O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

3:19 sweat of thy face. The Curse on Adam had four main aspects: (1) sorrow, because of the futility of endless struggle against a hostile environment; (2) pain, signified by the thorns; (3) sweat, or tears, the “strong crying” occasioned by the labor necessary to maintain life and hope; and (4) eventual physical death in spite of all his efforts, returning back to the dust. But Christ, as the second Adam, has borne the curse for us (Galatians 3:13), as the “man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3), wearing the thorns and suffering the greatest pain (Mark 15:17), acquired by strong crying (Hebrews 5:7) to sweat as it were drops of blood before being finally brought into the dust of death (Psalm 22:15). And because He so suffered for us, once again someday God will dwell with men, and “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (Revelation 21:4). Indeed there shall be “no more curse” (Revelation 22:3).

6:3 My spirit. One of the ministries of God’s Holy Spirit has always been to convict man’s spirit of “sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). Man is also “flesh,” however, and there is perpetual conflict between the flesh and the spirit, even in the life of a believer (Romans 8:5; Galatians 5:16,17). God is long-suffering with respect to man’s rebellion, but only for a time: the hour of His judgment must eventually arrive.

15:6 believed. This is the first mention of “belief” or “faith” in the Bible, as well as the first mention of “counted” or “imputed.” In Noah’s case, “grace” preceded imputed righteousness (Genesis 6:9–“just” means “righteous”); in Abraham’s case, it was “faith.” Both are essential for righteousness that satisfies God (Ephesians 2:8-10); one stresses the divine side, the other the human. This verse is quoted three times in the New Testament (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23); in each case it is stressed that Abraham is a type of all who are saved, the principle always being that of salvation through faith (which is by grace) unto righteousness.

15:16 fourth generation. It is not absolutely certain whether the 430-year term mentioned in the Abrahamic covenant begins with the coming of Abraham into Canaan or the descent of the children of Israel into Egypt. The former seems indicated by Galatians 3:16-17 in which case the “sojourning” mentioned in Exodus 12:40 and the “affliction” of Genesis 15:13 would apply to their total experience in both Canaan and Egypt. If this is the case, then the actual sojourn in Egypt would be only 215 years (from the time of Abram’s entry into Canaan to the birth of Isaac was 25 years; Isaac was 60 years old at Jacob’s birth; and Jacob was 130 years old when he and his children migrated to Egypt, a total of 215 years–see Genesis 12:4; 21:5; 25:26; 47:9). The “fourth generation” consisted of men whose great-grandfathers had been among the seventy Israelites who entered Egypt. Even if the children of Israel actually stayed 400 years in Egypt, the life span in those days was still around 100 or more (Moses died at 120), so it would have easily been possible for people of the fourth generation still to be living at the time of the exodus. There is also the problem of whether 215 years could have been enough time for the Israelite population to grow from about seventy to about two million. Although this seems unlikely, it would have been possible if the average family size had been about eight children (remember that Jacob himself had twelve) and the average life span still about one hundred years, with parents living to see their great-grandchildren grow to maturity. In contrast, consider the notes at Exodus 6:17 and 12:41.

22:17 thy seed. In Genesis 22:17,18, three times God used the word “seed” in the singular, instead of “seeds” in the plural. Paul claimed that this verse is a prophecy of Christ (Galatians 3:16), instead of a prophecy of all the children of Abraham. This argument is predicated on the truth of verbal inspiration, which even makes a fine distinction between singular and plural.

6:7 to me for a people. The promise of God to set apart a special people whose identity would be linked to Himself has been reaffirmed again and again, beginning as far back as His rejection of Cain while accepting Abel (Genesis 4:5). It was specially affirmed to Abraham (Genesis 12:1; 15:4,6), and here to Moses and the children of Israel. Finally, He has also chosen all “they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7, 26-29; note also Acts 15:14).

19:19 voice of the trumpet. There seems to have been a host of angels present around Mount Sinai as the Law was being given (note Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19) and one or more were blowing loudly on the trumpet of God. This, along with the lightning and dark cloud and great quaking of the mountain, made an awe-inspiring spectacle which the people could never forget (or so it would have seemed). Compare the exposition of this scene in Hebrews 12:18-21.

19:18 love thy neighbour. The Lord Jesus combined this command with that of Deuteronomy 6:4-5, and called them the two greatest commandments (see Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:27). Note also Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8.

13:21 not kept the commandment. It was ironic that—like Balaam—the Lord constrained the apostate prophet to utter one more inspired prophecy, whereby he pronounced God’s judgment on the true prophet for yielding to the temptation by which he (the apostate prophet) had persuaded the true prophet to disobey God’s Word. It is dangerous for a believer to go against the revealed Word of God (especially as now codified in the Scriptures) even when so urged by an apparently spiritual believer. Compare Galatians 1:8,9; II Corinthians 11:13-15; Matthew 24:24.

119:77 law is my delight. Many feel that God’s law is harsh and burdensome, but it should instead be a delight. The 119th psalm contains at least twenty-five specific testimonies to the benefits of the law (e.g., Psalm 119:18,165). The law cannot save, for none (but Christ) can keep it perfectly, but He has redeemed us from its curse (Galatians 3:13), and we can now rejoice in its blessings.