Page 20 - The Plain Truth Spring-Summer 2026

No laughing matter Gary Clayton

Or are there some light-hearted

moments to be found?

tend to wince slightly when people say, also those who consume too much wine and end up ‘like
‘God’s got a sense of humour’. It sounds a bit one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging’
I disrespectful, as if the person saying this (23:33-35). You can just see them staggering unsteadily
around, waiting for their next drink.
sees God as some kind of omnipotent jokester. Sometimes, whether the joke is on the Israelites, Saul,
But although the Bible is neither a heavenly the prophets of Baal or Haman the Agagite, the potentially
joke book nor a comic novel – though versions comic situations that arise again show the sinfulness,
have been produced in graphic novel style blindness and stupidity of those that defy God.
– it does however contain humour. It even
shows God laughing! Whine or dine?
In Exodus 3:8, God makes clear His intention to take the
Psalm 2:2-4 says, ‘The kings of the earth rise Israelites from the land of slavery to ‘a good and spacious
up … against the Lord and against His anointed, land, a land flowing with milk and honey.’
/ 5%*#Ī ŭ !0 1/ .! ' 0$!%. $ %*/ * 0$.+3 +ƈ By Exodus 16:3, however, we see the people grumbling
their shackles.” The One enthroned in heaven to Moses and Aaron, ‘If only we had died by the Lord’s
( 1#$/Į 0$! +. / +ƈ/ 0 0$!)īų hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all
The theme is continued in Psalm 37:12-13, the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this
saying, ‘The wicked plot against the righteous … desert to starve this entire assembly to death.’
Numbers 11:5 even shows them pining for ‘the fish we
but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He knows ate in Egypt at no cost – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks,
their day is coming.’ It’s how God reacts to those onions and garlic’ – and this despite God having graciously
seeking to oppose His people, purposes or plans. provided them with manna.
In fact, despite everything the Lord has done for them,
In the end, however bad things might seem to us, the Lord all they appear to want is free food endlessly flowing
gets the last laugh, and all will be well. from the gastronomic paradise that was Egypt – the fine
Scripture also shows the Lord’s people deriding those dining there seemingly offering a bottomless banquet of
who deserve it, using irony, sarcasm and wit to highlight as much meat and two veg as a hungry, forgetful Israelite
the follies, failings and failures of their enemies. could desire.
Examples can be seen in Proverbs, which contain some The situation appears even more ridiculous in Numbers
amusingly acerbic attacks on those who are so lazy that, ‘as 16:13 when the ungrateful people accuse Moses of having
a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed’ ‘brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to
(26:14), or ‘who bury their hands in a bowl but are too idle kill us in the wilderness’ and – a verse later – criticising him
to bring it back to their mouths and eat’ (19:24). There are for treating them like slaves!

20 The Plain Truth Spring-Summer 2026 Find us online at www.plain-truth.org.uk