Recap

So far in Galatians, we’ve read as Paul defended his apostleship and his gospel. After planting the Galatian churches (Acts 13-14), Paul learned that some Hebrews are teaching the Gentile believers they needed to be circumcised to be saved. Paul’s authority as an apostle was also challenged, leading him to address these issues. At the Jerusalem council, it was decided that Gentiles did not need to be circumcised, as the Holy Spirit had become the new seal of salvation. Despite this, some continued to argue for adherence to the Torah, prompting Paul to write Galatians to reaffirm his gospel message.

In the letter, Paul defended his apostleship and the gospel he preached. He asserted that salvation comes through faith in Jesus, not following the Torah. He explained that, even as Jews, they recognised the law couldn’t justify them; only faith in Christ could. Paul then rebuked the Galatians for turning away from this gospel. They needed to know that believers are not saved by following rules or cultural practices, but by faith in Jesus. This faith unites all believers, Jew and Gentile, in Jesus. The behaviour and the way they lived did not determine their salvation. It was, however, the expression of the salvation they now had in Jesus.

Galatians 3-4

Paul now more directly challenges the Galatians from turning from their faith. They acknowledged, through Paul’s preaching, that Jesus was publicly crucified. They’ve also experienced the power of the Spirit in their lives because they believed in Jesus. So why then, having known what Jesus did for them, and having experienced the freedom that comes with the Spirit, would they turn back to trying to earn their salvation through behaviour?

To require circumcision to be saved make Jesus’ death and the power the Spirit worthless. If they were to look back to the gospel they received, or the power they experienced, did they first enjoy that due to living in a particular way or through faith in Jesus? The unspoken answer is through faith in Jesus.

Paul then points to Abraham as a model example of this. Abraham was declared righteous because he believed. In the same way, those who believe become spiritual descendants of Abraham and are also considered righteous. Not only that, but God specifically told Abraham that all peoples, Gentiles included, would be blessed through him. It was always the plan that the Gentiles would be included.

And Abraham’s faith came long before the law. When the law of the Torah came in caused people to be cursed. Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 to show that all who don’t keep the law are cursed, and it is clear that no one has been able to keep it. Meanwhile, the prophet Habakkuk declared that the righteous live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4).

So as the law never made anyone righteous, it required Jesus to do it. While the Galatians were cursed under the law, Jesus became cursed to that Abraham and all who believe might be made righteous and receive the promise that God made Abraham through his faith.

If Jesus has made the Abraham’s faith possible, and the Galatians receive the promise made to Abraham through faith, then how can the law overwrite that? The law came 400 years after Abraham, and can’t change the promise that God had already made.

So what purpose did the law have? The law was not introduced to replace the promise made to Abraham or to challenge it. It was made to fill the gap until the promise could be fulfilled in Jesus. It served as guidelines for the people of God on how to live in a way that didn’t indulge sin until Jesus could bring true freedom.

Paul claims that the law came through angel mediators. This might seem a strange to us as this doesn’t appear in the Old Testament. It was, however, a tradition that appeared in the Second Temple era. This is the era of Jewish history in between the return from exile and the destruction of the temple in 70 CE.

During this time, Jews continued to wrestle with ideas found in their scriptures, and in this time it became understood that God did not give Moses the law directly, but had angels pass it on to Moses. We can see an example of this in Jubilees 1:27-29.

Paul is trying to make the point that the law came through others, angels, and then Moses. But the promise comes directly from God to his people.

It’s not that the law is opposed to the promise. In fact, the law trapped all in their sin, so that in fulfilling the law, Jesus could offer the promise in faith. The law served as a teacher that taught us the nature of sin. Now that the Galatians have faith in Jesus, t no longer need this teacher but can rest as children of God. Therefore, all are now made equal in the promise as descendant of Abraham.

Paul then uses a different metaphor. Children who are heirs to a great inheritance don’t receive the inheritance until they have come of age. Paul claims that, as minors, the Galatians were ‘enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world’ (Galatians 4:3). For Paul, this seems to include the spiritual powers that influence the world, the forces of sin and darkness. These had co-opted the law, bending it to their purposes.

When God sent Jesus, who was also under the law, to fulfil the law and redeem those under it, the heirs became fully matured adults in Jesus and so could now receive the inheritance. While before the Galatians were slaves to the forces of darkness, now they are children of God.

Now the Gentiles weren’t previously under the law, but they did worship false gods who were also under the power of sin and darkness. Why then would they try to re-enslave themselves to the same forces that would now use the law to trap them?

Paul then appeals to his relationship with the Galatians. We don’t know what Paul’s infirmity was, but something about it led Paul to share the gospel with them. And they accepted him with open arms, willing to do anything for him. How have they now turned so far from what he first brought them and see him as their enemy?

These Hebrew leaders might seem they’re making a build deal of the Galatians, but they only seek to subdue the Galatians to make themselves seem more important. They want to claim the Galatians aren’t real believers. Paul wishes that he could be with the Galatians in person. He is hurting that they are going through all this again, and wishes he could speak to them more gently face to face.

Paul then turns to a different metaphor. Abraham had two sons. He had Ishmael by a slave woman, Hagar, and then Isaac by a miracle with his wife Sarah because of the promise God made to him. In this we have two descendants of Abraham, one a child of slavery and one a child of the promise.

The Galatians have to decide. Do they want to be children of slavery or children of the promise? Ishmael was driven away because he was not to share in any of the inheritance God has promised Abraham. If the Galatians choose to be enslaved by the law, then they don’t get to experience the inheritance of God. Because of this, they should choose to be children of the promise, putting their salvation in their faith in Jesus.

Psalm 4

This psalm is attributed to King David, and can be labelled a Lament Psalm which make up over a third of all psalms (see Psalm 22, 44, 88, 90, 141 for examples of other Lament Psalms). Biblical lament is whenever a person takes their pains, hurts, and frustrations before God. It tends to include four steps; turning to God, bringing the complaint, making a request of God, and then declaring trust in God. 

Here is a rough structure of the psalm.

Psalm 4:1 - Asking God to hear and answer

Psalm 4:2 - The complaint

Psalm 4:3 - Declaring trust in God

Psalm 4:4-5 - Wisdom offered to those struggling

Psalm 4:6-8 - Declaring trust in God

Turning to God, the psalmist’s main desire is to know that God is listening. Often when we go through difficult times, the most difficult thing is feeling like God is silent in our struggle. 

It seems like they are being accused of something, and they are upset that their honour has been turned to shame, and that everyone is making up lies about them. But this person chooses to respond to these insults by putting their trust in God. While humans may accuse and lie, God set those that are his apart and listens to them when they pray.

Next they give themselves a pep talk. In the midst of this struggle, it would be very easy to make some poor decision and do stuff they shouldn’t. Instead, they should not respond out of anger but take themselves away and think through everything properly. They should make sure they are right before God and put their trust in him.

The psalmist is now beginning to pull himself out of his sense of despair. He could continue like many others, wondering if anything good will happen and begging God to be kind to them. But the psalmist knows that God’s will is already for him and has given him the joy he needs to survive.

And so to end, the psalmist makes the greatest declaration of trust in God. He will sleep peacefully that night, knowing that God is the one who keeps him safe. 

Just as Psalm 3 is a prayer that was commonly read out in the morning, Psalm 4 was read out in the evening before going to bed each night. These two psalms serve as a reminder of the importance of starting and ending each day with God. It’s the greatest way to get through those difficult times.