Albert Barnes Commentary Galatians 4:21

"Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?" — Galatians 4:21 (ASV)

Tell me, etc. To fully show the nature and effect of the law, Paul here introduces an illustration from an important fact in Jewish history. This allegory has greatly perplexed commentators and, in some respects, presents real difficulty.

An examination of these difficulties can be found in larger commentaries. My object, without examining the proposed expositions, is to state as briefly as possible the simple meaning and design of the allegory. The design is not difficult to understand: it is to show the effect of being under the bondage or servitude of the Jewish law, compared with the freedom the gospel imparts.

Paul had addressed the Galatians as having a real desire to be under bondage, or to be servants (see Barnes on Galatians 4:9).

He had represented Christianity as a state of freedom, and Christians as the sons of God—not servants, but freemen. To show the difference between the two conditions, he appeals to two cases that would furnish a striking illustration of them. One was the case of Hagar and her son.

The effect of bondage was well illustrated there. She and her son were treated with severity, and were cast out and persecuted. This was a fair illustration of bondage under the law, of the servitude to the laws of Moses, and was a fit representation of Jerusalem as it was in Paul’s time.

The other case was that of Isaac. He was the son of a free woman and was treated accordingly. He was regarded as a son—not as a servant. And he was a fair illustration of the case of those who were made free by the gospel. They enjoyed a similar freedom and sonship and should not seek a state of servitude or bondage.

The condition of Isaac was a fit illustration of the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city, the true kingdom of God. But Paul does not mean to say, as I suppose, that the history of Hagar’s son and Rebecca’s son was mere allegory, or that Moses’ narrative was designed to represent the different conditions of those under the law and under the gospel. He uses it simply as showing the difference between servitude and freedom, and as a striking ILLUSTRATION of the nature of the bondage to the Jewish law and of the freedom of the gospel, just as anyone may use a striking historical fact to illustrate a principle.

These general remarks will constitute the basis of my interpretation of this celebrated allegory. The expression "Tell me," is one of affectionate remonstrance and reasoning. See Luke 7:42: Tell me, therefore, which of these will love him most? Compare to Isaiah 1:18: Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.

Ye that desire to be under the law. (See Barnes on Galatians 4:9).

You who wish to yield obedience to the laws of Moses. You who maintain that conformity to those laws is necessary to justification.

Do ye not hear the law? Do you not understand what the law says? Will you not listen to its own admonitions and the instruction that may be derived from the law on the subject?

The word "law" here refers not to the commands that were uttered on Mount Sinai, but to the book of the law. The passage to which reference is made is in the book of Genesis, but all five books of Moses were classed by the Jews under the general name of "the law" (see Barnes on Luke 24:44).

The sense is, "Will you not listen to a narrative found in one of the books of the law itself, fully illustrating the nature of that servitude which you wish?"