The Law Was Our Guardian

As I was studying Galatians, I found myself fixed on Chapter 3:24-25 "So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian"

I was intrigued by the term guardian, which is also translated as tutor or schoolmaster. For whatever reason, I just got stuck on the term.

In his video series on Fire on the Mountain, Ray Vanderlaan took time to explain the cultural relevance of the word "banner" in Exodus 17:15 "The Lord is My Banner" and knowing the history and use of the word banner enhances the meaning of the whole phrase.

So, I did a little digging on the word guardian and here's what I found.

According to http://biblehub.com/text/galatians/3-24.htm the original Greek word is paidagōgos.

My next stop was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy

Greek: paidagōgos  | English: Pedagogue or Pedagogy  |  "to lead the child"

“The word pedagogue actually relates to the slave who escorts Roman children to school."

"The pedagogue's job is usually distinguished from a teacher's by primarily focusing on teaching children life-preparing knowledge such as social skills and cultural norms, etc. There is also a very big focus on care and well-being of the child. Many pedagogical institutions also practice social inclusion. The pedagogue's work also consists of supporting the child in their mental and social development.”

As soon as I read this meaning I felt like I knew exactly what Paul was trying to explain and was amazed at the depth of meaning hidden within the analogy.

Paul used a very common picture that everyone, at that time, would be familiar with.  Many children were under the care of a pedagogue.  The pedagogue was responsible for teaching manners, social skills, etiquette, and ensuring that the children got to school on time, thus handing off the children to the teacher.

Think about the picture Paul painted.  He related the Torah to a pedagogue.  The Torah provided instructions for how to define community, how to treat each other, social interaction, manners, employment, eating habits, hygiene, etc.  The analogy is completed by understanding the Torah’s purpose was to point us (or hand us off) to the teacher (Christ).

After the pedagogue escorted children to the teacher, do you think the teacher told the child to forget everything taught by the pedagogue?  That is absurd to even consider. It is just as absurd to consider that Paul was teaching to disregard everything taught in the Torah just because he is teaching salvation is based on faith.  Absurd.

Like a pedagogue that teaches manners and social skills, the Torah is filled with instructions on how to treat your family, neighbors, slaves, employees, foreigners, animals, food, hygiene, a calendar, worship, purity, forgiveness, and instructions on appointed times God set aside to meet with us in celebration and remembrance (also called The Feasts).  These instructions are given with the promise that, if followed, great blessing will be given.  If not followed, there are curses attached, not to mention the absence of blessings.  Personally, I would even consider the absence of blessings to be a curse in itself.

I think we treat this promise of blessing the same way many of us treat our health and nutrition today.   We know that eating and exercising correctly, we will live healthier and feel better.  Many of us do not follow the basic nutrition and fitness “rules” and end up overweight.  We are tired, sick, and unhealthy.  We spend extra money on doctor visits and medication to fight cholesterol, diabetes, joint pain, and a myriad of other health challenges, all caused because of unhealthy living.   If we just followed the “rules” we would reap the reward.  Do we blame the doctor, fitness trainer, or nutritionist for having rules to follow?  Doesn't that seem silly?

I believe God’s Torah follows the same principal.  The covenant He made, if followed, offered numerous blessings.  If not followed, curses would fall upon us.  The negative connotation from the Torah (law) came from man trying to redefine the Torah as a means to righteousness and salvation, thus imprisoning man in a life of constant failure instead of freeing man to a life of blessings. 

The Torah was given as a way to create an organized community for around 3 million people that were not part of any other organized community.  3 million people without a government, king, ruler, or formal set of laws to guide them.  Most of those 3 million people had spent their entire lives as slaves in Egypt.  Their daily life was one of fearful submission until the great exodus occurred and they were saved from slavery.  Now, wandering the desert, they have no formal organized government or community.  God provided that in the form of the Torah.  In this Torah were laws, hygiene, health, nutrition, how to treat employees, how to treat slaves, how to treat bosses or masters, how to treat foreigners, etc.  The basics of how to live in an organized community without chaos and anarchy.  God took responsibility to teach 3 million people and growing, how to form a single functioning community.

It was man’s mentality that turned this community organization guide book into a form of laws to earn righteousness.  Man turned it into what it was never intended to be.  It was not salvation or a way to earn salvation.  It was a guidebook on how to live life, treat others, and survive as a nation.

Paul did not banish the Torah.  He was simply teaching to return it to its proper place that God intended from the beginning, and to point believers back to faith in God. 

As a teacher would never tell a child to forget or abandon everything the pedagogue taught, Jesus never told his followers to forget or abandon everything in the law.

A Promise Based on Faith - Lesson 7

In this passage Paul continues his reference to Genesis scripture references to support his theology that faith is the foundation.  He is careful to not denounce the covenant with God that included the law.  He simply puts the law covenant in its respective place.

In the last lesson, Galatians 3:1-9, Paul connects the promise of faith with the promise to Abraham, quoting Genesis that in Abraham, all nations will be blessed.  Because of Abraham’s faith (Gen 15:6) God counted him righteous.  Also in Genesis 22, Abraham showed faith by following through with God’s instruction to sacrifice Isaac.  Because of this faith (shown through willing obedience), God intervened and did not allow the sacrifice.

Galatians 3:15-29

·         v3:15-18 – Paul is making a point that God’s covenants do not replace or annul each other.

o   It is interesting that this issue, even though addressed by Paul over 2000 years ago, still seems to be a challenge for some today. 

o   Keep in mind that Paul has spend the last few paragraphs building a case that righteousness and justification are granted by faith, using God’s blessing on Abram that all the families of the earth will be blessed through Abram and that God counted Abram’s faith as righteousness (Gen 12:3 and Gen 15:6)

o   v16 – offspring vs. offsprings – OR – seed vs. seeds

§   Genesis 22:18 - “and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

§   Genesis 26:4 -  “I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed”

o    The Hebrew root word for seed is zera.  Like the English equivalent, this word can be used for singular or plural, depending on how you use the word and in which context.  The two above verses use a unique variation of the root Hebrew word, which seems to only be used twice in all of Hebrew scriptures.

·         v17 & 18 – Back to the point he made in verse 15.  One covenant does not annul the previous covenant.  The covenant given to Abraham was not annulled by the covenant 430 years later given through Moses. 

o   God’s promise to Abraham was unconditional

§  Abraham did not participate in the ritual

§  Land, Uncountable descendants, chosen people, blessing to all nations

o   God’s promise through Moses was conditional

§  Multiple / countless blessings

§  Required obedience to the commands given

o   Jews, at the time, had tied inheritance and salvation to the Mosaic covenant (v18) and to works. Paul is connecting the blessing of God back to the original, unconditional covenant with Abraham. 

·         V19-23 – This is a critical argument that Paul is making.  Obviously he is laying the groundwork for those that would consider doing away with the law, or for those that would attempt to twist his words, claiming he was doing away with the law.

o   v19 – The connection of the offspring through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through to Jesus as the one offspring that would bless all nations. 

o   v20 – Jewish belief is that God is one in the singular only.  Trinity is not acceptable to traditional Judaism because the scriptures state that God is one and to have no other gods before Him.  Because of this very literal and strict belief, the terminology of a mediator or intermediary is delicate enough that Paul felt the need to clarify his intention by stating God is one.  Paul is pointing to Moses as an intermediary, which God worked through.

§  “put in place through angels” – also referenced in Acts 7:53 and Hebrews 2:2 – any thoughts on this?  I started to dig into this but it seems that it could a very deep study.

o   v21 – Two very distinct and critical points can be drawn from this verse.

§  Point 1 –Paul very clearly pointed out that the law is not contradictory to God’s promises.

§  Point 2 –The law is separate in the regard that the law was never intended to justify or save

§  God’s covenant through Abraham = “The Promise”

·         Unconditional promise of land, inheritance, and blessing

§  God’s covenant through Moses = “The Law”

·         Conditional covenant of blessings and curses if the law is obeyed.

·         Does not undo (or ratify) the previous covenant through Abraham

§  This is a tough concept to process for many.  Common teaching is that the law is contrary to God’s promise and that the law was done away with.  In fact, the law was not done away with, but has a very distinct purpose all on its own.

·         v24-25 – The law was our guardian  (tutor, schoolmaster)

o   Greek: paidagōgos  | English: Pedagogue or Pedagogy

§  The word comes from the Greek παιδαγωγέω (paidagōgeō); in which παῖς (país, genitive παιδός, paidos) means "child" and άγω (ágō) means "lead"; literally translated "to lead the child". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy)

§  “The word pedagogue actually relates to the slave who escorts Roman children to school….The pedagogue's job is usually distinguished from a teacher's by primarily focusing on teaching children life-preparing knowledge such as social skills and cultural norms, etc. There is also a very big focus on care and well-being of the child. Many pedagogical institutions also practice social inclusion. The pedagogue's work also consists of supporting the child in their mental and social development.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy)

§  Paul used a very common picture that everyone, at that time, would be familiar with.  Children would be under the care of a pedagogue.  The pedagogue would be responsible for teaching manners, social skills, etiquette, and ensuring that the children got to school on time, thus handing off the children to the teacher.

§  Think about the picture Paul painted.  He is relating the Torah to a pedagogue.  The Torah provided instructions for how to define community, how to treat each other, social interaction, manners, employment, eating habits, hygiene, etc. 

o   v25 completes the analogy “now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian”

§  The analogy is completed by understanding the guardian’s (Torah or law) purpose was to hand us off (point us) to the teacher (Christ). 

§  When the pedagogue escorted children to the teacher, everything the pedagogue taught the children was not disregarded.  That is absurd to even consider.  Just as absurd as Jesus asking us to forget or disregard the teaching of God’s law.

As a lawyer would lay out their case before a jury, Paul has done the same here.  Paul uses direct scripture reference from the Old Testament to illuminate God’s original covenant, based on Abraham’s faith.   He then takes that scripture reference apart to prove his argument and set the foundation.  Like a brilliant teacher, he continues his argument by using common examples that were easy to picture for his readers.  Jesus taught in parables to illuminate his message to his followers.  Paul is really doing something similar here by using the analogy of a pedagogue, which would have been common in an area filled with Roman culture, like Galatia.

Paul spends a lot of time providing the groundwork that justification comes from faith, but makes the very specific point that the second covenant is not annulled and that the laws of Moses have their purpose. 

Seed not Seeds? Offspring not Offsprings?

Galatians 3:8

•             And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” (ESV)

At the surface this may seem like no big deal.  Until you start to read Genesis to find the exact reference that Paul was quoting.  It isn’t as though Paul wrote in his text “As it says in Genesis 22:18, Moses wrote…”  Chapters and verses were added only within the last 1,000 years. 

I would guess that Gen 12:3 is considered the most common reference because Paul is using this passage as an argument that the promise of blessing came before the covenant and before the requirement for circumcision.  Again, however, I have to wonder if, because the exact words he used are not the exact words of any one passage in Genesis, but instead close to many, perhaps he is not quoting as much as he is referencing an overall general meaning of several passages given in Genesis. 

Paul’s reference could be located in a few places in Genesis (12:3, 18:18, 22:18, 26:4).  My ESV bible and my wife’s NIV list 12:3 as the cross reference.  While Gen 12:3 is a possibility, I couldn’t help but wonder if Paul was quoting a different passage because of a point he makes just a few sentences later comparing the singular or plural use of the word seed or offspring.

Galatians 3:16

•             Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (KJV)

•             Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. (ESV)

I did not do a thorough count of how many times God used the word offspring when talking to Abraham, however, it is used several times.  The problem with the translation is that the Hebrew root word for seed is zera.  {A quick side note that I made myself chuckle at the pun of “root word for seed” – I’m thankful God gave me a sense of humor.}  The root word zera can be singular or plural, just like the English words seed or offspring.  When translating or reading, it is imperative to understand the context of the word.

There is one more thing to consider when digging for scripture references that I had never encountered until this week with this particular word and phrase.  The term that Jesus used in Matthew 5:18, “jot and tittle” actually has meaning in the written Hebrew language.  A tittle is actually the small dots and tick marks, or hanging marks that are used when writing in Hebrew.  Jot is actually the Hebrew letter yodh, which, when written is the smallest physical letter.

When using BibleHub (http://www.biblehub.com) to review the differences between the Hebrew words for seed, these two instances stuck out to me. 

בְזַרְעֲךָ֔ – Gen 22:18 – “and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

בְזַרְעֲךָ֔ – Gen 26:4 – “I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed”

If you carefully analyze the writing, including the “tittles” and marks around this Hebrew word, wə•zar•‘ă•ḵā this version of the word is only used twice in all scripture, which I copied above.  (http://biblehub.com/hebrew/vezaracha_2233.htm)  Interestingly, BibleHub has it listed three times, however, upon careful analysis of the Hebrew writing shows that the word used in Genesis 17:9 { וְזַרְעֲךָ֥ } it is apparent that the writing of the word is different than the other two occurances.

I have two main points, which if you’re still reading, I commend you because for most, this would be considered ridiculously meticulous and unnecessary when studying the Bible.

My first point is that I find it thoroughly interesting that this version of the Hebrew word seed or offspring is only used twice, and both times in reference to blessing all the nations of the earth. 

My second point is that I also find it very interesting that Paul meticulously points out the difference between the singular use of the word seed during his discussion of the promise. 

Could Paul have been pointing to these two unique uses of the word when he was comparing the use of the word seed vs seeds? Is the meaning within the unique visual "tittles" used when the Hebrew word was written?  I do not know nearly enough about the Hebrew language to even feel concrete in my answer, however, I don't think the scriptures are full of coincidences.  I believe every tiny mark has a very specific and deeply profound meaning.  Only One knows all, and He gives us understanding along the way.