A Verse-by-Verse Examination of Galatians
“And I say, for as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and trustees till the time prearranged by the father.” (4:1-2).
This is indeed confusing, until you read the next passages. That is the problem I feel with a lot of misunderstood Scripture. We read one part, and it doesn’t make sense, or contradicts another verse. At first this looks choppy, and poorly worded, but maybe not, maybe we need to read it all before judging it. And, above all, we need to judge it with the Entire Bible. Not the other way around.
Sometimes we have to read on to understand. Oh, how I wish those who point me to Galatians would consider all the books and letters written thereafter, as well as before.
“So we also, when we were children, were under the elementary matters of the world, being enslaved. But when the completion of the time came, Elohim sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under Torah, to redeem those who were under Torah, in order to receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, Elohim has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, also an heir of Elohim through Messiah.” (4:3-7).
Thank You. Thank You, Elohim! This is the Gospel message, the great Truth of the Covenant.
We were under the elementary matters of the world, living in a fog of delusion and artificial joy. We were slaves, yet still children of Yahoweh. We put ourselves there, were put there by our parents, by our churches, unknowingly. But now the Truth has been revealed, and this Truth will set us free. This Truth has paid the price.
He came to, “redeem those who were under Torah,” the Jewish people. He received us as sons, not because we were worthy, but because He is Righteous and Kind. Now that we are His, not following the world, but rather His Son, He has placed His Spirit within us. We are no longer slaves, but sons, and if indeed sons, then heirs of Elohim. But does an heir of Elohim cry out to the Father, giver of Torah, or do they cry, “What about Galatians?”
Side note: I would like to point out Yahoweh’s views on adoption. Many people claim they would not love an adopted child as much as one they bore, that child would not truly be theirs. Yet, thankfully, Yahoweh sees it differently. An adopted child becomes His son to the point of becoming an heir, something reserved for bloodline. That is how much of a son an adopted child is. 100 percent! And as heirs, is it not fitting for us to strive to honor our Father by growing up?
“O Yahoweh, my strength and my stronghold and my refuge, in the day of distress the gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, ‘Our fathers have inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no value in them.’” (Jeremiah 16:19).
(Again, I note, this said sons, not daughters; there is a reason for this, and I will present it shortly.)
“But then, indeed, not knowing Elohim, you served those which by nature are not mighty ones. But now after you have known Elohim, or rather are known by Elohim, how do you turn again to the weak and poor elementary matters, to which you wish to be enslaved again? You observe days and months and seasons and years.” (4:8-10).
Paul was speaking to ex-gentiles, who previously served non-mighty ones, and were in bondage to the weak, sinful, and poor elementary matters of the gentiles. I, too, have written you concerning our old ways. You know of the weak and beggarly non-mighty ones of which I speak. The Easter Bunny, the sun, and men consumed with pride; the idols that are small in shape, like crosses and angels, but which are a stumbling block to our hearts desire for the true Way of the One King.
I send a great and terrible warning: If you use this passage to say this speaks of the Feasts of Yahoweh, then you have called Yahoweh weak and worldly. And you—you are a fool or have been fooled! Repent. A cloud’s worth is unknown until it rains. Weep. Repent and turn away from accepting the twisting of the Word unto lawlessness, the torah of Satan, and seek the Pure Torah of the living Elohim. How? First you must let go of the non-living ones, like the sun, we have all unknowingly worshiped, or the carving knife for that Halloween pumpkin, because if our hands are holding these, then, pray tell, how can we accept and hold the Mighty Right Hand being offered to us!
The Galatians never knew the wonder of Passover, unlike Paul in Acts 18:20-21; therefore, it is worth asking, how then could they return to what they never knew? They were called out of the world, not out of the Word. Yahoweh called His people out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, to set them free—not to enslave them all over again. The Torah is freedom, and he debt He calls for has been paid for us. Do not accept the alleged understanding of those who would seek to use this passage, which clearly teaches the opposite, to turn from the Good News by making you return to the ways of the world, to the ways you once did know! Be on your guard! There is a war being fought, and the enemy knows our Sword will always over power his. Why else do you think he seeks to use it against us? Be on your guard! This is no mere war of men you’re in.
“Because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual matters of wickedness in the heavenlies.” (Ephesians 6:12).
Paul earlier said, “For if I still pleased men, I should not be a servant of Messiah” and to twist these verses, thereby attempting to make the Word of Yahoweh “weak” is indeed an attempt to please men, but not Yahoweh. People who know of them, and yet speak against the Word of Yahoweh and the feasts which His Son, and yes, even Paul, kept, ought no longer be considered servants, but rather lost and needing once again a tutor unto Messiah.
“I fear for you, lest by any means I have laboured for you in vain.” (4:11).
Paul was afraid, and rightly so, that the people who he toiled to share the Good News with were going back to their old pagan ways, like the modern day church. He also rightly feared that they were being pulled into the idea of being saved by performing rabbinical acts, like some Messianic groups have today.
I hope and pray you are a seeker of Yahoweh, desiring truth by His Spirit. May His Feasts in your home bring you just that. May what has been given us by He Who is Mighty be cherished in your home. If so, then you will not be able to escape the blessings of Yahoweh, or the curses of this world. The blessings of Yahoweh for the blessings of the world? … Now that is a nice trade.
“Brothers, I beg you to become as I am, because I am as you are. You did not wrong me at all. But you know that through weakness of the flesh I brought the Good News to you before. And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as a messenger of Elohim, as Messiah Yahoshuah.” (4:12-14).
Paul was struggling in the battle against the sinful desires of this world, and was being cursed by the world for doing so. Yet, even in his weakness of both sin and physical handicap, he was able to bring the Good News. We all, like Paul, are weak. We fail in many things, from profanity to lust, from self-righteousness to no-righteousness. Yet, even if we are beaten down we still have a hope inside.
He asked them to, “become as I am, because I am as you are,” … weak. I do not despise Paul for being weak. We are weak, but Yahoweh is Mighty.
“a messenger of Elohim, as Messiah Yahoshuah.”
They welcomed Paul, who, looking at the whole of his life, was the very least. Regardless, they loved the Messiah in his heart so much that they treated him as the Greatest. Not Paul. But the One in Paul’s heart. In your heart. In mine. Yet, many, to this day, worship Paul.
“What I mean is this, that each one of you says, “I am of Sha’ul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Kepha,” or “I am of Messiah.” Has the Messiah been divided? Was Sha’ul impaled for you? Or were you immersed in the name of Sha’ul?” (1 Corinthians 1:12-13).
No, Paul was not crucified for you! And I for one was not baptized into the name of Paul. I am not a Paulation, for Yahoshuah is Messiah. Paul is just a guy. A brother at best and a fellow sinner at least, like all of us. Peter, nor James nor John, nor any disciple, ever claimed to be Messiah, but with just a little twist this sure could read as though Paul did. I wonder if the last “as” was ever in the text. The comma and period were not. So if they can add two dots, why not two more? Or is “as” supposed to be “the,” or “from.” Regardless, we are to follow Messiah. If Paul’s heart lines up with the Torah the Messiah keeps, and the Gospels, then let us too follow the Messiah in Paul’s heart. If not, then let us not follow Paul—let us follow the Saviour.
Perhaps Paul was trying to say, “Welcome each other as you would the Messiah.” or, “Whatever you do to the least of these you do it unto the Messiah.” We are not to take the title Rabbi, because that is His and His alone. Do you think calling yourself the Messiah is any better? If this were Paul calling Himself the Messiah, I would end my paper here. I would reject Paul. But I do not think that I need to. Not yet. For I, too, have been welcomed before with washcloths of tears upon my dusty feet. I, too, a weak man who wrestles with the temptations of this world, have been treated as an answer to prayer, when the food that I gave was simply food given to me. What am I? What is Paul? All glory is unto Yahoweh, for without Him, neither Paul, nor I, could do anything at all. We would not even be.
“You show me the path of life; in Your presence is joy to satisfaction; at Your right hand are pleasures forever.” (Psalms 16:11).
I ask you as well: become weak. Let go of your supposed superiority! Accept the Messiah’s Holy Spirit so much that you walk where He walks … by His strength of love. Let us step down off our high house of alleged understanding, and kneel before Yahoshuah as He has children sit on his lap, as He rides into Jerusalem on a donkey and her colt, and as He washes the feet of His disciples.
“What then was your blessedness? For I bear you witness, that if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. So then, have I become your enemy, speaking truth to you?” (4:15-16).
What then was your blessedness in the life of sin? I attest there are no blessings from living a life of sin.
Paul’s words were obviously a little harsh at times, as perhaps are mine, but it is safe to say he loved. The people there loved him so much that if they could have seen for him they would have, even if it meant that they no longer would have been able to see. Could this be why someone else wrote this letter for Paul? Could Paul even proofread it? Keep this in mind for a bit later on.
Some people get mad at those who present the Truth—those who present something new to consider. I hope you are not one of them. Do not become my enemy, but rather a lover of Yahoweh’s Word. This, yes this, is all I ask.
Yet, silence is a lie … and so I admit: I am in awe. Do I have such friends? Are there ones that love me this much? In tears, and in knowing I am unworthy of their friendship, I know the answer is: Yes. May it be to their glory, not mine. Again, I say it: may it be to their glory, not mine.
“They are ardent towards you, for no good, but they wish to shut you out, that you might be ardent towards them. And it is good always to be ardent in what is good, and not only when I am present with you.” (4:17-18).
Sometimes people are different when certain others are around. If a preacher is in the room, then dirty jokes die out just as fast as people slow down when they see a policeman, even if they’re not speeding. Paul is saying to always be zealous for what is good. Looking to Genesis, and many other books of the Bible, we see what Yahoweh feels is good. We don’t have to guess what will please Him.
There are some, though, who are zealous for the wrong reasons, and by their arrogant haughtiness they hope to delude you into thinking they are superior, thus desirable, even when they are not. Many people will shun you with the motives of making you feel like you’re not good enough for them, and thus need to become like them to have a friendship. The Messiah, however, ate with sinners; He sought to heal even the prostitutes. He didn’t shun them, and even now He desires the sinners to come to Him. They left. He stayed. And even now I know full well that His whisper is in your heart calling you to Him, no matter how vile you have been told you are. The Saviour calls you out of Babylon. Will you then move to the other side of Babylon? Or will you truly come out of her and be His adopted son, yes, an heir according to the promise?
Seek after that which is good, no matter where you are at or who is around, if anyone at all. The truest form of this test is with family or old buddies. Will you fail the test simply because you think you have already passed?
“My little children, for whom I am again in birth pains until Messiah is formed in you, even now I wish to be present with you now and to change my voice, for I have doubts about you.” (4:19-20).
You ever wonder how they came up with one sentence being two verses? Boy, I sure wonder how strong of drink that must have taken.
Taking a look at this sentence we can see the Galatians were still being born into the Jewish faith. They had a long time to go until adulthood, though some may have been many decades old. Paul wanted to be with them, but he also wanted it to be different than it was. Paul wanted peace instead of bitterness.
The Galatians are commonly thought to have been Celtic, which, historically, were a fickle people who absorbed anything they were given. They would learn a new religion only to incorporate what they could into their own home brewed mix. I feel much of Paul’s attempts were as lost on them as they are on typical American Christians.
“I wish to be present with you.” I can hear a man’s voice crack with tears when I read this. “I wish to be present with you.” As do I, brother, as do I, and someday we will keep His Sabbath in song together in the Kingdom of Yahoweh. But, for now, our fight against the doctrine of pride and lawlessness is not over.
“Say to me, you who wish to be under Torah, do you not hear the Torah?” (4:21).
Say, want to have some fun? As we well know, there is no punctuation in these passages. So let’s take it out.
“Say to me you who wish to be under Torah do you not hear the Torah”
Or let’s put punctuation in different places as alleged translators do.
“Say to me, you who wish to be under Torah! … Do you not hear the Torah?”
Wow! Changed completely. This verse could seem as if he is questioning them, and disappointed in them for wishing to be under Torah like the Messiah, even saddened that they hear the Word of Yahoweh. When you remove the punctuations, it seems too choppy, as if it could have been two sentences. The last one makes it seem like Paul was dreaming of the day they would no longer want to be babies, but would indeed walk as the Rabbi walks.
We need not wonder which one was meant to those wishing to be under Yahoweh’s Law.
Some actually believe obeying the Word of Yahoweh brings us into bondage. Does Scripture truly say such a thing, that we were taken out of the bondage of slavery, only to be put in the bondage of Torah? Or does the Bible say that when we sin we accept bondage? We see in Isaiah 42:22-24 that the house of Jacob was put in bondage for not obeying the Torah. Also, “But he that looked into the perfect Torah, that of freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing of the Torah.” (James 1:25).
“So Yahoshuah said to those Yahudim who believed Him, ‘If you stay in My Word, you are truly My taught ones, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” (John 8:31-32).
What is truth? “Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and Your Torah is truth.” (Psalms 119:142).
“The Torah of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and straightness, and turned many away from crookedness.” (Malachi 2:6).
The doctrines of men means you are under the law, as we know from places like Matthew 15:9 and Jeremiah 17:5-7. Sin, the disobeying of Yahoweh’s Torah, brings bondage, while liberty is the Word of the King. Do you hear the continued tears of Paul who wished to be present with you? In tears, I do.
“How I long to be with you, only … if only, if only that when I am we would walk together as the Messiah walked. Say to me, you who wish to be like the Messiah! … Do you not see how the Messiah lived?”
“For it has been written that Abraham had two sons, one by a female servant, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the female servant was born according to the flesh, and he of the free woman through promise.” (4:22-23).
Here we see Paul quoting the Torah, continuing in his point from the previous section of his letter. Paul speaks about a very famous the world over event. Abraham was promised a son but doubted that his wife could bear, and so had sex with his servant girl. Not a good idea. The son of the female servant was according to the, “flesh.” How true this is. The flesh doubted and desired, so sadly a child was born. The free woman, the woman under Torah, had a child, too. Yahoweh said this would be through promise, and it was. Yet, now two children are present. One conceived from doubt, and one from promise. … Trouble brews.
“This is allegorical, for these are the two covenants: one indeed from Mount Sinai which brings forth slavery, which is Hagar, or this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Yerushalayim which now is, and is in slavery with her children. But the Yerushalayim above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it has been written, ‘Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who do not have birth pains! For the deserted one has many more children than she who has a husband.’ And we, brothers, as Yitshaq was, are children of promise. But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him born according to the Spirit, so also now. But what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the female servant and her son, for the son of the female servant shall by no means be heir with the son of the free woman.’ Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the female servant but of the free woman.” (4:24-31).
Paul often spoke allegorically as a means of helping others view common problems from a new perspective. Paul shows us that, figuratively speaking, Abraham is our father, and Sarah is our mother.
I have never been fond of Sarah’s treatment of the son she bore, Ishmael. I know she did not give birth to him as seen in a traditional sense, but it was her prodding that brought him forth nonetheless, as she said she would bear a son through Hagar. Yet, I wonder: would things have been different if Ishmael had loved, or if Sarah had as well? Oh, how different the world would be if Abraham had not adhered to his wife, but rather trusted more in the Promise of Yahoweh.
Although Paul calls some of them spiritual decedents of Hagar, they are of Sarah. (This is an allegory only, and in no way should it be used to show hatred toward those who are truly of Hagar’s or Sarah’s decent.) This allegory would bring them to the realization that we are born of the promise (Sarah), but act as though we were born according to the flesh (Hagar). Yet, both sons of Abraham were circumcised. Ishmael was circumcised at the same time Abraham was, at the covenant ground (Genesis 17:23-26). Do not forget His Words in Genesis. Think not that He has.
“He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your silver, has to be circumcised. So shall My covenant be in your flesh, for an everlasting covenant. And an uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, his life shall be cut off from his people—he has broken My covenant.” (Genesis 17:13-14).
The Judeans were trying to get people to believe their good news of being saved after circumcision. So Paul called them of Hagar, as they were doing things without faith in the Promise of Yahoweh. We ought have faith and accept the Promise of Yahoweh, and then walk in His ways as saved men.
“Yahoweh is my light and my deliverance; whom should I fear? Yahoweh is the refuge of my life; whom should I dread?” (Psalms 27:1).
Those opposed to Torah say, “Why do you want to follow Torah (and not sin)? Don’t you want to be free (their idea of freedom is to disobey Torah, thus sin)?” “Good,” obeying His Torah, is called evil. “Evil,” disobeying His Torah, is called good. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20). Light is the word used to show obedience of Torah, and darkness is the word used to describe disobedience of Torah.
“For the command is a lamp, and the Torah a light, and reproofs of discipline a way of life,” (Proverbs 6:23). Faith shows it is true only by faithfully keeping His commandments out of love.
“‘For though the mountains be removed and the hills be shaken, My kindness is not removed from you, nor is My covenant of peace shaken,’ said Yahoweh, Who has compassion on you.” (Isaiah 54:10).
At Sinai, by producing a golden calf, some attempted to receive the promise on their own understanding, rather than having faith in Who was, Who is, and Who is to come. Much like Abraham, who went to the slave girl, rather than trusting, hoping, in the promise of Yahoweh. Much like how many Jews, in Paul’s time, and to this day, added the Talmud, and leaned not on His Promise; much like many churches whose bylaws are more important to them than Yahoweh’s Law. Much like some today who put their faith in their own works (think about the few we have looked at), not realizing they can never earn salvation.
The false good news of the circumcision group, which states that we do not receive salvation until we keep the law (their law) and get circumcised, has one major flaw: you cannot truly keep Torah or be circumcised unless you are already saved. Otherwise the keeping of the Torah would allow pride or hopelessness to develop inside, rather than the humility and awe that the saved man has when growing in Torah, the walk of Messiah. This is Paul’s message again and again: man-made tradition, thought law, brings us into bondage. Trusting in Yahoshuah enough to obey Torah brings us into liberty and freedom.
“Hear the word of Yahoweh, you children of Yisra’el, for Yahoweh has a case against the inhabitants of the land: ‘For there is no truth or kindness or knowledge of Elohim in the land. Swearing, and lying, and murdering, and stealing, and committing adultery have increased. And bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and everyone living there languishes, with the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens. And the fish of the sea are taken away. However, let no one strive or reprove another, for your people are like those striving with a priest. And you shall stumble in the day, and the prophet shall also stumble with you in the night. And I shall make your mother perish. My people have perished for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being priest for Me. Since you have forgotten the Torah of your Elohim, I also forget your children.’” (Hosea 4:1-6).
“so that the righteousness of the Torah should be completed in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:4).
There is an old story about a servant of the Most High writing down the Scriptures. The servant stops and says, “Sovereign of the Universe, You are wise beyond all—bear it not hatred to your servant for a question?”
A voice was heard, “I bear it not.”
“If I write this … won’t it cause some to stumble?”
And with a shaking of the earth, the voice was heard again, “If they want to stumble—let them stumble. Write what I tell you!”
“This is allegorical … ”
Be Blessed and be a Blessing
Shalom
-Valentine Thalken Billingsley
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Additional Scripture References:
Genesis to Revelations