You Did Laugh

Oh yes, you did laugh.

 - From Genesis 18

The curious encounter of Abraham, with three visitors, is probably well-known to most people. 

When you consider all of the Bible, and how much detail has been left out, we can only conclude that if it is in there, it must be important. And so it is with the meeting of Abraham and the three men, and their conversation.

Many have suggested that the three men represent the Trinity. This would be a neat fit. But then we wonder why the Lord is not represented by three men, everywhere in Scripture. Why only here? And we see that one of them, one only, speaks out - the one that predicts that Sarah will have a son. This is the one called "The Lord" by the narrative. 

One of the three men is singled out, and the other two decrease. This is not in the spirit of the Trinity. But it definitely introduces some interesting points of debate.

I want to focus on the statement by the Lord: "Oh yes, you did laugh."

The Scriptural record has saved this ordinary exchange between Sarah and the Lord (one of the three men). It's small talk. It's like a little snark session between a parent and child, there the child keeps baiting the parent, and the parent keeps taking the bait. You normally would not consider such an exchange to be noteworthy.

But it is here, in the permanent biblical record.

Sarah laughed when she overheard the Lord saying that she would, at the age of 90, bear a child. Had it been laughter, from joy, that would be one thing (the whole thing gets turned around at the end, when reflects how God made her laugh by giving her a son). But at the time, it was the laughter of scorn, of derision. 

"Yeah, right . . . God's going to give ME a son!"

They go back and forth, and Sarah lies: "I didn't laugh." 

From the time of Adam and Eve, people lie to God, because they're afraid of Him. You can't debate Him with logic. He knows your thoughts.

When people struggle with God, and He says something like "Why did you laugh?" the correct response is the truthful response: "I laughed, Lord, because my faith is weak, and I did not believe you. I have been sad for so many years, because of my childless state. And it would cause me great pain for you to say "You will have a son," and then it never happen."

Something like that.

The discussion ends. God has the last word. "Oh yes, you did laugh."

Perhaps we should treat others with the same regard, by letting them have the last word. 

Because, we do the same thing to each other. We make things up when humans have "caught" us in a fib, or doing something we regret. Utter truthfulness. 

It's okay to be wrong. If you laughed, admit it.