[QUOTE="VictoryinJesus, post: 457027, member: 7369"
]Isaiah 54:1-4
[1] Sing,
O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child:
for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord . [2]
Enlarge the place of
thy tent, and let them
stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not,
lengthen thy cords, and
strengthen thy stakes; [3] For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and
thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the
desolate cities to be inhabited. [4] Fear not; for
thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be
thou confounded; for thou
shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.'
“... and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.” ... directly linked to where Paul speaks of the true widowhood. Also, directly linked to Galatians 4:27-28, 'For it is written,
Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. [28] Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are
the children of promise. — promised to Abraham.
Don’t you see His chosen display 1 Corinthians 13:5-7'
[5] Doth not behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; [6] Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7]
Beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things,
endureth all things.
This is what His chosen did: they did not seek their own but the riches of another. They hoped. They beared with long suffering and patience for the precious fruit of His seed. And they endured. That is what makes them chosen.(bear witness of His name).[/QUOTE]
Hello
@VictoryinJesus,
You posted this in response to my request for scriptures to confirm your thought expressed, that God gave an inheritance to Israel in the form of '
spiritual children'. Yes?
* Paul quotes Isaiah 54:4, as you say,
'For it is written,
"Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not;
break forth and cry, thou that travailest not:
for the desolate hath many more children
than she which hath an husband."
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.'
(Gal.4:27-28)
* But how did he use it? What is the context in which it is used, and what was his reason for quoting it?
In Galatians 4:19, Paul says to the Galatians believers,
'My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.' Paul was concerned about them, because of false teachers who were seeking to influence them, to bring them back under the dominion of the law. Paul uses the illustration from Isaiah, as an allegory, to teach them by means of a past event, which they were familiar with. The story of Hagar and Sarah.
* The story brings out in picture form the condition of one under the dominion of the law and in contrast one who has been freed from it by redemption. The two Jerusalems, 'earthly' and 'heavenly' bear this out too. The earthly one was still in slavery and subject to a Gentile power. The heavenly one was in a different sphere from earth and was in no sense in bondage, and is described by John in Revelation 21. We are told in Hebrews 11 and 12 that Abraham saw it in vision, although the Old Testament does not reveal this. Those who shared Abraham's faith, and faithfully followed the path he trod embraced it too. For them it was that, 'better country', better than anything on this earth and worth going without a lasting home here and now, where they were only strangers and pilgrims.
* Yes, the story was intended to show the contrast between freedom and bondage, between the law of Moses with it's slavery and the glorious freedom resulting from saving grace.
* 'Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.' Or according to the 'type' that Isaac was. Isaac was born entirely by faith, Romans 4:19, as are we, in Christ.
Praise God!
* I know that this response will not satisfy you, VictoryinJesus, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, but I thank you for taking the time to share what you have.
In Christ Jesus
Chris