Sarah and Hagar: Grace and Law (Gen. 21:9-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 09/28/2006

 

My Worship Time                                                  Focus:  Sarah & Hagar:  Grace & Law

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Genesis 21:9-13

 

            Message of the verse:  “9 Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.  10 Therefore she said to Abraham, ‘Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac.’  11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son.  12 But God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.  13 ‘And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.’”

           

            Sarah was wrong to have Abraham marry Hagar, but she was right in sending her   and Ishmael out of the camp.  The Apostle Paul picks up on this in an allegory which describes the Law under Moses and the grace of God.  The lesson is simply that God’s children are to live under the blessings of grace and not the bondage of Law.

           

            Dr. Wiersbe gives five facts about Hagar in order to understand the relationship between Law and grace in the Christian life.

1.      Hagar was Abraham’s second wife.  God’s dealing before the law was with grace, as He dealt with Adam and Eve, but the Law was added alongside just as Hagar was added along aside Abraham.

2.      Hagar was a servant. The Law was God’s servant (a “schoolmaster,” or “child tutor”) to keep the infant nation of Israel under control and prepare them for the coming of the Redeemer. (Gal. 3:24-25; 4:1-5)  The law was given to reveal sin, but not redeem us from sin.

3.      Hagar was never supposed to bear a child.  The Law cannot give what only Jesus Christ can give: life, righteousness, the Holy Sprit, or an eternal inheritance.

4.      Hagar gave birth to a slave The Christian walk cannot be lived when a believer is living under the Law, for the Law brings about bondage, and slavery, where grace brings about the freedom to worship the Lord Jesus Christ freely, and not with the types of sacrifices that are required by the Law.  The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled all of the ceremonial Laws with His work on the Cross, so it is unnecessary for believers to practice those.

5.      Hagar never married again.  The Law was given only to the nation of Israel, and not to the Church nor to the Gentiles.  This was a big issue in the early Church, as can be seen in Acts chapter fifteen, where the issue of following the Law as a Gentile was discussed and the result was that Gentile believers, and for that fact Jewish believer were not to follow the Law, but live under grace.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This whole thing between Law and grace has been very confusing to me for a long time, and this helps to clear it up.  I suppose that the normal reaction is to be confused about the word “freedom” and how it is used in this context of describing a believer’s freedom while living in grace.  Freedom is that a person does not have to do all of the things that were required by the Law in order to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, for He has fulfilled the Law and the curtain was torn down by the Lord when Christ died to show that all true believers now have direct access with the Lord without going through the rituals of the Law, and for that I am surely glade.

 

The Word of God has been a challenge to my heart and it has also been refreshing to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To use my freedom that I have in the Lord Jesus Christ to worship Him in a way that will be pleasing to Him.  To continue to learn contentment, and to seek the Lord so He can direct my path.