Laughter is Nothing to Joke About

LAUGHTER IS NOTHING TO JOKE ABOUT

Text: Esther 5-6

INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER 5-6

· The name of God is not used in the book of Esther.

· However, there may be a subtle exception in the form of acronymy (e.g. NATO, OPEC, radar, etc.).

· If you take the first letter of the Hebrew words, “may the king and Haman come this day” – the name “Yahweh” (YHWH) is spelled (Esther 5:4).

יָבוֹא let come

הַמֶּלֶךְ the king

וְהָמָן and Haman

הַיּוֹם this day

· It seems as if Esther very carefully chose her words to the king and carefully chose the circumstances wherein she would reveal her Jewish identity and ask that her people be spared.

· Esther was an exceptionally wise woman!

I. THE BOOK OF ESTHER IS A BOOK OF MERRYMAKING, FEASTING AND LAUGHTER FROM BEGINNING TO END.

A. Esther begins with feasting and ends with feasting, all in the context of genocide and judgment.

1. Banquets and drinking wine (Esther 1:1-9; 3:15; 5:6; 7:1-2)

2. Irony/Humor:

a. Every man the master of his own house (Esther 1:22 with 5:13-14).

b. Mordecai won’t bow before Haman (5:9); Haman “bows” before Mordecai (6:11); Haman’s wife warns he will fall before Mordecai (6:14); Haman falls before Jewish Esther (7:7-8).

B. How do we reconcile the laughter of Haman’s humiliation with his and his household’s destruction?

When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man, The foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest (Proverbs 29:9).

C. We laugh at things when they aren’t what they seem to be. We laugh at things that don’t quite go together. We laugh when we expect one mundane outcome and an unexpected one happens (cf. Genesis 18:12).

D. Laughter is often a serious matter, and often indicates that something is all wrong and not all right.

1. When someone looks at you and begins laughing, what is your immediate reaction?

2. Laughter is often a reflection of who we are or how people see us.

II. WHEN GOD LAUGHS HE IS NOT JOKING (Psalm 2:4; 37:12,13; 52:5-7; 59:7-8; Prov.1:26; cf. Psalm 44:14; 80:6).

A. “I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes” (Proverbs 1:26-27).

B. “He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them” (Psalm 2:4).

C. “The wicked plots against the righteous And gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees his day is coming” (Psalm 37:12,13).

D. “The righteous will see and fear, And will laugh at him” (Psalm 52:5-7).

E. “But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations” (Psalm 59:8).

F. What happens to Haman is funny, not because genocide is something to take lightly, but because Haman could not see the writing on the wall.

1. The coincidental and chance events of Haman’s life were all different ways God was laughing at Haman’s pride and determination to destroy the Jews.

a. Mordecai told the king that there was a people in the kingdom whose laws were different and who did not observe the king’s laws and they were therefore a threat to the kingdom’s security (Esther 3:8). What Haman failed to leave out to the king was that they were Jews.

b. Haman leaves the banquet and sees Mordecai (5:9).

c. Haman decides to not wait for Mordecai to be put to death and so has a gallows 50 cubits (about 75 feet) high built (5:14)

d. The king can’t sleep the night before Haman was to have Mordecai hanged and it just so happens that he has the chronicles of his kingdom read and the story of Mordecai’s patriotism – an event that had happened some five years earlier (cf. 2:16; 3:7)!

e. Haman just happens to be the first one in the court next morning (6:4-6).

f. It was no coincidence that the man Haman wanted displayed on his 75 foot gallows was the man the king wanted to honor, “Mordecai the Jew” (6:11).

g. Haman thinks that Mordecai is going to be “exalted” and “honored” 75 feet in the air on his newly built gallows. Instead, Haman proclaims from the city square what a great man Mordecai is.

2. Haman should have heard God laughing at him. Even Haman’s wife, friends, and wise men can see/hear God “laughing” (Esther 6:13 [Note the word “prevail/overcome” and how it is used in the history of God’s people {Genesis 32:26; Numbers 13:30-33; 1 Samuel 17:9; Jeremiah 1:19; 20:7,10-11; Obadiah 7; Psalm 129:2; cf. Judges 16:5; 1 Kings 19:2; Matthew 16:18; Romans 8:37; 2 Corinthians 4:8,9}])!

G. God cannot be mocked (Galatians 6:7).

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. (James 4:8-10)

QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Are you honoring Jesus Christ, the One Whom the Father has exalted to the highest place and given the Name that is above every other Name? If not, commit your life to Him in prayer asking God to enable you and give you the desire to be conformed to His Word as read and preached today.

What is acronymy? What does “may the king and Haman come this day” (Esther 5:4) spell by acronymy in Hebrew?

What makes something or someone laughable?

Some commentators classify Esther in the genre of comedy or satire. Explain the “humor” in the conflict between Haman and Mordecai. What else is laughable in Esther?

Why can laughter be a serious matter?

Why does God laugh?

What does it mean to “mock” God (see Galatians 6:3-8)? Are you mocking God? Do you know anyone who is? Pray that God would give them ears to hear it and that they would repent and believe in Jesus.