Galatians 4:27
For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.”
Truth to Learn
Even in the Old Testament, God indicated that the true church will one day outnumber the Jews by birth.
Behind the Words
The word “barren” is translated from the Greek ou tiktousa, which literally means “the one who is not having children.”
Meaning Explained
This passage is quoted from the Septuagint version (Greek translation of the Old Testament) of Isaiah 54:1 which says:
Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman, says the LORD.
The Isaiah passage was probably intended for the Jews who were captive in
For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.
Both chapters sixteen and twenty-three of Ezekiel show how God considers the Jews His wife and how he considers their idolatry as harlotry. This spiritual harlotry is the very reason why God judged them with the Babylonian captivity. But in Isaiah he reassures them that there will come a day when they will have far more children than those in whose land they are being held captive.
In the past few verses of Galatians, Paul has allegorized the son of Hagar (Ishmael) and the son of Sarah (Isaac) as a picture of Jews who are children of Abram by birth but who are spiritually dead (sons of Hagar) and Christians who are sons of Abram through faith in the promise (sons of Sarai). He is applying this verse to show that the sons of Sarai will be greater than the sons of Hagar. It was Sarai’s inability to have children that ultimately led to God promising Abram that he would be the father of many nations through her. And it was Abram’s belief in that promise which resulted in his being declared righteous by God.
The point that Paul is making is that through Isaiah, God has promised us (Christians) that the sons of the barren one (Sarai) will one day outnumber the unbelieving Jews (the sons of Hagar). So, why did Paul quote this passage? The false teachers were teaching the Galatians that they had to be Jews to be saved and Paul is using their own Jewish Bible to demonstrate to them that it is not through the observance of rules and laws that we are the children of Abraham but through faith (sons of promise).
Application
Some have falsely tried to claim that the Old Testament is not for Christians, but for Jews. There are many truths in the Old Testament which are directly applicable to Christians today.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2008 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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