What was the purpose of the births of Ishmael and Isaac according to Galatians 4:24?
According to Galatians 4:24, the births of Ishmael and Isaac served as an allegory. Ishmael, born of the bondwoman Hagar, represented birth after the flesh; Isaac, born of the free woman, came through promise. Paul used these two births to illustrate truth for the age of grace.
Les explains that Paul uses Abraham's two sons as an allegory in Galatians 4. In verses 22 and 23, Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondmaid, Hagar, and the other by a free woman. The son of the bondwoman was born after the flesh, and that child by Hagar was all in the energy of the flesh. Isaac, by contrast, was as a result of all the promises for those almost 40 years. Then verse 24 states that the whole concept of the birth of Ishmael and the birth of Isaac was for an allegory that Paul is going to use now in the age of grace.
Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
More Questions
Why were the births of Ishmael and Isaac recorded according to Galatians 4?
The births of Ishmael and Isaac were for an allegory that Paul uses now in the age of grace.