Why Are You Laughing Series

Genesis 18:1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

2 And he lift up his eyes and looked and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

3 And said My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away I pray thee, from thy servant:

4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said So do as thou hast said

6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth

7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat

9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said Behold, in the tent.

10 And he said I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also

13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh saying Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old

14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

15 Then Sarah denied saying I laughed not; for she was afraid And he said Nay; but thou didst laugh

We have been looking at Great Questions asked by God.

We saw God ask Adam and Eve “Where are You?”

He also asked “Who told you that you were Naked?”

God asked Cain “Where is your brother?”

This is the next Question that was asked “Why is Sarah Laughing?”

V. 13 Wherefore did Sarah laugh

I believe that today we say “Yeah, right” with more than a hint of sarcasm.

. When David stood in front of Goliath with 5 smooth stones, the Bible tells us the giant laughed, but not for long.

They laughed at Jimmy Carter ( A peanut Farmer ,76 years old running for President of the US)

Laughing can be a result of joy, but it can also be a result of disbelief, as was the case here in Genesis 18 with Abraham & Sarah. Abraham had been hearing about this promised child since he was in his 70’s.

Now he was near 100 and Sarah was 90. It had been nearly 25 years since the original promise and you can feel their sarcasm and bitter disappointment as you read about their laughter.

Abraham and Sarah laughed at God’s promise.

Sarah and Abram’s reaction was understandable and God seemed to have a great deal of patience in dealing with them, but laughing at God is something we don’t want to do.

Ecclesiastes says there’s an appropriate time to weep and a time to laugh. I don’t know if it’s ever appropriate to laugh at God, His Words, or Promises.

Have you ever been tempted to laugh at God?

We laugh at God when the preacher talks about grace, forgiveness, & mercy & we ignore these truths and in our hearts say “Yeah, right.”

We laugh at God when we read his promises in the Bible to care for us just as he cares for the lilies of the field and sparrows, yet we go right on feeling anxious and worried about trivial things.

Anytime we ignore or discount the promises of God, it’s really no different than Abraham & Sarah’s laughter.

Let me share a few truths from this story about why doubting God is “no laughing matter.”

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

First of all, the Bible tells us “without faith it is impossible to please God.”