Blessed are the Barren

Blessed are the Barren

Our working theme of Galatians: “Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as taught in Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone”

A. Barrenness/desolation & Fertility/blessing

Make a list of Old Testament stories about barrenness and fertility?

Was barrenness a blessing or a curse in the Old Testament? (cf. Proverbs 30:15-16)

What was the first blessing and commandment given to Adam and Eve? (Genesis 1:27-28)

What is the command given to the barren in Isaiah 54:1?

Paul’s quotation of the Old Testament is not his taking an isolated verse out of its context. It’s like a Judo player that steps onto the mat. They first bow to a picture of the founder, Jigoro Kano. The idea is that there is a continuum with what happens in the present with the honor and greatness of those who have gone before, “To be truly great is to be equal with the past.”

Paul’s quotation from the stories of the Old Testament is similar to the story of a baseball rivalry. When the Yankees play the Boston Red Sox, it’s not just a three hour game but a rivalry spanning more than 100 years. The present game is part of a bigger story involving long ago greats and goats like Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Bill Buckner, Bucky Dent, Aaron Boone, etc. The game involves one’s childhood dreams of playing for the Yankees or the Red Sox. It involves all the games you listened to/watched with your dad or granddad, etc.

Why is the barren woman to rejoice? (Isaiah 54:1-3)

Which covenant does the possessing of the nations incorporate? (Isaiah 54:3 with Genesis 22:17; 28:14)

How can Isaiah 54:1//Galatians 4:27 pronounce a greater blessing upon the barren? How can the unmarried woman who has not travailed have more sons than the married woman? (Isaiah 52-53)

“It is no new recognition that this [Isaiah 54:1] is intended as a reminder of Sarah and her story. There is probably even a reference to a particular text, for in Gen 11:30, at the end of the primeval history and before the beginning of the stories about the patriarchs and matriarchs, the text reads: “Now Sarah was barren; she had no child.… In my view, however, the declarations about the future cannot be understood without the presuppositions of Isaiah 52–53.” (Baltzer, K., & Machinist, P., Deutero-Isaiah : A commentary on Isaiah 40-55, p.434,437).

“Notice that the verse immediately following Isa 53:2–12 is Isa 54:1. The suffering of the Lord’s servant is followed immediately in Isaiah by the call for the barren one to rejoice. Paul’s citation of Isa 54:1 sets up waves of resonance with Isaiah’s proclamation of the suffering servant and Jerusalem’s future that ripple through the entire probatio of Gal 3:1–4:31” (Jobes, Karen H. “Jerusalem, Our Mother: Metalepsis and Intertextuality in Galatians 4:21-31.” Westminster Theological Journal. Vol. 55, No. 2, Fall 1993, p.312).

B. Isaiah teaches that Messiah has done everything. He has removed sin, He has established righteousness. Our blessing and fruitfulness comes through faith alone (Isaiah 54:2; 55:1,6).

C. The Old Testament imagery of blessing, inheritance and in particular fertility is an image of the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

1. Well (Isaiah 12:3)

2. Wilderness transformed into a fertile field… (Isaiah 32:15)

3. Water/streams (Isaiah 44:3)

4. Well-watered garden (Isaiah 58:11)

5. Dry bones coming to life (Ezekiel 37:1-10)

6. River (Ezekiel 47:1-12)

7. Fountain (Joel 3:18)

8. Living water (Zech.14:8; cf. John 7:37-39)

D. Paul continues the theme of barrenness and fruitfulness right through Galatians 5.

1. “I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves” (Gal.5:12).

2. “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal.5:22).

What is the difference between Hagar and Sarah?

What is the difference between Paul’s Gospel and the Judaizers’?

E. Conclusion:

1. The accomplishment of God’s redemptive promises is always the supernatural work of God and not the work of our flesh.

2. Through faith alone we must look to Christ alone if we are to inherit the promises of God.

a. You don’t have the power to bless yourself!

b. You don’t have the power to remove the curse of death!

KING JAMES TRANSLATION MISTAKE

"To-remain Bible" 1805: in Galatians 4:29 a proof-reader had written in "to remain" in the margin, as an answer to whether a comma should be deleted. The note inadvertently became part of the text, making the edition read "But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit to remain, even so it is now."

c. You don’t have the ability to save yourself from sin!

d. You must therefore trust in Christ alone.

THROUGH FAITH IN THE SUFFERING SERVANT WE ARE CHILDREN OF PROMISE (vv.28-31)

A. Just as Ishmael persecuted Isaac, so too, Paul was being persecuted by the party of the circumcision (v.29; Gal.5:11-12; 6:12,17).

B. If you want to listen to the law (v.21) then cast out the bondwoman and her son (v.30).