2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
An allegory is a description of one thing under the image of another. An allegorical interpretation is never to contradict the clear teaching of the Scriptures. However, it can be used to illustrate a relationship between Biblical principles. In the case of the allegory presented in today’s message, it is designed to use the image of two women, Hagar (Sarah’s maidservant) and Sarah (Abraham’s wife) to illustrate the relationship between the old Covenant of the Law and the new Covenant of Grace. If you don’t remember it, it would help for you to review GN 16: 1-15 (the story of Hagar and Ishmael), GN 17 (Circumcision, the sign of the covenant), GN 18: 1-15 (a son is promised to Abraham), and GN 21: 1-21 (the birth of Isaac; Hagar and Ishmael are sent away).
The first issue is remembering the difference between Ishmael, Hagar’s son who was born of the flesh and Isaac, Sarah’s son, who was born of the promise. It should be noted that the whole reason that God sent Abram out of Mesopotania and commanded that he should leave his family behind was so that He could establish a people set apart from all others by their belief in Him and Him alone-no other gods. What a miracle it was that Abram, who was raised by his father, Terah, in a family of pagan idolaters would have a mind opened to being transformed to such a hitherto unknown belief system! [GN 12: 1; RO 12: 2]. We all know that there was delay in God’s plan until Terah, whom God must have known would never come to belief in Him alone, died in Haran at the age of 205 [GN 11: 31-32]. That was because Abram disobeyed God when Terah was along with him in leaving Ur of the Chaldes. Once Terah died, then God’s plan for Abram went forward. Abram and his wife, then called Sarai, finally ended up in Canaan (which is modern day Israel) still surrounded by Canaanites who were pagans. At that point, only God knew that their territory would become the Promised Land and would given over to Abram’s descendants, the Jews. Abram and Sarai wanted children, but still hadn’t been able to have any. Out of their impatience, they decided that Abram should have a child from Sarai’s maidservant, Hagar. This fleshly decision was not made with God participating. The child from that union was Ishmael, who would later become the ancestor of the Arabs. He was the child of the flesh.
Later when Sarai and Abram were well past the normal child bearing age, they were visited by three angelic beings, One of Whom was the Angel of God. This personage promised Abram Sarai would become pregnant at her advanced age with a child of the promise. Sarai, who overheard this from outside the tent, laughed in disbelief [GN 18:12]. But, God knew better and renamed Abram, Abraham, meaning “ancestor of many nations” and Sarai, Sarah meaning “mother of nations” [GN 17: 5 &15]. God also commanded that their son would be called Isaac, meaning “he laughs.” Isaac was the child of the promise, whose line would be the Jewish people. They would worship only the One and True God. From the very beginning, there was consternation between Hagar and Sarah. That resulted in Hagar being sent away from their camp with Ishmael, but God intervened by promising Hagar that Ishmael would also have many descendants, the Arabs. From that day till this, God kept His word, but the enmity between the Jews and the Arabs still is active. We need only look at recent events in the Middle East to know that.
From the allegorcal interpretation, we see that Hagar is a picture of the old covenant, the one that can only lead to death and not to salvation. Sarah is a picture of the new covenant that can lead, with our repentance and faith in Christ, to salvation, eternal forgiveness, and eternal life. The old covenant was given on Mount Sinai; the new covenant was sealed at Calvary. Ishmael’s conception was by the flesh; Isaac’s conception was by the promise. The Law given on Mt. Sinai is not evil, but it was never designed to bring salvation. Instead, it was to let people know what was not acceptable to God and what was [RO 7: 7]. In the other hand, the grace that is extended to all believers sealed by Christ’s Atonement was designed to bring them salvation and eternal life [JN 3: 16]. That is why it is so critical to our spiritual being that we are active and faithful participants in the Covenant of Grace.
Remember JN 8: 32, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free?” Sarah was a free women, not a bondservant like Hagar. GA 4: 30-31, “But what does the Scripture [GN 21:10] say? It says, ‘Send the slave woman and her son away; for the son of the slave woman will not have part of the father’s property along with the son of the free woman.’ So then, my brothers, we are not the children of a slave woman but of a free woman.’” JN 8: 36, “If the Son set you free, then you will be really free.” We must consider the details of our own individual lives and meditate on how we have been set free by knowing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and by actively being God’s partners in the Covenant of Grace.
PRAYER: O Lord, we see in the recent events in Israel the quintessential clash between a belief system where You are in leadership and one which subscribes to the values of the world where Satan is in leadership. Our faith in You is tested as we see innocent people bombed in crowded streets, and yet, we must not lose sight of Your perspective. You do not, nor have ever condoned the taking of human life this way. Yet You allow it to happen, so that people who might come to faith can see the evil of Satan’s ways. My words to do not condemn all people of Arab descent, only those who find terrorism as an acceptable way to solve their problems. When the flesh is in control, Dearest Lord, You have shown us there can be no salvation, no relief from the horrific evil that the adversary loves so much. Because You gave us Your only Son on the cross, You have opened the way for people to make a choice they never had before. That is why You brought Abraham out of Mesopotamia. That is also why we acknowledge that You must feel so much disappointment that so many of Your children have chosen the ways of the flesh rather than to wonderful choice to participate in the Covenant of Grace that You have given them. You give us hope through so many prophecies in the Scriptures that more of Your chosen people will eventually come to faith in Him [ZECH 13: 9; RO 11: 25]. Out of Your most excellent grace, You have invited Gentiles to come to faith as “wild olive branches grafted in to the cultured olive tree” [RO 11: 17-24]. When we make the choice You have called us to, You cause us to abound in the blessings of Your grace and give us the hope of the resurrection leading to eternal life. Our thanks, worship, adoration, loyalty, trust, obedience, glory, honor, and highest praise is what we offer You today and always. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at the spirit and human nature as they relate to being God’s covenant partners. I am aware that this has been a long, long series of messages on covenants and want to reassure you that it is not long before it will end. Please understand that God leads me in choosing what will be the day’s topic. My plan is to write a series of messages on spiritual warfare when our present series is finished. In the meanwhile, know that wherever we go when He takes us there, we will feel His love for us and be bettered by it. He commands us to love Him and the love each other, because He wants as many of us as possible to join Him, in His time, in an eternal life of joy and fellowship with Him and with each other. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn