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Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things Phil 4:8 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Monday, February 9, 2026
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Imprisoned by the Law (Galatians #38) Bible Verse: Galatians 3:22-25 (BSB) "But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian." Message:
We previously studied the fundamental meaning of these verses, but there are two short (and unrelated) matters to discuss.
The first is how we are to understand verse 22; more precisely, what does Paul mean by saying we were “confined” [many translations read “imprisoned”] by the Law? The Greek word is a compound verb made up of two roots, “together” and “to shut.” It is used in Luke to describe the fish caught by the apostles when Christ first called them. (Luke 5:6) So, it is natural to read this might refer to a sort of herding of the Hebrews into a distinct group, something that the Law certainly did.
Job from Bible, by Bonnat
Job
But there is more to it, because the verb most commonly means “to be put into prison” (whether with others or alone). If that is how Paul intends it, we cannot see the Law as exalting the Jews, making them the “chosen people of God.”
Setting the Hebrews apart for special privileges is how Judaism did (in the Old Testament) and does (today) look at the Law, but Paul sees it very differently. He emphasizes that the Hebrews were singled out for God’s discipline; they were made captives to the Law and were punished for breaking it. That they were punished is unquestionable. The ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom were dispersed forever in 722 B.C.; the Kingdom of Judah sputtered on through several conquests, including building the Second Temple until it, too, was destroyed and dispersed by Rome in 72 A.D.
There is a third possible meaning, however, even more severe: that the Law actually separated the Hebrews from God’s promise! It means not so much to wall in the subject, but to wall out something else, completely. The Law built a wall that denied the Hebrews access to God’s promise for a period: they were tied to something that could not and cannot give eternal life: Because those to whom God gave the law were, by their nature as human beings, incapable of following the law, it formed an impenetrable barrier between them and God. (Only then could they see that a Messiah was an absolute necessity.)
Greek child with parents, photo of recreation
The second point about these verses is minor but charming. The Greek custom, when a child came of age, was to give him or her a new and different set of “grown-up” clothes. Many cultures have something similar — in the U.S., until around the 1940s, boys would not get long trousers until a certain age. But in Greek culture, it was quite important, and the new clothes would be accompanied by a ceremony, a meal, and a sacrifice to a household god.
So perhaps Paul means to invoke this custom, when he writes, “[I]f you were baptized in Christ, you were clothed in Christ, . . .”
Meditation : Prayer : Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant equip us with every good thing that we may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. |
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