The Woman Who Laughed at God

We are looking at some of the women of the Old Testament, and tonight I want to talk with you about the woman who laughed at God. On August the 16th, 1738, a poverty-stricken actor died in the city of London.

He was not a very good actor, but people enjoyed being around him because he was quite a wit and he had quite a collection of stories. So when he died, his friends got together and decided to do something to help his wife and family, and so they gathered together a collection of his best stories and published it. The result was a book called Joe Miller's Jests.

Would you believe it went into edition after edition, and today you see it in the bookstore as Joe Miller's Joke Book. The famous comedian Fred Allen said, Where would we be without him? Because basically he discovered that there were certain patterns to jokes, and he gave samples of each. It's hard for us to believe that most of our humor is just a takeoff on something else.

Laughter is a gift of God. Now there are some people who never laugh. Lord Chesterfield wrote to his son and said, Since I have had the full possession of my faculties, meaning since I became a thinking person, no one has ever heard me laugh.

Well, I'm glad I didn't have to live with him. I think he was a stuffed shirt anyway. You tell me what it is you laugh at, and you tell a great deal about yourself, don't you? Find out what a person laughs at and find out what a person weeps over, and you discover a great deal about that person's character.

I was driving down Clark Street, and a drunk was coming down the street. This is not unusual in the city of Chicago or any other city, for that matter. He was staggering down the street, and a group of children were nearby laughing at him.

I saw nothing funny. They were childish, immature, ignorant, and nothing funny about a drunk, nothing funny about a fight. Laughter is a gift of God.

The book of Ecclesiastes says there's a time to weep, and there's a time to laugh. And there is a godly laughter. Mark Twain made a big mistake when he said there will be no laughter in heaven.

He was dead wrong. There's going to be laughter in heaven, a holy laughter. What he should have said is there'll be no laughter in hell, because there will be no joy of any kind in hell.

Sarah is the woman who laughed at God, and the record is found in Genesis 18. But before we look at Genesis 18, we're going to look at Genesis 17, and then we're going to turn to 21. So we have three chapters to consider tonight, because I want us to understand the laughter and the joy of faith.

You see, Sarah laughed at God because she didn't believe God. In Sarah's life, there are four different kinds of laughter. And my friend, if you'll understand these four different kinds of laughter, I think it will help you in your own faith in God.

And more than that, I think you may move into some of this joyful faith in God. Romans 15, verse 13 says that there is joy and peace in believing. Now, we know there's peace in believing.

When you've put your faith in the Lord and you've trusted him, a peace comes to your heart, doesn't it? There's joy in believing. God wants us to be joyful believers. Some Christians have the attitude that the more spiritual you become, the more sober and the more dead and the more somber you become.

And all of us walk around like evangelical undertakers. Now, the other extreme is being clownish and flippant and careless, and God never wanted that. There is a kind of humor that God doesn't approve of.

But there is joy in believing. Notice with me four different kinds of laughter found in the experience of Sarah. The first is in chapter 17 of Genesis, the laughter of surprised faith.

The laughter of surprised faith. God has not talked to Abraham and Sarah for 13 years. Sarah had made a suggestion to Abraham back in chapter 16 that he marry Hagar, her maid, and that he have a son by Hagar, and this would fulfill God's promise.

Beware of trying to help God fulfill his promises. Don't run ahead of the Lord. That's just as bad as lagging behind the Lord.

And so in chapter 16, you don't find any laughter, you don't find any joy, you find trouble. Just trouble. And Ishmael is born.

Abraham was 86 years old when this happened, and now he's 99 years old. Now, 86, you and I know people who are 86. Vance Hafner told me this last week about a preacher down in the hills of the Carolinas who is 104 years old and still preaching.

That's marvelous. I don't think I'll make it quite that long. Here's Abraham, 99 years old, and now God's going to talk to him.

And the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am the Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect, and I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abraham could have said, but Lord, back when I was 75 you told me this.

Where is this multiplication? All I have is Ishmael, and that's not the way you wanted it. And Abram fell on his face, and God talked to him. Now, in this chapter, you find four brand-new names.

In verse 1, you have a new name for God, Almighty God. That's the name of power. God is about to take Abraham's dead body and give it life.

He's about to enable an old man to beget a son. And so he doesn't come and say, I'm the Jehovah God, or I am the Almighty God, the name of power. Then he gives Abram a new name down in verse 5. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, which means exalted father, but thy name shall be Abraham, which means father of a multitude.

So Abraham gets a new name, a name of faith. Abraham, you believe that? Yes, Lord, I believe you can make me the father of a multitude. Would you notice in verse 5, it doesn't say, I will make thee.

It says, I have made thee. I've already done it, it just hasn't been shown yet. And in the next several verses, you find God saying, I will, I will, I will, I will.

Not Abraham, you will, you will, I will. Verse 15, Sarai, his wife, gets a new name. We aren't sure what the name Sarai meant, or Sarai.

Many students think it means contention or contentious, as though Sarai was a fussy kind of a woman. But he gives her a new name. So when you go home now, you don't say, Sarai, where are you? You say, Sarah, because Sarah means a princess.

And she's going to be the mother of kings, according to verse 16. And then in verse 17, we find our text. Surprised faith, the laughter of surprised faith.

Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? Now this laughter was not unbelief. He wasn't doubting God. He was believing God, and this brought to him the laughter of surprised faith.

Have you ever had this experience where you've been reading along in the Bible, and you've been going through some difficulty? Things haven't been working out the way you thought they should. And then all of a sudden, there jumps out at you from the pages of the Bible a promise you'd never seen before. You know, it's a marvelous thing just to stand back and laugh and watch God work.

That's faith. Abraham didn't say, well, now I've got to go find myself a course of rejuvenation. I better join the Chicago Health Club now and get myself back into… No, he didn't say that.

God said, I have made you the father of a multitude. I will, I will, I will, I will. And Abraham said, you will, I believe you will.

And he fell on his face and laughed. It was the laughter of surprised faith. You know, God enjoys doing this for you and for me.

God permits us to get ourselves into situations where there's only one way to look. That's up. And God says, now would you look at this promise? Well, how long has that been in the Bible, Lord? Well, it's been there a long time.

I never saw it before. I know you didn't need it, but here it is. I can recall times in my life, just as you can in your life, when I just had to sit and laugh.

Really, I did. The steam rollers were going over you, and every place you turned, there were barricades, and war was declared, and you opened the word of God to read it. And God said, I will, I will, I will, I will.

And you said, yes, Lord, you will. And you just sat and laughed. The laughter of surprised faith.

Oh, I covet this experience for each of us. The joy that comes from just believing his word. Well, Abraham went back home, and he had to tell Sarah about this, because when he came home, he said, Sarah! And she said, what goes with this new name? Where did you learn that? Where have you been? Oh, he said, I've been out before God.

God and I had a session together, and God told me that I had a new name, Abraham. Don't call me Abram anymore. It's Abraham.

And that means that we're going to have a child. Well, she said, I'll take that new name, Sarah. I'd much rather be called Princess than Contentious.

But I'm not so sure about that baby. I looked in the mirror this morning. I'm not so sure about that baby.

Now, Sarah was a beautiful woman. You'll recall even when she was old that a couple of kings were interested in her, and God had to rescue her twice. But she said, it's beyond the time for me to bear.

This leads us to chapter 18 now. The Lord Jesus said, well, I'd better go down and tell her myself. She won't believe her husband.

I'll go down and tell her myself. And so in chapter 18, the Lord Jesus appears to Abraham, and he brings two of his angels with him. Now, when Abraham first saw these three travelers, he didn't know they were from heaven.

There's a very beautiful classic picture, painting of Abraham entertaining, greeting these three guests. And they have wings on the three guests and halos over their head. There were no wings on them or halos.

They looked like three dusty travelers who were looking for hospitality during the heat of the day. Abraham ran to meet them, and he said, come on in. We'll wash your feet and fix you something to eat.

Notice that Abraham is an old man, but he's running. He runs in verse 2 of chapter 18. Verse 6, he hastened into the tent unto Sarah.

You see, in oriental days, the woman never came out to greet strangers. The woman stayed in her place. It was not even polite for strangers to ask about the women.

That was wrong. You know, today the doorbell rings. Your wife may go to the front door.

You may go to the front door. The dog may go to the front door. But back in these days, when somebody came, it was the man of the house who went out to greet them.

The women stayed in the tent. He hastened, and he said to Sarah, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, and knead it and make cakes upon the hearth. And he ran to the herd and got a tender good calf and said to his young man to dress it.

They're running and hastening, and then Abraham prepared the meal and gave it to the Lord and the two angels. Now, a strange thing happened in verse 9. They said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? No visitor ever asked about a man's wife. It just was not polite.

And Abraham knew who it was. It was the Lord. He said, Behold in the tent.

And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life. And lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. Now, Sarah had not only been cooking, she was eavesdropping.

And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now, Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord, being old also? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh? Now, Abraham didn't know she laughed.

He had no way of reading her heart or her mind, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, who am old? Is anything too hard for the Lord? If you haven't underlined that in your Bible, do it. Do it. Next time you get discouraged, next time things are not going the way they ought to, is anything 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.

And then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not, for she was afraid. And he said, No, but thou didst laugh. Now, let's see what happens here.

Here we don't have the laughter of surprised faith. We should have. We should have had Sarah saying, Oh, praise the Lord.

Not only does my husband tell me God's promise, but God himself comes down and tells me the promise. Isn't it great when you get God's word firsthand and not secondhand? Isn't that marvelous when you can open your own Bible without a preacher or a cassette recorder or a book of any kind or the radio or the TV and God talks to you out of his book? That's what he did. God knew that Sarah hadn't really believed what Abraham said.

Oh, she was willing to have a new name. That's great. Princess.

But she wasn't willing to believe God's word. And so Jesus said, Look, on our way down to Sodom, let's stop and see Abraham and Sarah. I want to confirm the promise to her.

And here we have the laughter of deceitful unbelief. You see, Sarah labored in verse 6 to make the meal. And then she listened in verses 9 through 11.

And then she laughed in verse 12. And then she lied in verse 15. And the whole thing's a picture of deceitful unbelief.

There's a book in the New Testament that's written for people just like Sarah. There's some like that here tonight. It's called Hebrews.

And the whole theme of the book of Hebrews is summed up in Let us go on unto maturity. Let's not go back. Let's go on unto maturity.

And the warning in the book of Hebrews is this. Beware lest there be in any of you, and he's writing to Christians, an evil heart of unbelief. Now, if he had said an evil heart of murder, I could understand that.

Murder is terrible. An evil heart of robbery. Robbery is terrible.

But he says an evil heart of unbelief. Now, unbelief is different from doubt. To doubt means to waver, to hesitate at the crossroads.

To doubt means to be double-minded. When Peter was walking on the water, he began to doubt. He began to waver.

Doubt is often an emotional thing or an intellectual thing. We get scared and we start to waver or we can't figure out what God's doing. Unbelief is a deliberate act of the will.

The doubter says, Lord, I'm having a hard time believing. The unbelief says, I will not believe. When Sarah refused to believe, you know what she was doing? She was refusing to submit herself to her husband.

She had a wonderful husband. I just wish every wife could have a husband like Abraham. Abraham walked with God.

Wouldn't it be great to have a husband who walked with God? When you had a problem, you could pray together and talk together and he'd go see God and God would say, do it this way. Now, Abraham had his failures. Abraham told a couple of lies and Abraham ran down to Egypt one time.

He had his faults like we all do, but he walked with God. He was a friend of God. He used to build altars and offer sacrifice to God.

He used to live in a tent. He wasn't a worldly-minded man. She had a great husband, but she wouldn't listen to him.

But her unbelief was worse than that. She was refusing to submit to God. Folks, who are we to tell God he's a liar? If we receive the witness of men, says 1 John, the witness of God is greater.

God has given us this book and this book is true and what God says in this book is true. And you have here the laughter of deceitful unbelief and God rebuked her. God says to you, I can solve that problem.

You say, nobody could solve that problem. That's deceitful unbelief. There's every reason in the world why Sarah should have believed God.

After all, God had been making these promises now for almost 25 years. There's every reason why she should have believed God. Her husband believed it.

There's every reason why she should have believed God. Jesus Christ himself came down and gave her the birth announcement. How much does God have to do to get you to believe him? So often when people come to see me with spiritual problems, we talk together and the conversation is sometimes like this.

They say, Pastor, I really am not sure that I'm saved. And I usually say something like this. What would you want God to do to assure you that you're saved? Well, I don't know.

Well, would you like him to send a ball of fire from heaven? Well, no, that could come from the devil. Well, would you like him to have an angel come? No, I've never seen an angel. I wouldn't know how to act.

Well, what would you like God to do to tell you that you're saved? Would you want God to speak to you personally? Yeah, that would be great. Good. Let's open to 1 John 5. You see, we have the word of God, and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Please, let's not have deceitful unbelief and lie about it. Let's just believe. Is anything too hard for the Lord? What a contrast between Sarah and Mary.

When God came to Mary through his angel, the situation was much more difficult. She wasn't even married. That's what she said.

How shall this thing be? Not how can this be? She knew that with God, all things were possible. God could do anything. She just said, how are you going to do it? Seeing as I know not a man.

And God told her, and God honored her faith. That's why it was said of her, blessed is she that believed. The laughter of deceitful unbelief.

We turn to chapter 21 and come to the third laughter in her life. The laughter of joyful fulfillment. Chapter 21, And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

Well, what more would you expect? There has not failed one word of all his good promise. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the set time of which God had spoken to him. Now, how did this happen? Something must have happened to Sarah.

God can't work where there's unbelief. Would you turn to Romans chapter 9? It seems strange that buried in the middle of Romans chapter 9 we should find the answer to this question, but that's where it is. Romans chapter 9, verse 9. For this is the word of promise, quote, at this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son.

There came a point in Sarah's life within those next three months where she believed God's word. Now, what happened to Sarah and Abraham when they believed God's word? Just turn back to Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4, verse 17. As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations, that's the name he gave him, before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead and calleth those things which are not as though they were.

You see, through faith we do the impossible. Through faith we accomplish what God has promised. Talking about Abraham now, who against hope believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be.

Where'd this faith come from? Faith comes from hearing the word of God. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead. When he was about 100 years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb.

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. That's why God waited so long. If he'd had this son at the age of 75, he could have bragged about it.

But at the age of 100, what have he got to brag about? And people came to bring gifts to the baby and said, is this marvelous? He said, yes, God did it. He gave glory to God. And being fully persuaded that what God had promised, he was able to perform.

Verse 21's a great verse. You've got the persuasion and the promise and the performance. Now, Sarah had to have some part in this, obviously.

So Hebrews chapter 11 tells us about Sarah's part in this particular enterprise. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 11. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised.

In other words, her laughter of deceitful unbelief became the laughter of joyful fulfillment. Even though you may have questioned God, even though you may have not believed God, you can change. I'm glad God didn't say, okay, Sarah, I'm through with you if you won't believe me.

No, he did everything he could to nurture her faith until one day she came in and said, Abraham, you know what? God's going to do it. I believe it. Abraham said, it's about time.

And between the two of them in their faith in God, there was resurrection power. Now, in chapter 21, when the son is born, in verse 3, they call him Isaac. Now, you know what Isaac means in the Hebrew language.

It means he who laughs. A year before they'd chosen the name, God said you're going to call him Isaac. Isaac means laughter, he who laughs.

And so Sarah took her beautiful baby boy, she's 90 years old, and she laughs. And she said, I'm going to call my baby laughter. And as long as Isaac lives, he's going to remind me that if you want really joy, you have to believe.

Joy and peace in believing. Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born. Listen to her testimony.

And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh so that all that hear will laugh with me. Who would have said unto Abraham that Sarah should have nursed children? I have born him a son in his old age. What's your son's name? Laughter, he who laughs.

The laughter of joyful fulfillment. Let me just drop into your heart something that Jesus said centuries later. Now listen.

In John chapter 8, Jesus said this. Abraham saw my day and he rejoiced. When they had this little baby, Abraham looked at Isaac.

You know what he saw? He saw Christ. Isaac is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what Jesus meant.

He meant that Abraham by faith had the joy of seeing Jesus. Isaac pictures the Lord Jesus in his birth, born miraculously. Isaac pictures the Lord Jesus in his obedience.

You never find Isaac disobeying his parents. This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. Isaac pictures the Lord Jesus in persecution.

His own flesh and blood persecuted him, Ishmael. Isaac pictures the Lord Jesus in death and resurrection. He put himself on the altar.

He was almost slain. And in a type, he was slain and raised again. And Isaac pictures the Lord Jesus in his marriage.

When Isaac got married, it was a picture of Jesus Christ claiming his bride. And so every time Abraham sat down with the family album and went over all the pictures, he'd say, Here's Isaac when he was born, just like the Lord Jesus, born according to the promise and power of God. Oh, here's Isaac on the altar, just like the Lord Jesus, willingly giving his life.

Oh, and here's the wedding pictures. Did you ever see such a beautiful wedding? That's a picture of Jesus Christ when he comes to claim his bride. You see, faith can see farther than anybody else.

I don't care what kind of binoculars you have. Faith enables you to see farther and to do more. The laughter of joyful fulfillment.

Now let me share with you what my problem is. I would have more joyful laughter of faith except for one thing. And I wouldn't tell you this except you have the same problem.

It's hard to wait, right? Hard to wait. Abraham and Sarah had to wait for 25 years for the promise to be fulfilled. Some of us have a hard time waiting for 25 minutes.

But, oh, if you want the laughter of joyful fulfillment, just wait on the Lord. But it doesn't stop there. Quickly, there is a fourth laughter, the laughter of hateful persecution.

When Isaac was weaned, they had a big feast. And Ishmael showed up. And Ishmael was a teenager.

He'd been around a long time. And my Bible tells me in verse 9 that Ishmael was mocking Isaac. And that Hebrew word mocking is a first cousin of the word Isaac.

Laughter. He was laughing at him. Ha ha, laughing at him.

Now, Ishmael pictures the flesh. Isaac pictures the spirit. Isaac was born according to promise.

Ishmael was born according to the carnal ideas of Sarah. Ishmael didn't give them any trouble until Isaac came along. My old nature didn't give me any trouble until the new nature came along.

And God saved me. And so here we have the laughter of hateful persecution. And when Isaac was enjoying the feast, Ishmael was laughing at him.

Sarah was getting back what she had given God. You know, my friends, God forgives us in His grace. But in His government, He allows us to reap what we've sown.

With what measure you have measured out, it shall be measured to you again. Judge not that ye be not judged. God said, you know, Sarah, you laughed at me.

Now I want you to know what it feels like when someone laughs at you. And Sarah reaped just what she'd sown. Well, God silenced that persecution laughter.

He said, take Ishmael and take Hagar and send them away. The whole thing is a spiritual picture. Sarah represents grace.

Abraham represents faith. You read this in Galatians chapter 4. Isaac was born by grace through faith. Abraham, Sarah.

Hagar represents the law. Ishmael represents the flesh. And God says, you can't have law and grace living in the same family.

You can't have flesh and spirit fighting. Somebody has to go. And so God said, you just have Hagar and Ishmael leave.

And that left behind that beautiful family of Abraham, faith. Sarah, grace. Isaac, laughter.

If you live by grace through faith, then you'll have joy. Joy and peace in believing. Sarah learned that it doesn't pay to laugh at God.

God gets the last laugh. But Sarah also learned that you can turn that laughter of unbelief into the laughter of joy. I don't know if in recent days you've experienced this or not.

Let's pray together we might experience it this next week. Where God will just surprise us and give to us a promise. And we can just fall on our face before him and say, Lord, this is marvelous.

I believe it. And just laugh. This kind of faith enables you to laugh at circumstances.

Even when your heart is broken. Laugh at your enemies when they're threatening you. Laugh at difficulties that seem to overwhelm you.

Laugh at disappointments that are about to break you. What's the answer? Faith. Faith in what? Faith in the promises of God.

Where do you find the promises of God? In the word of God. Which leads me to conclude by saying maybe some of us would have more joyful faith and less deceitful unbelief if we just spend more time in this book. And not just read it, but understand it.

Not just understand it, but appropriate it. Not just appropriate it, but believe it and act upon it. My friend, when you believe and act upon the word of God, his power is released.

Is anything too hard for the Lord? And when his power is released, his blessing is born. And that blessing has the name Isaac on it. Laughter.

And you and I can laugh, not at the Lord, but with the Lord. By faith. Thank you, Father, for your word.

Thank you that it generates faith, that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of faith. Your word is the word of faith. Oh, we need our faith to increase.

And, Father, may our faith bring joy. I pray for those tonight who are facing seemingly insoluble problems, seemingly impossible decisions. Give them some promise from your word, some assurance, and help them by faith to claim it.

And then, Lord, give them that joy, that laughter in their hearts. Joy and peace in believing. And through it all may we see Christ.

For we pray in his name. Amen.