Sorrows and tears fill the life of many people, yet one day all that will gloriously change for the child of God. Today, this world may laugh, mock, and ridicule the Lord and His people, but one day soon, the tide will turn. The Bible has some shocking truths. In fact, several passages attest to the fact that God will laugh at the wicked (Psalm 2:4; Psalm 37:13; Psalm 59:8). This may seem harsh, but God is gracious, merciful, and longsuffering. The Lord will never laugh at the difficulties of any to whom He has not first offered refuge and deliverance. In like manner, wisdom personified in the Bible warns her rejecters that she too will laugh at their calamity and mock when their fear cometh (Proverbs 1:26). On the other hand, the Bible assures a glorious future time of laughter for the people of God (Luke 6:21).
Most of us would assume that the Lord laughed at some point during His earthly ministry, yet the scripture never focuses on this point. Rather, the scripture seems to focus on the fact that He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). We know very little of any laughter, yet we do know that He wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). He further lamented over Jerusalem because of their rebellion (Luke 13:34). We also know that He sighed at the healing of the deaf man who had a speech impediment (Mark 7:34). Heaven affords the Lord great rejoicing, yet His earthly ministry was consumed by heartache rather than mirth. This most likely was a result of dealing with the consequences of man’s sin.
Most people would readily admit that they would rather laugh than cry. Yet, these are not God’s thoughts concerning the matter (Isaiah 55:8-9). According to the Bible, “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better” (Ecclesiastes 7:3). Laughter seems much more enjoyable than sorrow, yet life’s lessons are learned much faster from sorrow than they are from amusement. Sorrow teaches us and molds us into better servants for the Lord. This does not mean that laughter is evil or harmful. It simply means that from God’s perspective, sorrow is a much better teacher. Solomon bluntly spoke of what he knew concerning laughter in Ecclesiastes 2:1-2. The Bible says that Solomon gave himself to mirth and pleasure. In the end, he found this mirth and pleasure to be vain.
The Old Testament shows that God’s people (the Jews) repeatedly turned from the Lord and worshipped idols. Because of their sinful ways, they spent a considerable amount of time in captivity. Each time they turned back to God, He was faithful to bring them out of their times of captivity. Today’s passage details one of those times when the people found joy in God’s deliverance. The Bible testifies that their mouths were filled with laughter and their tongues with singing. The heathen took note and said, “The LORD hath done great things for them.” When God did something special for His people, the overflowing emotions turned to laughter. They were grateful to God for His unmerited goodness to them and it was manifested in that their mouths were filled with laughter. Christians should likewise be glad when God pours out His manifold blessings by delivering from physical or spiritual captivity.
We tend to think of laughter in a positive light, generally envisioning emotions like happiness or joyfulness. Yet, far too much laughter results from things opposed to God and His will. The Bible provides this same assessment. A careful study of the word laughter in the Bible demonstrates that the connotation is overwhelmingly bad. Today’s passage shows Sarah laughing in disbelief of the promises of God. Genesis 17:17 shows that Abraham did the same when he heard the news. These were two godly people; yet, much of the laughter found in the Bible occurred when the ungodly mocked God’s people and God’s promises (Nehemiah 2:19). Our Saviour too was “laughed . . . to scorn” when He declared that the daughter of Jairus was not dead (Mark 5:40). Laughter, in and of itself, is not wicked, but the cause of one’s laughter reveals its true makeup.
The world’s perfect example of dependability is the Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament records many instances of His faithfulness, but none more expressive than the faithful manner in which He performs His duties as the believer’s high priest. According to today’s passage, Christ faithfully sanctifies believers. Through His death, He destroys the Devil and the power he exerts over death. The Christian’s high priest also remains faithful to deliver and reconcile all who come to Him in faith. Most importantly, Christ is a “merciful and faithful high priest” making reconciliation for sin. A high priest goes to God on behalf of the people. As the believer’s high priest, the Lord Jesus faithfully hears the believer’s prayers and presents them to the Father in His own Name. Never has there been someone so faithful as our high priest!
Paul and Barnabas functioned similar to pioneer church planters who travel into unreached areas with the gospel. As they traveled, they faithfully preached the gospel and started churches with the goal of returning later to strengthen the believers. As Paul and Barnabas were planning their return to these areas, a conflict arose between them concerning who would accompany them on their journey. Barnabas desired to take a young man named John Mark, but Paul adamantly refused. Mark had accompanied them on the first trip, but departed from them and “went not with them to the work.” Paul felt as though he could no longer depend upon John Mark because of his earlier failure. The contention was so strong that Paul and Barnabas parted company and went their own separate ways. This is a sad narrative should it end here; however, there is much more to the story. Praise God that Paul later remarked of John Mark that “he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).
This Pauline epistle is addressed to believers in Thessalonica. It opens with an expression of joy and thanksgiving for their work and labour. Paul then reminded them how they came to be followers of him and of the Lord after they received the word through much affliction. Paul praised them for their faithful example to those in Macedonia and Achaia. In fact, they were so faithful that Paul said when He arrived in Macedonia and Achaia, he did not need to speak a word because of the example of the Thessalonian believers. Their testimony spread to these locations, as well as in “every place.” Paul knew he could trust these saints to be dependable witnesses of the gospel. What an incredible relief and wonderful blessing this must have been for the apostle Paul.
As the Lord’s crucifixion drew nigh, He took His disciples to Gethsemane to pray. He asked them to tarry and watch with Him as He separated from them to pray to the Father. Upon returning, He found the disciples asleep so He said to them, “Could ye not watch with me one hour?” The Lord went away two more times only to find His disciples asleep both times He returned. He had given His disciples a simple task to tarry, watch, and pray. He quickly saw that He could not depend upon them for support. It comes as no surprise that they would be scattered from Him shortly at His betrayal (Matthew 26:31, 56). These men were not strangers; they were the ones who sat at Christ’s feet for three years. Now, they could not be trusted for one hour to watch and pray.
Scripturally speaking, a vow involves a solemn promise made to another individual or to God Himself. In our passage, vow is used both as a verb and a noun. Vowing a vow is analogous to someone promising a promise. Men are to keep their word by keeping their promises; or, in other words, men are to be faithfully dependable. When a man makes a promise to God or to another person, he should do everything within his power to keep that promise. The Bible warns against a man allowing his mouth to cause his flesh to sin by making promises with no intention of keeping them. Those who vow a vow to the Lord and fail to perform it are called “fools” and the Lord “hath no pleasure in fools.” Before making any promise, one should first count the cost to determine whether or not making the vow will simply cause him to sin.
