freewoman, Sarah, who gave birth to the free son, signifies the grace of the Final Covenant that gave birth to Christians who are liberated not only from the original and actual sins but from every form of legal servitude. This is the inheritance of the Anointed One and His Promised Land they will inherit.^[2]

Early medieval commentator Bruno the Carthusian (1030-1101 AD) shares his opinion about the literal understanding of this metaphor concerning two women – Hagar and Sarah, and two men – Ishmael and Isaac. When using our spiritual understanding, Hagar, the handmaid who gave birth to her son while bearing the yoke of bondage, signifies the Law that gave birth and held the Jewish people under the yoke of bondage. So, what conscious awareness was the Jewish people servants? They were servants in the sense that they were compelled to serve the Law and observe circumcision, offer legalistic sacrifices, and preserve countless other rituals that they must not violate for fear of punishment.

In reference to the “curse,” renowned Jewish Rabbi Avraham Saba quotes from his Hebrew edition of the Torah which reads: “Cursed be whoever does not uphold the terms of this Torah to observe them.”^[3] He goes on to say: “This verse contains allusions to honoring Torah in thought, speech, and deed. It is up to each one of us to preserve the divine image of the Torah by continually planning how best to do so. He who does not attempt to do so is subject to the Torah’s curse.”^[4] The word “curse” here should be understood as “consequences.” For instance, if one sees a sign that says: “Electric Fence,” and then ignores the warning, the consequence will be a numbing shock. The same is true of God’s Word and His commandments.

Bruno goes on to say that he believes Paul regards these two individuals as representative of the two testaments. “Testament” takes its name from the word “witnesses.”  The First Covenant produced many witnesses, among whom were the angels, Moses, and the other prophets. But in the Final Covenant, witnesses are the one most true Lord Jesus the Anointed One and the Apostles by whose ministry it was spread abroad to the four corners of the earth. When Paul speaks of the First Covenant,^[5] he is referring to the testament that was given on Mount Sinai, birthing the Jewish people into servitude. This testament, which is Hagar, refers to what is signified by Hagar herself, namely, the Law that was given through the teachers of the synagogue and was birthing a people into bondage itself.”^[6]

Later medieval commentator Robert of Melun (1100-1167) gives us his understanding of the allegories. For him, the Holy Scriptures have a fourfold sense. The historical sense is signified “through the words,” and the mystical sense is understood through those things that are signified by those words. The mystical sense is, in itself, threefold. By the moral sense, we understand what we “are to do.” The allegorical sense designates what we “are to believe,” and the analogical sense signifies what we “must hope for” in heaven.  One can observe these senses in the name “Jerusalem.”  When it is taken in the literal sense, it signifies the “capital city” of the Jews; in the moral sense, the “faithful soul;” in the allegorical sense the “suffering Church;” and in the analogical sense the “triumphant Church.”^[7]

In his historic classical work, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” John Bunyan describes a scene that comes right out of verses twenty-one through twenty-seven here in Galatians four. In looking for the pathway to heaven and everlasting life, Pilgrim Christian walks by himself and encounters another traveler coming on a trail through a field to a place where their paths happened to intersect. The other wanderer introduced himself as Mr. Worldly Wiseman, who lived in the town of “Carnal Policy,” a large town that Pilgrim Christian passed along his way. However, Mr. Worldly Wiseman seemed to know Pilgrim Christian, since by now, his fame spread far and wide as having escaped the “City of Destruction.” Once they met and shook hands, Mr. Worldly Wiseman engaged Pilgrim Christian in a conversation.

The first question he asked was if Pilgrim Christian was married with children? Pilgrim replied that he was and did have a family, but he was so busy trying to find the way to heaven and everlasting life that he wasn’t able to spend as much time with them as he wanted to. Pilgrim Christian said Mr. Worldly Wiseman’s question was almost as though he has no family at all. Mr. Worldly Wiseman asked if he might offer some good advice? Then Pilgrim Christian said if it was good guidance, he was ready to accept anything that helped. Mr. Worldly Wiseman advised Pilgrim Christian to get rid of any obligations to his family since constant worry about them would take his mind off of the benefits of the blessings God held waiting for him down the road.

Just then, Pilgrim Christian saw an Evangelist coming toward the intersection. This embarrassed Pilgrim Christian for even considering the option given to him by Mr. Worldly Wiseman, who earlier left the house of Mr. Legality, where he had asked for advice. The Evangelist asked Pilgrim Christian if he was the man who was found crying outside the walls of the “City of Destruction?” Pilgrim Christian admitted he was the one. “Don’t you remember when I directed you on how to find the gate to heaven and everlasting life,” ask the Evangelist? With head bowed and eyes to the ground, Pilgrim Christian said he remembered. So, asked the Evangelist, why is it you so quickly got off track and are now going the wrong way? Then Pilgrim Christian explained that just as he finished navigating through the swamp of despondency, he met someone who advised him how to unburden himself with what bothered him.

You shouldn’t listen to any of them, said the Evangelist, “Mr. Worldly Wiseman is an alien, and  Mr. Legality is a cheat; and for his son Civility, despite his smirking look, he is but a hypocrite and cannot help you” Believe me, there is nothing in all their chatter that you’ve heard from such mixed-up people. Their only design is to talk you out of your salvation by turning you away from the way in which I sent you. After this, the Evangelist cried out to heaven for confirmation of what he just said: and with that, there came words and fire out of the mountain under which poor Pilgrim Christian stood, that made the hair of arms and neck stand up. Here is what they heard: “People who depend on following the Law to make them right are under a curse.”^[8] Now, Pilgrim Christian began to cry, even regretting every meeting Mr. Worldly Wiseman. Once he collected himself, Pilgrim Christian committed himself again to follow the advice of the Evangelist.^[9] In the same way, the Apostle Paul was the Evangelist to the believers in Galatia who lost their way due to bad advice from Mr. Judaizing Wiseman and Mr. Torah Legality.

Twentieth-century commentator Ernest DeWitt Burton gives us his insight. For him, the participle “bearing” is an adjective in force and is timeless. When applied to Hagar, the phrase designates her as one who, being a slave woman, bears children who share her status of slavery. As applied to the Sinai covenant, it refers to the fact that they who came under this covenant were in the position of slaves as being in bondage to the law.^[10] We can then say that the one promised miracle child was borne by Sarah, who, being a free-woman, will then share in her status of freedom. Of course, Paul makes it clear that Hagar is a metaphor for the first covenant, and Sarah is a figure of speech representing the final covenant.

When it comes to Mt. Sinai and Mt. Horeb in the Arabian desert, Jewish Rabbi Eliezer gives us some information. He tells us that from the day when the heavens and the earth were created, the name of the mountain was Horeb.^[11] When the Holy One, (blessed be He), was revealed to Moses out of the thorn-bush, because of the word for the thorn-bush (“S’neh”) it was called Sinai, but it was still Mt. Horeb. And how do we know that Israel accepted the Torah at Mount Horeb? Because it is written: “The day you stood before Adonai your God at Horeb, when Adonai said to me, “Gather the people to me, and I will make them hear my very words so that they will learn to hold me in awe as long as they live on earth, and so that they will teach their children.”^{[12] [13]}

Also, Paul’s mention of Mt. Zion and Jerusalem in the feminine sense, was very much part of Jewish thinking and writing as well.  For instance, in one Aramaic version of the Song of Solomon, it reads: “Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?  Beneath the apple tree I awakened you; There your mother was in labor with you, there she was in labor and gave you birth.” This is paraphrased to read: “Zion, the mother of Israel, shall bring forth her sons, and Jerusalem shall receive the children of the captivity.”^[14]

We can hear Paul asking the Galatians, “what are you going to do?” Are you going to keep on living like the illegitimate children of Hagar with no promises for the future, or do you want to live like the legitimate children of Sarah with all God’s promises including eternal life? Do you want to tie your hopes to religious rituals and regulations that are now obsolete, or do you want to put your faith in God’s new covenant that goes to all Abraham’s spiritual descendants who pledge allegiance to Him? For heaven’s sake, make up your minds!

[1] Deuteronomy 27:26

[2] Bruno the Carthusian, op. cit., loc. cit.

[3] Deuteronomy, ibid

[4] Tzror Hamor, Rabbi Abraham Saba, loc, cit., p. 2031

[5] Galatians 4:12

[6] Bruno the Carthusian: on Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit.

[7] Robert of Melun: Commentary on Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit.

[8] Galatians 3:10

[9] John Bunyan’s Works: Vol. 9, Pilgrim’s Progress, In the Similitude of a Dream, The First Stage, pp. 62-68

[10] Ernest De Witt Burton, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, op. cit., p. 258

[11] See Exodus 3:1; 33:6; cf. I Kings 8:9: Rabbi Abraham Saba tells us in his Tzror Hamor that the term “Horeb” is rendered “Chorev” in Hebrew, and came to be known among the Jews as the Mountain of God. (p. 863).

[12] Deuteronomy 4:10

[13] Pirķê de Rabbi Eliezer, Translated by Gerald Friedlander, Published by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. London, 1916, p. 321

[14] The Targum to Canticles by Raphael Hai Melamed, Philadelphia, 1921, Ch 8:5, p. 105

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XLI)

As Paul says here, this true story of Hagar and Sarah paints a picture for us. The two women are like the two agreements between God and His people.  Those who continue living in sin while trying to become children of God through good works and moral codes, as represented by Mount Sinai, are like the son of Hagar. But those who accept God’s grace and offer of salvation through Jesus the Anointed One as represented by Mount Calvary are like the son of Sarah, who by that new birth becomes heirs and joint-heirs with the Anointed One.  Therefore, we should not wait for Good Friday each year to thank God and His Son for Calvary’s blessings, but we should do so every day that we live as a child of the Living God.

Paul now picks up the narrative by expounding on what happened to Moses at the end of his life. He gives a stirring account of what it was like to be up on the mountain there in the wilderness and how it touched him deeply. He told those listening, “The Lord came from Sinai, like a light shining at dawn over Seir, like a light shining from Mount Paran. He came with 10,000 holy ones. God’s mighty soldiers were by his side.”^[1] And in Deborah’s Song, she too shares what was told to all those who were not there, “The mountains shook before the Lord. Mount Sinai shook before the Lord, the God of Israel.”^[2]

Even King David expressed his admiration of what happened there at Mount Sinai, “The ground shook, and rain poured from the sky when God, the God of Israel, came to Sinai… With His millions of chariots, the LORD came from Sinai into the holy of holies in the Tabernacle.”^[3] So it is evident that in the minds of the Israelites that the event in the Sinai wilderness around Mount Horeb was etched deeply in the minds of God’s people. If it could only be true that what occurred on Mount Calvary is etched just as deeply in the mind and conscious of every Christian that it would cause them to tell others of what happened there with the same burning fire of the Holy Spirit.

Then Paul’s attention turns to Jerusalem and Sarah. I’m not sure if everyone understands the real meaning of the name “Jerusalem” and what it holds for Jews around the world. Not only is it the Capital of Israel, but it is a Holy City. In one of his Psalms, Korah said this: Wonderful things are said about you, O City of God. God says, “Some of my people are living in Egypt and Babylon. Some of them were born in Philistia, Tyre, and even Ethiopia.” But about Zion, He says, “I know the names of each and every person born there.” It is the city built by the Most-High God. The Lord keeps a list of all His people, and He knows where each of them was born.^[4] Nothing like this is said about any other city in the world.

And the prophet Isaiah saw a vision of Jerusalem: In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s Temple will be the highest of all mountains. It will be raised higher than the hills. There will be a steady stream of people from all nations going there. People from many places will go there and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob. Then God will teach us His way of living, and we will follow Him.” His teaching, the Lord’s message, will begin in Jerusalem on Mount Zion and will go out to all the world.^[5]

This sounds very much like the same Jerusalem the Apostle John saw in his vision when he wrote why Jesus revealed to him: “Those who win the victory will be pillars in the Temple of my God. I will make that happen for them. They will never again have to leave God’s Temple. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God. That city is the new Jerusalem.”^[6] John then tells what he saw when this prophecy came true in his vision: Then I saw a re-formed heaven and a re-formed earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared from sight. There no longer existed any oceans or seas. Then I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her groom.^[7]

John then goes on to describe this New Jerusalem, whose height certainly fits Isaiah’s description because it was built on twelve foundations, each one named after one of the original Apostles, with high walls, but John said the walls were as clear as crystal.  It looked something like a jewel set on a very, very expensive ring. With twelve gates, and as John describes them as three on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west, and each one is given the name of one of the tribes of Israel, and twelve angels at each gate. The whole square complex measured 1,400 miles long and 1,400 miles wide. Each wall was constructed using precious jewels – Jasper, Sapphire, Chalcedony (a colored marble), emerald, onyx, carnelian (an orange marble), quartz, beryl (a pale green, blue, or yellow crystal), opaz (topaz), chrysoprase (an apple-green marble), jacinth (a reddish-orange crystal) and amethyst (a purple crystal). And each of the twelve gates was covered with mother-of-pearl, and the streets were paved with pure gold.^[8] Who wouldn’t be impressed with such a city?

But Isaiah is not finished with what he said earlier, he goes on to exclaim, “I love Zion, so I will continue to speak of her. I love Jerusalem, so I will not stop talking about her. I will talk until goodness shines in her like a bright light until salvation burns bright like a flame inside her walls. Then all nations will see your goodness, oh Jerusalem. All kings will see your honor. Then you will receive a new name that the Lord Himself will give you. You will be like a beautiful crown that the Lord holds up, like a king’s crown in the hand of your God.”^[9] So the Lord tells them to rejoice and be glad over what He will end up making. It will be a city full of joy with only happy people inside.^[10]

The Prophet Joel then tells us that the Lord announced that He would be their God and live in the holy city of Jerusalem on Mt. Zion, His holy mountain. And from that day forward, it will be a gated enclave where only bonafide residents may enter.^[11] And the Prophet Micah was getting the same message because he prophesied that in the last days that Mount Zion would be the tallest of all mountains, it will be elevated higher than any other peaks, People from all over the world will be streaming in through its gates because they want to learn more about the God of Israel. Micah then says this will happen when there is world-wide peace. People will be turning their weapons of war into farming machinery because there’ll be no more wars.^[12]

In a Jewish Targum (interpretive paraphrase) we read this prophecy: Solomon the prophet said, “When the dead come to life, the Mount of Olives will be split, and all the dead of Israel will come forth from beneath it; and even the righteous who died in exile will come from under the earth by way of tombs and will come out from under the Mount of Olives. And the wicked who died and are buried in the land of Israel will shoot up like a stone propelled from a slingshot. Then all the inhabitants of the earth will say, “What merit do these people deserve who came up from the earth, myriads upon myriads, as on the day when they appeared beneath Mount Sinai to receive the Law?” At that hour, Zion, mother of Israel, will give birth to her children, and Jerusalem will welcome her exiled children.^[13]

The Apostle Paul also catches a glimpse of this coming event when he told the Philippians that God’s government rules us from heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus the Anointed One, to come from there.^[14] And the writer of Hebrews notes that all those who maintain their faith in God through the Anointed One will be rewarded for their steadfastness. When they arrive, it won’t be like the children of Israel’s experience when they reached Mt. Horeb in Sinai. They considered it so holy that animals were not allowed to graze on its slopes for fear they’d die instantly. No, they will be told, but you are on Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You are in a place where thousands of angels gathered to celebrate.^[15] That sounds very much like the New Jerusalem that John saw in his revelation.^[16]

Paul tells the Galatians that they are headed for the lifeless mountain of Horeb in the burning desert of Sinai, representing Hagar, who was turned out into the wilderness of Paran because they turned away from this beautiful New Jerusalem. This city is home to the children of the freewoman, Sarah, through Isaac and Jacob. So, since Abraham is their father, then Sarah, not Hagar, will be their mother. In other words, it was their choice. It was their decision to remain as part of the spiritual family of Abraham as brothers and sisters in the Anointed One. Or, they could keep going the way they were and become part of the physical family of Abraham as brothers and sisters with Ishmael and Esau. One would make their pilgrimage to the New Jerusalem, and the other a pilgrimage to Mecca.

This idea of a New Jerusalem was not started by Paul; it was already a part of Jewish teachings. One day Rabbi Nahman was talking to Rabbi Isaac and asked, what is the meaning of the scriptural verse, “The Holy One is in your midst, and I will not come into the city?”^[17] It certainly cannot mean that because He is God, not a human being, the Holy One among us, that He will not come into the city. Then Rabbi Johanan spoke up and said, the Holy One, (blessed be He), was saying that He refused to enter the heavenly Jerusalem until He entered the earthly Jerusalem. So, is there then a heavenly Jerusalem? Yes, of course, for it is written, Jerusalem, you are built as a city that is compact together.^{[18] [19]}

Roman monk and theologian John Cassian (360-432 AD), author of the twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia meant to train monks in monasteries, and the Conferences Works, which are purporting to relay the teachings of the Egyptian monastic fathers on the nature of the spiritual life which were highly influential in the development of Western monasticism.^[20] On the subject of the New Jerusalem, he states that this can be understood in a fourfold way: historically as the city of the Jews, allegorically as the church of the Anointed One, analogically as the heavenly city of God, which is the mother of all, and a figure of speech as the human soul, which is often put down or praised in the name of the Lord^[21]

[1] Deuteronomy 33:2

[2] Judges 5:5 – New Life Version

[3] Psalm 68:8, 17

[4] Ibid. 87:3-6

[5] Isaiah 2:2-3; See Ezekiel chapters 40-42

[6] Revelation 3:12-13

[7] Ibid. 21:1-2

[8] Ibid. 21:11-21

[9] Isaiah 62:1-3

[10] Ibid. 65:18; See 66:10

[11] Joel 3:17

[12] Micah 4:1-4

[13] Aramaic Targum to Song of Songs, Translation by Jay C. Treat, Ch. 8:5

[14] Philippians 3:20

[15] Hebrews 12:22

[16] Revelation 3:12; 21:2, 10-27

[17] Hosea 11:9

[18] Psalm 122:3

[19] Babylonian Talmud, Seder Mo’ed, Masekhet Ta’anith, folio 5a

[20] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: On Galatians, op. cit., loc. cit., p. 489

[21] Edwards, M. J. (Ed.). On Galatians, pp. 69–70

Goodness and Kindness are often treated as synonyms, but there is a big difference. Goodness is expressed in the heart; kindness is expressed in the hands. Seldom do you hear of “acts of goodness,” but “acts of kindness” are commonplace. Yet, the effect of being kind to a person are similar to those that come from being good. So, we might say: Goodness is attitude while Kindness is action.

Full-time health and fitness blogger, Maile Proctor, tells us there are several science-backed ways that being kind can affect your health. She says it all starts with the Golden Rule: Do to others as you would want them to do to you. She also points out that Goodness is sympathy, while Kindness is empathy. Every time we do something nice for someone else, it makes us feel better because it releases positive acting hormones, as well as boosting our serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of satisfaction and well-being.

When this happens, being kind eases anxiety so that sudden mild nervousness or even severe panic moods are avoided. She points out in a study on happiness from the University of British Columbia found that social anxiety is associated with low positive factors that can significantly affect psychological well-being and adaptive functioning. Positive affect refers to an individual’s experience of positive moods such as joy, interest, and alertness. So, the next time you feel a little nervous, look for an opportunity to be kind to someone.

Maile then tells us that Kindness releases the hormone oxytocin. According to Dr. David Hamilton, “oxytocin causes the release of a chemical called nitric oxide in blood vessels, which dilates (expands) the blood vessels. This reduces blood pressure, and therefore oxytocin is known as a ‘cardioprotective’ hormone because it protects the heart (by lowering blood pressure).” Therefore, Kindness strengthens your heart physically and emotionally. Maybe that’s why they say nice, caring people have really big hearts?

Furthermore, helping others lets you get outside of yourself and take a break from the stressors in your own life, and this behavior can also make you better equipped to handle stressful situations.

Affiliative behavior is any behavior that builds your relationships with others. According to a study on the effects of prosocial behavior on stress, “affiliative behavior may be an important component of coping with stress and indicate that engaging in prosocial behavior (action intended to help others) might be an effective strategy for reducing the impact of stress on emotional functioning.”

And finally, inflammation in the body is associated with all sorts of health problems such as diabetes, cancer, chronic pain, obesity, and migraines. According to a study of adults aged 57-85, “volunteering manifested the strongest association with lower levels of inflammation.” Oxytocin also reduces inflammation, and even little acts of kindness can trigger oxytocin’s release. So, Kindness may be the secret tonic to a healthy, happy life.

Also, David R. Hamilton, who has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry and spent four years in the pharmaceutical industry, developing drugs for cardiovascular disease and cancer. Inspired by the placebo effect, he left the industry to write books and educate people on how they can harness their minds and emotions to improve their health informs us that when we’re kind we inspire others to be kind. And studies show that it actually creates a ripple effect that spreads outwards to our friends and their friends and their friends – to 3-degrees of separation. Just as a pebble creates waves when it is dropped in a pond, so acts of kindness ripple outwards, touching others’ lives and inspiring kindness everywhere the wave goes.

But the Bible is our main source of understanding kindness. Again, keep in mind that Kindness is the action of our hands inspired by the Goodness in your heart. The prophet Zechariah was anointed by the LORD of hosts to say, “Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart” (Zechariah 7:9-10).

Then the Apostle Paul has several things to say. For instance, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). And the Apostle Peter wrote that we should make every effort to supplement our faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly kindness, and brotherly kindness with love (2 Peter 1:5-7). Also, the Apostle John adds to what Peter says about kindness with love, by pointing out that if anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother (1 John 4:20-21).

Someone has proposed an acronym for Kindness: ARK – “Acts of Random Kindness.” Remember, it was on the Ark of the Covenant where the Mercy Seat of God was located. So, check your heart to see if you have that mercy seat where the kindness of God abides. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

A RAGGED LIFE FULL OF HOLES

A gentleman had a dream that he faced his Maker at the last judgment. He knelt before the Lord, along with all the other souls. Before each of them, their lives laid out like the squares of a quilt in many piles; an angel sat before each of them sewing their quilt squares together into a tapestry that was their life.

But as his angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, he noticed how ragged and empty each of his quilt squares were. They were filled with giant holes. Each quilt square was labeled with the stories of his life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations he was faced with in everyday life. He saw hardships that he endured, which were the largest quilt holes of all.

He glanced around. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other quilt tapestries were filled with vibrant colors and the bright hues of worldly fortune. He gazed at his own life and was very disheartened. His angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like sawing air bubbles together.

Finally, the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, which is the scrutiny of truth. The others rose, each in turn, holding up their tapestries. The story of each of their lives had been so filled. His angel looked at him and nodded for him to rise.

His gaze dropped to the ground in shame. Quilt holes! He hadn’t had all the earthly fortunes of the others. He had love in his life and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness and wealth, and false accusations that took away his world from him, as he knew it. He had to start over many times. He often struggled with the holes, the temptation to quit, only to somehow gain strength to pick up and begin again.

He had spent many hours on his knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in his life. He had often been held up to ridicule, which he endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that he would not melt within his skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged him. And now, he had to face the truth: The story of his life was what it was, and he had to accept it.

He rose and slowly lifted the combined quilt squares of his life, with the holes, to the light. An awesome gasp filled the air. He gazed around at the others who stared at him with wide eyes. Then, he looked at the quilt tapestry before him. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image: the face of Jesus. Then the Lord stood before him, with warmth and love in His eyes.  He said, “Every time you gave your life over to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through until there was more of Me than there was of you.”

Not only do we have this man’s dream to teach us a valuable lesson, but the Word of God also has something to say. The Apostle James gives us encouragement because every person is blessed who remains steadfast under trial, for when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life, which God promised to those who love Him (James 1:12).

Then the Apostle Peter states that after we have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory in the Anointed One, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us (1 Peter 5:10). Also, the Apostle Paul tells us to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12). In addition, Paul also lets us know that no temptation has overtaken us that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and He will not let us to be tempted beyond our ability, but with the temptation, He will also provide the way of escape, that we may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

But most of all, we have the words of our Lord Jesus who said, I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). So, no matter how ragged your life may seem to be, as long as you allow Jesus to shine through, you will continue to be a light to this dark world. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE GALATIAN CHURCHES

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XL)

Renown British independent Baptist preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), in his lecture on verses twenty-two and twenty-three, where Paul reiterates about Abraham’s two sons. But what really caught Spurgeon’s attention was that another two brothers, Esau and Jacob, were born of the same mother, at the same birth, yet is it written, “I love Jacob, but I hate Esau.”^[1] One became precious, and the other became profane. How much closer can two children come together than as twins, and yet end up so far apart? It was surely possible that the two were placed together in one crib, and the one is chosen, and the other forgotten; but two that came into the world at the same moment, and yet one of them will receive his inheritance from God because the other was willing to sell his birthright to him for a scrap of meat and a bowl of oatmeal.

Likewise, says Spurgeon, we may be in the same church, baptized in the same water, seated at the same communion table, singing the same psalm, and offering the same prayer. Yet, we may be products of two different genealogies.^[2] So in Spurgeon’s mind, it’s not what you claim to be, but to whom you trace your spiritual lineage. The Jews traced theirs back to Abraham through Moses, Jacob, and Isaac, The Christians traced theirs back to Abraham through Jesus, Jacob, and Isaac. One with an earthly inheritance and the other with a heavenly inheritance. So which one are you? The one who believes they will inherit eternal life through the Church, or the one who believes they will inherit eternal life through Christ – the Anointed One?

Then, in one of his sermons, Spurgeon tells us that in his mind, there cannot be a more significant difference in the world between two ideologies than there is between Law and Grace. And yet, as strange as it may seem, while these things are diametrically opposed and essentially different from each other, the human mind is so depraved, and the intellect so degenerated, even when blessed by the Spirit, they become so alienated from making right decisions. One of the most difficult things in the religious world is to discriminate properly between Law and Grace. He sees a lesson in what the Apostle Paul says here in verse twenty-four about there being two covenants between God and humankind.

Spurgeon wonders why someone who knows the difference and often recalls the essential difference between Law and Grace – has not grasped the connective tissue between Divinity and Grace. They are not far from understanding the Gospel theme in all its simplicity and complexity, its gifts, and its graces, and able to accurately tell the difference between Law and Grace. There is always in scientific research some factor that is very simple and easy after it is learned, but at first glance seemed to stand like a huge obstacle blocking the way.

However, says Spurgeon, the first difficulty in attempting to learn the Gospel is this: Between Law and Grace, there is a difference plain enough for every Christian to see, and especially to every enlightened and instructed individual. Nevertheless, even the most enlightened and instructed have a tendency to get the two mixed up. And yet, they are as opposite as light and darkness and cannot be combined any more than fire and water. Still, mankind will be perpetually striving to make them two-in-one. This is often done in ignorance, and sometimes willfully. They seek to blend the two when God positively and purposely kept them apart.^[3]

Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952) points out that there are many significant scriptures that declare their divine authorship. For instance, in Psalms, we read, “Here I am! I’m coming! In the scroll it is written about me,”^[4] and in the book of Hebrews, it is said that when the Messiah came into the world, He announced: “Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll,”^[5] which is confirmed by Jesus Himself who said to the Jewish religious leaders, “You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me.”^[6] Many fail to discern the contemporary importance of the First Covenant scriptures, which are dismissed by so many readers of the Bible, and the Final Covenant. To put it another way, what we find in the First Covenant is a blueprint of what is constructed in the Final Covenant.

In addition to these declarations of the Final Covenant quoted above, there are a number of additional passages that also teach the same thing. John the Baptizer hailed our Savior as “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,”^[7] that is, as the great Representation of the Sacrificial Lambs of a First Covenant ritual. In His discourse with Nicodemus, our Lord alluded to the lifting up of the Brazen Serpent in the wilderness as a type of His own lifting up on the Cross.^[8] Writing to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul said, “The Anointed One is our Passover Lamb who was sacrificed for us,”^[9] thereby signifying that the lamb down in Egypt pointed forward to the Lord Jesus.^[10] Writing to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul again makes mention here in verse twenty-four of the history of Abraham, his wives, and his children and then states, “which things are an allegory.”

Now, says Pink, there are many brethren who will accept the characteristic significance of these things but who refuse to acknowledge that anything else in the First Covenant except those which are expressly interpreted in the Final Covenant. But this is a great mistake and places a limit on the scope and value of the Word of God itself. We must ask ourselves, are there no more prophecies in the First Covenant than those which, in the Final Covenant, are said to be “fulfilled?” For sure! So, let us admit the same concern for those types yet to be fulfilled, many of which are a part of prophecy.^[11]

I like the way modern British commentator N. T. Wright gives his summary of what was going on here in Galatia. He sees Paul’s opponents claiming they are blessed with the whole Jewish Law backing them up. That Paul, on his part, failed to tell the Galatians the full story. If they want to become proper children of Abraham, part of God’s true people, then they must follow the Law, plain and simple. This includes getting circumcised, something the Gentiles must be convinced to agree to. But Paul contemplated other ideas. He’s not going to let them get away with the suggestion that he doesn’t know, or follow, the Law; the Law itself, the first five books of the Bible – the Torah, that tells a story which brings a lot of weight to Paul’s side of the argument. And to make his point, Paul picks out on the least happy episodes in the Book of Genesis: the story of Abraham’s wife and Abraham’s concubine, and the sons that each of them bore. And he uses this as a picture of what’s going on in his own day.^[12]

4:25-26 Therefore, Hagar symbolizes Mount Sinai in Arabia (which I now compare to Jerusalem’s mountain where all her children live in slavery under Mosaic Law). But Sarah, the legitimate wife, represents the new Jerusalem above. She’s the one who is the real mother of those who live in freedom.

Paul now continues his story: God is the Father, and Jesus the Anointed One is His Son. Likewise, Abram and his wife Sarah are loyal subjects, and their legitimate son is Isaac. But Abraham has an illegitimate son named Ishmael by his slave-mistress, Hagar. All of Isaac’s descendants are Jews, and all the descendants of Ismael are Gentiles. So, says Paul, by not accepting Jesus the Anointed One as the one true Son of God who completed all the tasks and fulfilled all the laws His father required, and by rejecting Him they not only disqualified themselves from becoming heirs and joint-heirs with the Anointed One but became no better than the descendants of Hagar’s illegitimate son Ishmael.

This type of allegorical treatment of Sarah and Hagar was not new with Paul. In fact, Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria made a similar comparison years earlier. After reading a work by Philo, we see where he identifies Hagar as representing lower and secular education, while Sarah is portrayed as the symbol of higher spiritual philosophy. In one place, Philo notes that by observing Hagar’s behavior, we see how an illustration becomes a form of instruction based on repeating a phrase. Twice she fled, the first time without being banished. While Sarah remained a symbol of all the great virtues. But Hagar then returned by way of the same road she used to get away from Sarah. By the time she got back, she was informed about her master being visited by angels. So once again, she was forced to leave, only this time she is actually thrown out of the house and told to leave and never come back again.^[13] In other words, Hagar represents learning by being instructed while Sarah symbolizes learning by revelation.

Dutch protestant jurist and writer Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) says that Sinai is called Hagar, or Agar, as a figure of speech because in that mountain, there was a city named “Hagar.” In fact, Greek historian, Diodorus of Sicily 90-30 BC, called it “Agara,” and its inhabitants were named Hagarenes.^[14] Then Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) calls it “Agra,” and Arminian priest Daniel Whitby 1638-1726) thinks the allusion is taken from the meaning of the word Hagar, which, in the Hebrew signifies “a rock.” English Methodist minister Joseph Benson (1749-1821) follows by making an interesting note on Hagar and the mountain in Sinai that is part of Paul’s narrative. He says that the whole mountainous ridge in Arabia Petræa, of which Sinai was a part, was called Horeb, probably on account of its excessive dryness. It was called by Moses, the Mountain of God^[15], because on it, God gave the Law to the Israelites.

According to legend, Hagar fled toward the wilderness just before Sinai to the desert of Paran.^[16] This is where she settled and got an Egyptian woman to be the wife of Ishmael. There’s no evidence that she married or gave birth to other children. But those of Ishmael are typically thought of as being Muslims (Arabs). Oddly enough, we read that Esau went to the land where Ishmael was and took two of his daughters to be his wives, Mahalath[17] and her sister Nebaioth.^[18] We see a reference to them in the Muslim holy book the Qu’ran, where it says: “And you do not resent us except because we believed in the signs of our Lord when they came to us. Our Lord, pour upon us patience and let us die as Muslims [in submission to You.]”^[19]

[1] Malachi 1:2-3

[2] Charles H. Spurgeon: According to Promise, The Two Seeds, pp. 6-10

[3] The Spurgeon Sermon Collection: Vol. 1, The Allegories of Sarah and Hagar, Sermon No. 69, Delivered on Sunday Morning, March 2, 1856, at New Park Street Chapel, Southwark, London, p. 398

[4] Psalm 40:8

[5] Hebrews 10:5

[6] John 5:39

[7] Ibid. 1:29

[8] John 3:14

[9] 1 Corinthians 5:7

[10] Exodus 12:7ff

[11] Arthur W. Pink: The Divine Inspiration of the Bible, Ch. 6, pp. 31-32

[12] Wright, N.T., Paul for Everyone: Galatians, loc. cit., p. 57

[13] Philo of Alexandria, On the Cherubim, Part 1.I

[14] Psalm 83:6

[15] Exodus 3:1

[16] Genesis 21:21

[17] Genesis 28:9; also called Bashermath in Genesis 36:3. “Mahalath” means “stringed instrument,” such as a lyre.

[18] Ibid. 28:9; Nebaioth (Nebajoth) means “fruitfulness.” See Isaiah 60:7

[19] Qu’ran: Ch. 7:126