Things Above: Jerusalem

Remember these!?! Sunday’s message was perhaps the perfect example of why we have this blog! There are a variety of reasons for this post, not least of which is wanting to clarify any incoherency from my frazzled, note-abandoning, too-much-ground-to-cover sermon about Abraham! (Please excuse my lack of brevity).

“Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them and so are you. So, let’s just praise the Lord. Right arm…” 

I’m not sure about you, but how I am a son of Abraham is such an elusive concept for me. Comprehending it is difficult enough, let alone praising God for it. In an attempt to make sense of it, we look at the story of Abraham (Genesis 12-21) and the teaching of Paul (Galatians 3-4).

Two Bloodlines

Abraham did indeed have many descendants. We know all about Isaac and Jacob and Jacob’s sons (12 tribes of Israel). The Old Testament gives account of these people and their history. We see God’s patience and his faithfulness to sustain Israel — even through some bleak circumstances. We know of Moses, the exodus and the law. We know about the judges, kings and prophets. We read about the exile, temple and Jerusalem. What is often overlooked, however, is Abraham’s first line of descendants. Father Abraham’s firstborn son, Ishmael preceded Isaac by 13 years! Reading Genesis, it is evident that Abraham loved and cared deeply for Ishmael. So did God! He graciously provided for Hagar and Ishmael when they were put out and He even made a promise for this slave woman’s son to one day be a great nation, just like Isaac.

Covenant Promise

What makes the line of Sarah and Isaac uniquely special is God’s covenant promise with Abraham — that through this second line of descendants, “all nations will be blessed.” Its fulfillment begins with the fabulous birth of Isaac, grows into a nomadic people delivered from slavery, then eventually into a nation possessing the promised land of Canaan. The Jewish people are very special and unique indeed. There is no other nation like Israel. (Including America btw!) Yet, if we center God’s promise to Abraham around his sons acquiring land… we are left with an incomplete fulfillment of the covenant promise. Surely God promises and faithfully provides blessing to this line of descendants. However, we must not forget that God’s promise culminates with blessing all nations through them. If we only go so far as to see God’s blessing his chosen people Israel, we are left with this logical conclusion: Since God’s covenant is with Isaac’s line of descendants, to be an heir and claim Abraham’s inheritance, one must be (or become) Hebrew.

This incomplete understanding of God’s promise is what Paul addresses in his New Testament letter to the Galatians. Some people apparently started teaching and convincing the young Christians of Galatia, (all Christians were young at this point in time), of their need to become Jews. Namely, they needed to obey the law of Moses and practice circumcision which was the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. Paul, confronts this misnomer head on by pointing directly to the covenant promise.

Promise Fulfillment

Paul shows how scripture foreshadows the gospel when God tells Abraham, “ALLnations will be blessed through you.” (This is spoken three times to Abraham! Gen.12:3; 18:18 and 22:18). The question is, how are all nations blessed? (Not even Ishmael can get in on the inheritance)!Do all non-jews (Gentiles) need to become Hebrew? Paul says, “of course not!” So what needs to happen? The answer is not what you need to do, but your faith in what has been done already. Paul explains God’s promise to Abraham is not fulfilled in the “many” sons of Isaac, but in one particular son, Jesus. (Paul cites Genesis 21:12 to make his case.)  Through the one son’s death on the cross, a way is made for all people of all nations! Paul validates the earthy perspective that you are Abraham’s son or daughter by blood. He just explains that it is by the very real, and Jewish blood of Jesus! His blood makes a way for all who have faith. (Faith is the defining characteristic between Abraham and his Children!) This is why Jesus told his disciples there is a “new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:20) The covenant with Abraham and then later Moses and David, is old. Old, not because it was bad or unimportant, but because it is done…complete…fulfilled in Jesus. This “new covenant” brings freedom from the old and Paul wants the Galatians to understand their freedom in Christ.

Two Mothers

To make his point, Paul uses allegory about Sarah (the free woman and mother of Isaac), and Hagar (the slave woman and mother of Ishmael). (Galatians 4:21-31). The compelling part of this figurative language is that Paul does not differentiate the two women by bloodline, but rather by birth story. Hagar’s son was born according to the flesh. Sarah’s son was the result of God’s promise. Regardless of ancestry, those wanting to live by the old covenant are actually “slaves” to law and religion and therefore children of Hagar — the mother of slaves! The law was given on Mt. Sinai but that is the mountain of Hagar! Paul even says that Hagar is the mother of present Jerusalem, (the holy city of the Jewish people was under Roman rule at this time). This would be quite offensive to any Hebrew person, and Paul would certainly know this! His point is stark! Sarah is the mother of the free. Hagar is mother to the slave. He’s telling his hearers that those spreading this false gospel of needing to become Hebrew, are slaves to the old covenant and law. Their slavery shows they are actually descendants of Hagar. Conversely, those who are supernaturally born of faith according to the promise are Sarah’s children. The true children of Sarah are the ones who are free in Jesus — the ultimate fulfillment of that promise! The freedom found in Christ is rooted in our heavenly adoption, not our ancestral tree.

Adoption

All of this is how Paul can write, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”(Galatians 3:26-29) The promise to Abraham found its fulfillment in Jesus. If you are in Christ its fulfillment extends to you and me — the blessed ones. The adopted ones.

It is a lot to process. It is a lot to preach. It is a lot to read and write and listen to, but it is a remarkable thing to meditate on… Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them and so are you. So, let’s just praise the Lord…”

One More Thing

(As a final remark, In my sermon I made a comment that even Hagar and Ishmael could share in the promise of Abraham. I obviously (and thankfully) am not the one to make that call. In Genesis 21:10 Sarah says, “that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” I take this as Sarah speaking for herself, not for the Lord. I also assume that she was speaking with an earthly perspective — thinking about land, lineage and wealth. If we understand that Abraham’s faith and our faith is what makes us God’s children, can it not also be true of Hagar? Genesis 16:11-15; 21:19).

Thanks for reading… hopefully this brings more answers than questions!