Laughter
Galatians 4:21-31
Genesis 21:1-21
What kind of laugh do you have?
These are some types of laugh, and you may identify with one of them.
1. The chipmunk laugh
2. The head whip laugh
3. The marathon laugh
4. The wheezer laugh
5. The mime laugh
6. Out of breath laugh
7. The cougher laugh
8. The woo laugh
9. The snorter laugh
10. The hiss laugh
11. The sigh laugh
12. Th clapper laugh
Today, we are going to have a look at three different types of laughs that occurred in this story of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael, and their implications for us.
The first laugh is the laugh of disbelief
The second laugh is a laugh of the Joy of the Lord
The third laugh is the laugh of mockery
Laugh of disbelief
Laugh of the Joy of the Lord
Laugh of mockery
So, let us look at the first laugh, the last of disbelief.
It was Abraham who first laughed in disbelief when God told him that his wife, Sarai would give him a child for from own body.
Look at Genesis 17:15-17
15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
God promised Abraham a son from his wife and Abraham laughed in disbelief and why?
Because Abraham was 100 years old at the time, Sarah was 90 years old at the time. God was promising Abraham, the humanly impossible. Sarah was well past the child bearing age. These guys were at an age where they should have been enjoying great grandchildren, not trying for a child of their own.
God promised Abraham and Sarah, the humanly impossible- and so no wonder Abraham laughed in disbelief.
Not only did Abraham laugh in disbelief, but Sarah also laughed in disbelief when the three angels reiterate their promise to Abraham.
Look at Genesis 18:9-15 with me:
9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.”10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Sarah laughed in disbelief that God could do the impossible and give her a child, and when God challenged her for her laughing in disbelief, she denied it. Not only did she laugh in disbelief, but she lied.
Friends do we laugh at the promises that God has made to us in Jesus?
Because let us be honest, the promises that God has made to us in Jesus seem humanly impossible, don’t they?
For example, just that simple promise from Romans 8:1, that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Which means that those who simply believe that Jesus paid for all their sins on the cross, are no longer condemned for those sins, but are free to walk in step with the spirit.
It is easy for us to question this promise, to think that our sin is too deep or our struggle is too often, that surely God condemns us, and yet he promised for those in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation.
Or what about this other simple promise, from Romans 8:39, where God promises us that nothing, absolutely nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Which means that as we continue to believe in what Christ did for us at the cross, God will never stop loving us, no matter if we have a good or bad day, we are in Christ and his love is eternal. We often think that God’s love for us depends on our performance, but it doesn’t.
Abraham and Sarah failed to believe God’s promise to them, that he could give them a son, and so they laughed in disbelief.
But worse than laughing in disbelief, they decided to take matters into their own hands. They decided that they needed to do the work, that God had promised that he would do.
So, what did they do?
They came up with their own plan of salvation.
They came up with their own works of salvation.
They thought they needed to help God keep his promise.
They thought it would be a good idea for Abraham to marry another younger woman who could produce a child for him.
Look at Genesis 16:1-4 with me:
16 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.
Perhaps Abraham and Sarah thought they were doing the right thing. After all it was humanly impossible for Sarah to conceive a child, so the only human possibility left, was for Abraham to have a child by another woman, after all, that child would still be a child of Abraham, and God did say that it would be through Abraham that all the nations would be blessed.
And yet, as we see very early on, after Abraham and Sarah carried out their plan- problems arose straight away.
As soon as Hagar, conceived- Ishmael, jealousy arose between Sarah and Hagar- Hagar looked at Sarah in contempt.
Friends, when we try and earn our salvation our way, problems occur.
When we think that we earn our salvation by our church attendance, or our taking of the Lord’s supper, or by how much money we give to the church, problems quickly arise. We can easily look at others in contempt, and judge them for their lack of giving, or their lack of church attendance. We can become uneasy in our salvation, always questioning whether we have done enough.
In Galatians chapter 4, the apostle Paul uses the story of Isaac and Ishmael to talk about those who try and earn their salvation by keeping the law, and those who trust in God’s promise that Jesus has already given us salvation with his work on the cross.
Paul says that eventually those who try and earn their salvation by keeping the law will be separated from those who trust that Jesus already saved them at the cross.
Friends, we add nothing to the salvation that Jesus brought us at the cross. Jesus completed that work, when he uttered those words- “it is finished”
This brings me to the second type of laughter we are going to look at today- that is the laughter of the Joy of the Lord.
When Sarah was 90 and Abraham was 100, Sarah had a son called Isaac, which means son of laughter. After Sarah had initially laughed with disbelief, God continued to show his mercy to her and gave her a son from her own body, and when Sarah had her baby boy in her arms she laughed with Joy- Joy that God had done the impossible.
Friends, we can share in same type of laughter- knowing that God sent us a son- not Isaac, but one born in the family line of Isaac- Jesus, to save us from our sins. God sent his own son, from heaven (seems humanly impossible), born of a virgin, Mary (seems humanly impossible), lived a sinless life (seems humanly impossible), died on a cross and came back to life (seems humanly impossible) to bring us into God’s family.
Friends, no matter what you may be facing today, I pray that you will know the Joy of the Lord, the Joy of your salvation, the Joy of being part of God’s family.
And this brings me to the last type of laughter, we will look at today, the laughter of mockery.
Ishmael who was born to Hagar laughed in mockery at Isaac and Sarah.
Look at Genesis 21:9 with me:
But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.
The apostle Paul in Galatians 4:29 tells us that this laughter was a type of mockery, in fact Paul says that it was a type of persecution against Isaac and Sarah.
In fact, the apostle Paul makes it clear in Galatians 4, that there will always be a laugh of mockery from those who don’t trust in God’s promises towards those who do. Paul tells us there will always be persecution from those who don’t trust in God’s promises to those who do.
And so friends, this means that if you have the Joy of the Lord, since you know your salvation is secured in Jesus, you can expect persecution from those who don’t. That can come in the form of mockery, it can come in the form of threats, it can come in all sorts of forms, but we can be assured for those who have the Joy of the Lord, that persecution from those who don’t will come. The apostle Peter tells us that when persecution comes it shouldn’t surprise us, but even more remarkable than that the apostle Peter tells us that when we suffer for Christ, we can also laugh with the Joy of the Lord at the same time, knowing that God is even using our suffering to bring him glory.
Look at 1 Peter 4:12-14 with me:
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
Friends, what type of laughter do you have?
One of disbelief,
one of Mockery
or by God’s grace you have one echoing the Joy of the Lord, even within your suffering.
Let us pray.