Two Sons, One Unchanging Promise

 

Let me tell you what the Holy Spirit laid on my heart real strong, this morning, while I was reading Galatians chapter 4. This isn’t just some old comparison between two women from the pages of Genesis. It’s not just about Sarah and Hagar. No, it’s much deeper than that. It’s about two ways of living. Two different identities. Two separate paths. And that same decision — the one that stood before Abraham and Sarah, the one Paul wrote about to the Galatians — it’s standing in front of us right now. Today. In Christ.

Now Paul, bold as ever, points us straight back to Torah. He reminds us: Abraham had two sons. One was by Hagar, a bondwoman — a servant. The other was by Sarah, the freewoman — his wife. Two women, two very different situations. Hagar’s child, Ishmael, came by way of human striving. Flesh. Effort. Trying to make something happen in our own strength when God’s promise feels too slow. Sarah’s child, Isaac, came by way of faith. He was the child of the promise. A child born when it looked too late, when the womb was barren, and all hope seemed gone — but God showed Himself faithful.

Now let's slow down and look at what really happened.

Sarah knew the promise. She knew what God said. But the waiting wore on her. She started second-guessing — maybe she misunderstood? Maybe God needed a little help? Maybe He meant for the child to come through Hagar? And so, instead of standing still and believing, she acted out of flesh. That’s when she gave Hagar to Abraham. A shortcut. A Plan B. A decision made in the flesh. Abraham didn’t argue — and that alone is something to chew on. He didn’t remind her of God’s Word. He should have. He didn’t say, “Let’s wait.” He should have. But instead, he went along with it. And yes, Ishmael was born — but not without consequences.

That child, born from human effort, did not bring peace. He brought conflict. Just as the Word says, "And he shall be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him..." (Genesis 16:12). You don’t have to look far to see how true that still is. Conflict always follows the flesh.

But here's the question that sticks with me: Why wasn't Sarah punished? God punished Moses just for striking the rock....Why didn’t God rebuke Sarah? She doubted Him. She tried to fix it her way. Why didn’t He strike her down or shut her womb forever?

After thinking on this for quite the while, I came with this conclusion: I believe it’s because God is not like man. He sees the end from the beginning. He doesn’t panic when we fail. He didn’t abandon Sarah — He worked through her weakness. He was patient. He was faithful even when she wasn’t. And through her, He still brought forth the promise. But He let the consequences of the flesh play out. Because they always do.

Now let’s go back to Paul in Galatians.

He says that Hagar represents Mount Sinai — that’s where the law was given, where the people trembled in fear and couldn’t even touch the mountain without dying. Hagar, Paul says, corresponds to “Jerusalem which now is” — meaning the earthly religious system, still bound to the law, still striving in the flesh. Sarah, on the other hand, represents “the Jerusalem above,” the heavenly one — the one that’s free. The mother of all who believe.

So Paul isn’t just reciting history. He’s drawing a line. He's saying: You’re either living under slavery, or you’re living under promise. You’re either born of the bondwoman or born of the free.

Let’s stop right there.

Because this is where we miss it in our modern walk. We think being “religious” is enough. We think going to church, doing good, keeping rules, dressing right, saying the right words — we think that doing all that somehow earns us something. But that’s Hagar living. That’s law living. That’s still just striving. And it never produces the promise. It produces effort. Tension. Burnout. Jealousy. Competition. It produces flesh.

Isaac didn’t strive his way into the world. He was born by a miracle. And that’s how it is with the Spirit. You don’t earn this. You receive it by faith. Just like Sarah did when she finally believed. And it changed everything.

Let’s talk about Ishmael and where his line went.

Historically, Ishmael is considered the father of the Arab nations — many of which fill the Middle East today. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Iraq, the UAE, and others. Not every Arab person is a blood descendant of Ishmael, but spiritually, many still carry that same banner: the child of the bondwoman. Especially in Islam, which claims Ishmael as the chosen son — flipping the truth of Scripture upside down as the hasatan always does.

And the fruit? We see it. Strife. Unrest. War. Animosity against Israel. But listen carefully — this isn’t about bloodlines. It’s about spirit. About whether we’re living by the flesh, or by faith. And many who have never heard the truth are still walking in that same spirit of bondage.

So back to Galatia. Those Gentile believers — they were being told, “You’re not really saved unless you go back under the law. You’ve got to be circumcised. You’ve got to keep the whole thing to be accepted.” And Paul rises up, and with the authority of heaven, says, No! If you go back under that, you’re choosing Hagar all over again. You’re choosing slavery — even though Yeshua died to make you free.

He says, “So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” (Galatians 4:31)

So what does that mean for us today?

It means this: every day, we have a choice. Live by the flesh, or live by the Spirit. Try to earn it, or rest in the promise. Strive like Hagar, or trust like Sarah. You can live like a child of works, or like a child of grace. The world is full of Ishmael’s children — some by blood, but far more by spirit. You don’t have to be born in Arabia to live in bondage. You just have to keep trying to do it all yourself - where you will fail.

But you can be born again in Messiah. You can be a child of the promise. Sarah’s tent is still open. And the Jerusalem above — she still calls.

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Abba, help me lay down my striving. I don’t want to live by my flesh—I want to live by Your promise. Make me a true child of the freewoman, walking in YOUR Holy Spirit, trusting You fully. In Yeshua’s name, amen. 

 

 

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