The Bondwoman and the Freewoman

“For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise.” Gal. 4:22-23. These words contain a deeper meaning.

The Lord had said to Abraham that Eliezer “shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Gen. 15:4. Abraham believed this, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Yet time passed, and Abraham turned 85 years old, still without having received a son. Sarah became impatient and began to think that everything would have to go the natural way. If Abraham’s descendants were to become as countless as the stars of heaven, he would have to find a wife whose womb was not closed and who was not past the age in which women normally give birth. Sarah began to confer with her human understanding. She wanted God’s promises to be fulfilled for Abraham, yet she did not have rest in her spirit so that she could wait until the Lord’s time. She wanted to hasten the fulfillment of the Lord’s will, even if that meant allowing Abraham to take her bondwoman as his wife—something which she would absolutely not have permitted under other circumstances. By doing this, Sarah served God’s law in a human way, and with her approval, her bondwoman gave birth to a son according to the flesh.

Someone who does their best to please God in a natural way produces works according to the flesh. They know the will of God (the law), and they do it as they see fit, in a natural and human way.

These two women “are the two covenants: the one from Mt. Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.”

The law was given on Sinai; this is Hagar. This law gives birth to children of bondage. It demands holiness and purity from the natural man, and as a consequence, this man must come into bondage because of his own corruption—even though he is not aware of it. When Hagar realized she had conceived, she despised her mistress. Gen. 16:4. It is just the same today. When slaves of the law give birth to children, they become proud and despise those souls who wait on the promises of the Lord, because they seem unfruitful in their eyes. Hagar not only corresponds to Sinai, but also to the Jerusalem which now is and which is in bondage with her children.

Who are these children of Hagar today? Who are the children of the earthly Jerusalem, who slave away according to the law?

Everyone who strives to obtain the promises without waiting on the Lord—who works in us both to will and to do—is a child of Hagar. Their works are the fruit of bondage and have nothing to do with the obedience of faith. They all belong to the Jerusalem that is now in bondage with her children. When her bondwoman despised Sarah for this work which she believed was of God, Sarah’s eyes were opened, and she understood that it was a work of man. She immediately went to Abraham and said, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”

From this we see that Abraham and Sarah had agreed that he was to take the bondwoman as a wife. Abraham said, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” Then Sarah dealt harshly with Hagar, and she fled from her presence.

Now light dawned for Sarah, and she understood that the son of the bondwoman could not be the one God had promised; otherwise she would not have been despised for her actions. She once again looked to the promise that God had given and waited in hope for that son who was to come from her own body. She received such power in this hope that she dealt harshly with her maid—so harshly that Hagar fled from her mistress’s presence.

If we have done a work in the same way Sarah did initially, it will eventually become clear to us that the fruit of that work is only a son of the bondwoman. We can recognize this because the work itself did not bring us the peace and joy that a work of faith would have brought. With indignation over our shameful mistake, we once again look to God’s promises and are strengthened in faith and chastened according to the flesh, so that we hate the bondwoman (ourselves) and her son (the work we did to please God).

Especially in the beginning, before our senses have been exercised to discern between works of the law and works of faith, Sarah and Hagar struggle for power. Hagar has the most works, yet Sarah lives in hope of fulfilling a work of faith. Just this hope is enough to make her so strong that she deals harshly with Hagar and all her works. Hagar fled from the presence of her mistress. Then the angel of the Lord found her and said, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”

Even if we, after our initial disappointment, become so indignant that we chase the bondwoman and her son far from us, she will return to the house according to the Lord’s command and will be instructed to submit under Sarah, the freewoman.

Right after we are converted, there is a struggle for power between these two covenants, because what is old and obsolete is on the verge of passing away. We meet people in the free assemblies who struggle with Hagar their entire lives. They believe that everything is bondage and that everyone who is not waging this unending battle is a slave. Sarah dealt harshly with Hagar and expected nothing more from her. She was finished with the matter and kept Hagar in submission from then on. It’s the same for us: We keep the flesh in its place by works of faith and speak no more about the struggle with Hagar. Instead, we fight the good fight of faith in order to attain the promises.

Most Christians are children of Hagar; they never move beyond her. That is why it is written: “For the bondwoman [Norw.] has many more children than she who has a husband,” namely, Sarah. Gal. 4:27. They can even receive the baptism of the Spirit, for it is written: “And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

Yet even if the Spirit has been poured out on such people, it is easy to recognize them, because they are unable to deny their own nature. They strive and seek power according to the flesh. They speak and write as a natural man and not as a man of God. Everything revolves around themselves. They write about their wives and children, as if other people’s salvation was dependent on their own family relationships. They glorify nature, mountains, valleys, and lakes. They feed their listeners with stories about how they pamper their flesh on their travels, and when they write and speak, they lavish praise on those who support them financially.

The church of God, which seeks the promise through works of faith, is their sworn enemy, because they think that their own mother, Hagar, can fulfill their every need. Therefore, they hate Sarah; she seems barren in their eyes. They persecute Sarah’s children in order to get the inheritance and the glory for themselves.

However, they will fail. Just let Hagar and her children, who make up the vast majority, boast of their large assemblies and their lofty titles as pastors and priests. Let them extol the earthly Jerusalem with their descriptions of nature and their travels. If they had been of the Jerusalem above, the glory here below would pale to such an extent that they would very quickly stop extolling the creation above the Creator.

The natural man cannot be subject to the law of God. What use do the baptism of the Spirit and prophetic words have if a person continues to find their comfort in Hagar and the earthly Jerusalem? What use is the Spirit if a person does not obey Him? Instead they use alliances, and they try to connect with people in every imaginable way in order to please those whose laws come directly from Sinai. This word is true: “And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

“But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Gal. 4:26.

A person who is a citizen of the new Jerusalem never praises the earthly Jerusalem; the mind of the Spirit will prohibit him from doing that. What he hears and sees from above is so much greater in value. He is like a woman who veils herself among the flocks of his companions and asks: “Tell me, O you whom I love, where you feed your flock, where you make it rest at noon.” Song of Sol. 1:7.

He seeks the one who feeds the flock and seeks the flock itself. But have you ever seen or heard of the children of Hagar bearing the Lord’s flock on their heart? The Lord’s flock is born from above, and they will die if they do not get nourishment from the heavenly Jerusalem. For them, travelogues and descriptions of earthly glory are like being given stones in place of bread. They will die of hunger if all they have to live on is human, religious talk about a glory which ceased to be glorious for their inner life long ago, compared to the glory that is revealed from the new Jerusalem.

Never go to broken cisterns for water. Never seek comfort from the religious multitudes of Hagar’s children. They were born to be your enemies. Be reconciled with that thought, and you will never be disappointed.

“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.” Gal. 4:28. The promises are not fulfilled through human striving; they are fulfilled in Him and by Him who gave the promise. Hagar is from below and strives upward toward Sinai. The children of promise are born from above of the incorruptible seed through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. Hagar’s glory is in the earthly Jerusalem, which is why they greedily grasp for earthly things, while the children of promise are sent away empty-handed in the power of the hope that waits for that city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

When Sarah saw that Hagar’s son was not the heir, she received faith to conceive seed despite her age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Heb. 11:11.

The children of promise place their confidence in the promises, promises which are far beyond the natural man’s grasp, and they attain the promises by faith. The children of Hagar measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves among themselves, and they cannot fathom how a person can attain anything in any other way than through their own strength. That is why they do not seek to attain greater glory than what is able to satisfy their human nature, and which already exists in the Jerusalem which now is. That is why you should not be amazed to see that such people are enthralled by things like car rides, beautiful meeting halls, a beautiful summer evening, etc.

Therefore, do not allow yourself to be deceived by their lavish praise of nature and earthly glory. Our sights are set on the heavenly glory, a glory which will remain even when heaven and earth pass away. Therefore, if we renounce the things that are seen and do not focus on them, but rather set our sights on those things which cannot be seen—the things which are eternal and will not perish—then it will surely be granted to us to suffer with Christ, according to the flesh; yet, in return, we will be glorified with Him!