Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, “Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?” Recovering, Abraham said to God, “Oh, keep Ishmael alive and well before you!” But God said, “That’s not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). (Genesis 17:17-19 The Message)
Laughter
There is a lot of laughter in this paragraph! But the best part is not even in these verses. God’s sense of humor is displayed here with His use of ironic wordplay. First, Abram and Sara receive new names. Abram became Abraham, Sara became Sarah. And while we would be correct to particularly note the meanings of the changing names, there is also some humor displayed in the names themselves. In Hebrew, just like in English, the Ha-hA of the name-changes mimics the sound of laughter. And then later, Sarah laughs at the announcement of her pregnancy (Genesis 18:13)
So much laughter… some of it bitter, some of it pleased, some of it shocked, some of it ironic… but all of it funny.
God likes laughter. We know the angels rejoice when the Redeemed come home. And God Himself uses laughter here to display His joy… His pleasure… and His expectation that we will be laughing, too.
I agree that there is not a lot of deep theology in this idea of laughing. It is simply good to laugh with God cheerfully about the saving work of our God!