Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible Part in the Book of Genesis. Tonight is Part #17 of Genesis, chapter 17 and we are going to read Genesis 17:17-22:

Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

In our last Part, we began to look at the word translated as “laughed” and we saw it was the Hebrew word #6711 in Strong’s Concordance. It has three consonants: TZADDI, CHETH and KOPH.

We also saw there was another Hebrew word, Strong’s #7832 that is translated in a similar way. It has three consonants: SHIN, CHETH and KOPH. There is one letter that is different, but the letter that is different has a similar sound. It has a “TS” sound in the word “TZADDI” and a “SCH” sound in the word “SHIN.” These two words were translated very similarly by the King James translators as “laugh” or “mock,” and so forth, and they have a close relationship with one another. Actually, it says in Judges 16:25:

And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

The word translated as “made them sport” is Strong’s #6711, but in the same chapter it says in Judges 16:27:

Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

The Hebrew word translated as “made sport” here is Strong’s #7832. Do you see how the King James translators viewed these two different words as synonyms? And we are going to look at the name “Isaac,” which will prove the synonymous relationship between these two Hebrew words.

This is rather unusual and we do not see this too often in the Bible (at least, not that I am aware of), but Abraham and Sarah named this son of promise “Isaac,” as Sarah had said, “JEHOVAH hath made me to laugh.” God had also indicated that this would be his name, but we can understand how Abraham and Sarah would be in full agreement with God regarding this name because they had both laughed. Their laughter of disbelief had turned into laughter of rejoicing when it came to pass.

The Hebrew word translated most often as the name “Isaac” in the Old Testament is Strong’s #3327 and it is derived, not surprisingly, from Strong’s #6711, the word that was translated as “laughed” in our verse. It is comprised of the Hebrew yod, the smallest Hebrew letter, along with the word “TZADDI” and “CHETH” and “KOPH.” It is basically the word “laughed” with the yod in front of it like a prefix and that is where the “i” sound comes from in the word “Isaac.” So, we can see that the name “Isaac” has a strong relationship to the word “laughed.”

Also, we find the name “Isaac” four times in the Old Testament where it is spelled differently. It uses another Hebrew word, Strong’s #3446, and it is only translated that way four times. In every other case, it is #3327, derived from #6711. Let us turn to Psalm 105 and we will see this word, Strong’s #3446, and we will see that it is the same person, Isaac, who is in view. It says in Psalm 105:9:

Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;

This is historical and factual, so it is definitely the “Isaac” that was born to Abraham and Sarah and, yet, this word is a different word. In the second instance, it also cannot be anyone other than Isaac, in Jeremiah 33:26:

Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.

This is the refrain often found in the Old Testament when recounting the fathers of Israel – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In this verse, it is also Strong’s #3446 and not #3327, which is derived from #6711. So, we are curious about Strong’s #3446 and where it came from and when we look at it we find it also has the yod prefix, but it is attached to the “SHIN,” “CHETH” and “KOTH,” which are the same three consonants that make up #7832. This guarantees that God is using #6711 and #7832 synonymously; even the name “Isaac” means “laughed.” It is derived from both, but one more prominently than the other and, yet, God wanted us to know that both of these words can be used synonymously. I am certain that is the case and there is more evidence for this than any two words I have seen, so God wants us to know we can use these two words interchangeably. Why?

Strong’s #6711 does not lead us in the same direction as Strong’s #7832 when we follow these words in the Bible. By God’s grace, we have Bible helps like Strong’s Concordance and the Englishman’s Concordance of the Old Testament and we can see every place a word is found. The word #6711 can give us some insight in the way it is used in various verses, but #7832 leads us to Ecclesiastes 3:4, which I mentioned in the last Part, where it said, “A time to weep, and a time to laugh…”

Let us just follow #7832 some more. Let us go to Psalm 2:1-5:

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against JEHOVAH, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

Here, we see that God will “laugh” at the wicked and the next thing we read is that He will “speak unto them in his wrath.” We will keep this in mind because this is the way we Part the Bible. The Lord said He would laugh and have them in derision and speak to them in His wrath; and then we would move on to look at the next place this word is used, in Proverbs 1:24-25:

Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

Let me stop for a moment and make a comment. We can see how this would tie in with the sending forth of the Gospel. Many are called, God says, and there was a refusal of His call. It says they have set at nought His counsel, which would refer to the Word of God. It also says they “would none of my reproof,” and we know the Bible says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for…reproof.” These statements are directing us to God sending forth His Word and calling the sinner and, yet, they refuse and they set at nought His counsel and they will have none of the reproof of God from the scriptures. Then it goes on to say in Proverbs 1:26:

I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

The word “calamity” is a word that means “destruction.” As a matter of fact, this same word is translated as “destruction” in the next verse, in Proverbs 1:27-30:

When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of JEHOVAH: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

They despised the Word of God, the scriptures. They did not want the counsel of the Word of God, the Bible. So, God is saying something very important in this passage regarding the fact that there is a time when He calls and sends forth His counsel and His reproof and, yet, when it is rejected, there comes a time when God ceases to call and ceases to admonish with counsel and reproof. And, yet, there may be a response after that time and they will begin to call on Him, but He will not answer. They will seek Him early and they will not find Him. When would that be? We can see when it is because of the word destruction and God says, “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.” It is Judgment Day, the time when God laughs at the wicked because it is a judgment that is in keeping with their response to His Word in the “day of salvation.” In the day of salvation when God sent them His Word, they mocked it. They laughed at it.

Remember the use of the word “laugh” in Genesis 19 when Lot went to warn his sons in law about the coming destruction in Genesis 19:14:

And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for JEHOVAH will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

They probably had a good time laughing about it after Lot was forced to go away and to leave the city. And for a short time before the fire and brimstone began to fall, they were probably “laughing their heads off,” as the expression goes. That is why God has reserved an appropriate response for unsaved people in the Day of Judgment. It is revenge for the abuse and dishonor shown to the Word of God, the Bible, that went forth so graciously as God mercifully warned the people, but they did not care. They did not hearken to the warning. Therefore, God says, “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.”

We can also see how the laughing and mocking ties in to an end of salvation in these verses because when they call (on God), He will not answer: “Lord, Lord, open to us!” What is the response? “DePart from me, ye workers of iniquity, I never knew you.” Is that not an answer? When God says He will not answer, it means He will not grant their request for salvation. When they call upon Him, He will not answer, even if at the end they were to approach Him in a correct and humble manner and cry out for mercy: “Oh, God, you control salvation. Have mercy on me! Have mercy on me!” No – God will not answer.

After the Jews initially refused to go up and take the Promised Land because they believed the evil report from the spies more than they believed God, but they later turned and they thought they were performing a faithful act by going up into the land to do battle. However, it was too late. It becomes a rebellious thing when you obey at a time that is no longer the “time and season.” You would be doing something that once would have been good, but is now nothing but rebellion and sin. It was good to worship God on the seventh day Sabbath when that was the holy day, but it is rebellion to do this today. We could go through many things that people are incorrectly applying to the wrong time and season, so it is no longer good and faithful to do these things.

So far, we have seen two verses in which “laughter” has to do with Judgment Day. What if we go to the New Testament? In Luke, chapter 6 which speaks of the beatitudes, it says in Luke 6:21:

Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

Again, we see both weeping and laughing, like we did in Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, where it refers to certain times, as it says in Ecclesiastes 3:1:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Then it said in Ecclesiastes 3:4:

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

There is a time to weep and a time to laugh – they are different times. We do not weep and laugh at the same time. Even in the natural world, if we saw someone crying and then they started laughing, it would send “mixed signals” and seem very odd. Are they happy or are they sad? What is going on? When you laugh, you should laugh and when you weep, you should weep. And God has a specific time and season for both and in Luke 6:21 there is a blessing for them that weep now, for they shall laugh. At the present time, they will weep, but it is a blessing, and in a future time they will laugh, which will also be a blessing. However, they will not laugh now and weep in the future. Now is the time for weeping and laughter will come at a future time.

Also in Luke, chapter 6 we see in Luke 6:24-25:

But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

It is reversed, is it not? It is a complete reversal of verse 21. The ones that are blessed will weep now, but the ones that Christ is pronouncing a “woe” upon are laughing now. The blessed ones will laugh in the future. The ones that are receiving the “woe,” will mourn and weep in the future. Both the present and the future are reversed for both groups of people. The expectation of what would happen with each group is different. Of course, we understand that the blessed ones in all these verses are the elect children of God. Therefore, Christ says of the people He has saved that they will weep in a present time, but in a future time the elect children of God will laugh. It is reversed for those that receive the “woe” because they are the people Christ did not save: “Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.”

Is this just describing life in this world until this earth ends and then the elect children of God will finally laugh, but the unsaved people will then weep and mourn? What is the problem with that idea? The problem is that there is no future life for unsaved people to weep and mourn when this world ends, because the unsaved will cease to exist. They will be annihilated and, therefore, we have to ask the question: when will their time of mourning and weeping come to pass? God said in Proverbs 1 that they would seek Him and not find Him, even though they might seek Him early. When is that time? When we look closely, we see there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh.” There is no “time” in eternity future, so we also have to take this into account when Jesus tells the elect people of God, “Ye shall laugh,” and Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is a time when there will be laughter and this cannot be referring to the new heaven and new earth because time will no longer exist; the timekeepers will have been removed and there will be no “time.” Eternity operates without “time.” If there is “a time to laugh,” and if God laughs at the wicked in the Day of Judgment, then it means there must be a time period on earth in which the sun, moon and stars (the timekeepers) are still in operation and day follows night, and so forth, and when there will be a time to laugh.

Lord willing, in our next Bible Part we will look at this interesting idea the Bible puts forth.