Galatians 4:27

It is written. The quotation is from Isa. 54:1 (see Vol. IV, pp. 26-30).

Rejoice, thou barren. In Isaiah’s day literal Israel had been “barren” in the sense that she had not brought forth the fruits of righteousness (see Isa. 5:1-7) and had done nothing toward evangelizing the world. The prospect of glorious success now belongs to the Christian church. This promise of the glorious fulfillment of God’s will for them as a nation of light bearers to mankind, originally made to literal Israel, Paul now applies to the church (see Vol. IV, pp. 29, 35, 36). As an Oriental woman who had no children would rejoice at having children, so the Gentiles may rejoice that the gospel privileges once offered Israel are now theirs (see Acts 11:18). The Jews had forfeited their opportunity to be heralds of the Messiah to all the world. In fact, the most stubborn and persistent opposition to the work of the Apostle to the Gentiles came from the Jews.

The desolate. That is, the “freewoman” of vs. 22, 23, “desolate” because she was once “barren.”

Many more children. Here, the large number of Gentile converts who were responding to the gospel message of Paul and the other apostles. When Paul returned to the church at Jerusalem to report to the leaders there, he invariably told of his success among the Gentiles (see Acts 15:12; 21:17-19). The Jews were anxious to make proselytes (see Matt. 23:15), and were, indeed, successful (see Vol. V, p. 62). In nearly every Gentile city, either full proselytes to the Jewish faith or, like Cornelius when Peter first met him (see Acts 10:1, 2), God fearers, attracted by the comparatively high ideals of Judaism. The latter, in great numbers, hesitated to accept circumcision, and were therefore excluded from the full benefits of Jewish worship. When these Gentiles heard the gospel proclaimed, they gladly accepted the good news that accorded them equal opportunity with the Jews to receive all the benefits of salvation provided by Jesus Christ. Many of Paul’s first Gentile converts from city to city probably came from this group. Paul proclaimed the universality of the gospel (see Rom. 1:15-17; Gal. 3:26).

She which hath a husband. In Paul’s allegory, Hagar.