When I was growing up in a non-Christian home, I came to believe that, if God existed, He rewarded our good behavior and punished our bad. My mother the agnostic believed that God sometimes just picked on people for no good reason.

The "theology" that teaches that the good things that happen in life are the result of some good past behavior is completely unBiblical. Don't get me wrong. Obedience can and ultimately does bring blessing, but God often brings tribulation inot the life of a Christian in order to bring about growth and maturity. And, there are times when He brings blessing into the life of the Christian who definitely doesn't deserve it based upon behavior. That's grace -- unmerited favor.

I'm thinking Abraham probably wouldn't have wanted Moses to record what happened in Genesis 20. While camping in Gerar, Abraham once again passed off his wife Sarah as his sister, leading to a great deal of unpleasantness and sharp rebuke by a pagan king -- who, despite being pagan, was completely innocent of any wrong-doing. Tragically, there seems to have been no genuine sorrow or repentence for the sin that was committed. Abraham made excuses for his deplorable behavior. Abraham was, therefore, not at a high point in his spiritual life when the "child of promise', Isaac, was born. Despite his spiritual condition, God brought about one of the promised blessings in his life.

Isaac was the result of divine intervention in the lives of Abraham and Sarah, both of whom were too old to bear children.

Note the calm assurance. Without suspence or suprises, the news of the conception was offered as if nothing else could be expected to happen. God had promised it would happen and God always accomplishes His word. His purposes are never delayed or defeated by man's sin. God's purposes are certain; what He promises, He accomplishes.

The son seems to be given almost more for Sarah's benefit that for Abraham's. Abraham already had a child with Hagar, Ishmael. Not too much earlier than this, he'd been willing to risk Sarah to Abimelech's harem at the very time she was about to conceive the promised son, so I don't think he took the promise very seriously. Despite that, God kept His promise.

Abraham's response to the birth of Isaac was lackluster. In obedience to the instructions given to him in Genesis 17, Abraham named the baby Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, following God's instructions to the letter, but seemingly without the joy that could have been experienced.

Abraham was 100 years old. In a way, Abraham and Sarah were more like grandparents to Isaac than parents. Who of us would have been overjoyed at the birth of a child at this age? When Abraham could have been drawing Social Security payments for 35 years, he became a parent. And at the age of 113 he would enter into the teenage years with his son.

"Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." She went on to say, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!" Genesis 21:6-7

If Abraham’s response to the birth of this child was merely dutiful, Sarah’s was delirious. The name Isaac means "laughter", perhaps an allusion to how both Abraham and Sarah laughed when told they would have a son. That was an absurd notion before he was born, but now the name Isaac took on a new significance. He was a delight to his mother, who had waited so long for a child.

There was a sad note to the birth of this child. On the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham prepared a great feast. Isaac might have been three or four years old by then. The sight of Ishmael at the feast robbed Sarah of all of the joy she should have had. By this time Ishmael would have entered his teens and would likely have reflected his mother’s disregard for Sarah and her son. Paul’s commentary in Galatians 4:29 informs us that mockery was involved. Determining that something must be done once and for all, Sarah gave Abraham an ultimatum.

"So she said to Abraham, "Banish that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!" Genesis 21:10

Sarah was obviously not at her best in this incident; neither was Abraham. Some applaud Sarah for her depth of spiritual insight concerning Isaac being the heir, not Ishmael. I think her primary motive was jealousy and a protective instinct toward her own son. Like every Christian I've ever known, Sarah had moments she would just as soon forget entirely. Peter’s later use of Sarah as an example of humility and submissiveness overlooked this event as an exception to the normal rule. In a similar fashion the writer to the Hebrews spoke of Abraham and Sarah as those whose faith we should imitate. Their mistakes and sins were not mentioned because they were dealt with once and for all under the blood of Christ. Men’s sins are recorded in Scripture in order to remind us that the men and women of old were no different than we are and to serve as a warning and instruction to us not to repeat their mistakes (1Corinthians 10:11).

Abraham was very attached to Ishmael and would have been content for this child to have been the heir through whom God's promises were fulfilled. However, this was impossible because Ishmael was the result of human effort devoid of faith (Galatians 4:21). Abraham's heart broke at the thought of letting his son go. While Sarah's motives were suspect, it is likely that her ultimatum had to occur in order to force Abraham's hand in setting aside his aspirations for his first son.

"But God said to Abraham, "Do not be upset about the boy or your slave wife. Do all that Sarah is telling you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted." Genesis 21:12

God reassured Abraham that as painful and unpleasant as the situation might be, putting Ishmael away was the right thing to do. Both Hagar and the boy were close to Abraham’s heart. She was more than a maid to Abraham. It is impossible for a man to enter into an intimate relationship such as the one Abraham had with Hagar and then to simply walk away. Sarah and God both knew this. In more than just a physical way Abraham had become one with Hagar and Ishmael was the evidence of that union. God had declined to accept Ishmael as Abraham's heir (Genesis 17), so it was therefore necessary to send Ishmael away and severe his status as heir. Yet the promises God had made to Hagar and Abraham concerning Ishmael would be honored (Genesis 21:13).

The sending away of the son of a concubine was not without precedent in that day. In the Code of Hammurabi, Law 146, the children of slaves who were not made heirs must be set free as compensation for this. Abraham’s sending away of Ishmael fits very nicely into this practice. By giving him his freedom, he indicated that Ishmael had no part in his inheritance, which was kept exclusively for Isaac.

Hagar and Ishmael were sent out with appropriate provisions, but appear to have become lost or may have remained in the desert expecting God to fulfill his promises wherever she chose to wander. Ishmael was a teenager, probably 16 or 17. With death near at hand, Hagar sought to separate from her son and beg God's provision for him. God had already provided a well for them, but it took a while for them to find it because they were so afraid of dying.

God’s working in Hagar’s life may seem harsh to us, but I understand His dealings to be such that His promises were accomplished. You remember that Ishmael was to be a "wild donkey" of a man, hostile toward his brothers, and a free spirit. This kind of man could not be raised in the city with all of its conveniences and advantages. Learning to survive in the desert, to prevail over hostile elements was just what it took to make such a man out of Ishmael. Consider the desert to be Ishmael's survival training.

This passage teaches us that God's blessings continue to come into the lives of His people even when our faith is at its lowest ebb. God had promised Abraham and Sarah a son and He provided that child right on schedule, even though their spiritual condition was not top-notch.

We shouldn't conclude, however, that holiness is unimportant. Disobedience has painful consequences. The union of Abraham and Hagar created a son who could not remain with his father. Abraham's sin reaped the consequences of separation from his first son. All that followed was a result of Abraham's adultery and polygamy.

Sometimes good things happen for the wrong reasons. Ishmael was sent away because Sarah was in a green-eyed snit about him, but this prepared the way for the "sacrifice of Isaac" in the next chapter. Throughout the Bible we see right things occurring for the wrong reasons. Joseph was sold as a slave to Egypt to prepare the way for salvation of the nation Israel, but he got there through the treachery of his brothers.

Are you in a difficult or painful situation? Perhaps you got there because of the deceit or maliciousness of someone else. That doesn’t really matter, so far as you are concerned. If you believe in a God Who is truly sovereign, really in control, then you must accept the fact that God has brought you to the right place for the wrong reason. The reasons may not be praiseworthy, but you can be assured that God has you in that place for a good reason.

God’s answer to our problems is often the solution which has been there all along, but our anxiety has kept us from seeing it. I love the fact that Hagar saw the well that had been there all along. Only her tears and fears kept her from seeing it. The cries of those who belong to God will reach Him, but the answers need not be spectacular or miraculous, as we sometimes expect or demand. Many times the answer will be that which, in time, is obvious.

Do you belong to Him? If you have come to trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ on your behalf, then you do. If you do, God cares for you. Those who belong to God need not fear, for He is with them; He is in them. He deals with us in wonderous grace. Even at our darkest hours, He remains faithful.