Funny God - A Brief Biblical Glance At God's Sense of Humor.

By Buddy Fisher

A brief biblical glance at God's sense of humor. The bible tells us that we are made in God's image. Since we all have an innate sense of humor, it would stand to reason that this trait was given to us by God Himself. This book takes a light-hearted peek into a multitude of examples of God's humor found in scripture. We know God is holy, righteous, perfect and pure. He is powerful, wrathful and merciful. But have you ever considered that He is also a funny God? Has God's sense of humor always existed, or did He need to develop it as a mechanism for dealing with the people He created?! Either way, enjoy this case study as I set out to prove that we serve a very Funny God!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781312797475

Book preview

Funny God - A Brief Biblical Glance At God's Sense of Humor.

Funny God

A Brief Biblical Glance At God’s Sense of Humor.

By Buddy Fisher

Copyright © 2015 by Buddy Fisher.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2015

ISBN 978-1-312-79747-5

Cover art Innocence (Jesus with a child) by David Bowman. www.davidbowmanart.com

Cover design by Kayla Fisher.

Introduction

Let me begin by saying that I am not a person who takes God lightly. I will be the first to admit that we are in a very serious spiritual battle for the souls of men and women. Satan is a prowling lion seeking whom he may destroy. God is a loving and merciful God, but He will also pour out His wrath full strength on the wicked if they will not repent. Nothing funny about that!

I have had the privilege of serving my King, the Lord Jesus Christ, through street preaching and one-to-one evangelism, and I am continually made aware that we are in dire times. Atheism is on the rise, homosexuality is running rampant with today’s youth, alcohol and drug abuse are everywhere in society, and even the modern church is cranking out a generation of biblically illiterate converts who believe that reciting a twenty-second prayer gives them a lifetime license to sin as much as the worst of the heathens, and still think they are right with God.

When we are proclaiming the good news of salvation on the streets, the crowd routinely curses at us, flips us off, blasphemes, dumps beer on us…..and then…..a very serious, yet somewhat tipsy college kid asks me, Do monkeys have souls? A moment of much-needed levity is brought into an intense situation. Humor can act as a salve on a wound, an extinguisher on a kitchen fire, or a hand reaching out to lift you up when life has knocked you down. But I think of humor as an unexpected plate of chocolate chip cookies. Typically unnecessary, but greatly appreciated, and oh so delicious!

The bible tells us that we are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26), which is humorous enough in and of itself! We are made with many of God’s traits; intelligence (most of us at least), free will, morals, compassion, righteous anger, and more. It seems impossible to conclude that our sense of humor and our desire to laugh come from anywhere other than our Creator. As I read the bible, time and again I am shown amazing examples of a holy, yet hilarious God who loves light-hearted quips, gently putting man back into his proper place, and my favorite; delicious irony.

So let’s take a brief look at God’s sense of humor throughout the bible, along with some personal experiences I have collected. Perhaps you will be reminded of how God has used laughter to lift you up at a low point in your life. Maybe you will see God in a whole new light. Whatever the outcome, let’s begin by unwrapping the paper, and opening up God’s gift to us: humor.

*All bible verses are King James Version unless otherwise stated.  The following chapters are not in specific order of the books of the bible.  What would be the fun in that?! It is recommended to read this book with an open bible, following along with each bible story.  It is also recommended to live life with an open bible always nearby!

Chapter 1: In The Beginning

What’s in a name?

Q: What time of day was Adam created?

A: A little before Eve.

Oddly enough, the word humor is a Latin word meaning liquid. Hippocrates and other ancient philosophers once believed that the delicate balance of four bodily fluids controlled and determined our health and emotional state. These four fluids were blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Can’t you just feel the hilarity flow already! As long as these fluids were kept in their proper proportions, life was good. If an imbalance occurred, disease and misery would follow.

The following were the believed results of specific fluids being out of kilter.  An overabundance of blood was said to make one unusually optimistic. No wonder vampires think they can fly and live forever! Too much phlegm made one slow and sluggish, much like that little green mucous man in the cough medicine commercials. Yellow bile causes an individual to be short-tempered. Depression and sadness were a result of too much black bile.

When one of these liquids (i.e. humors) became out of whack, an individual would act disproportionately eccentric to one of the personality traits. A humor was soon synonymous with an odd or irrational character who invoked laughter by their abnormal behavior.

So what does any of this have to do with God? Nothing. I am not claiming that God is overflowing with phlegm or black bile, but it is funny to see how man attempts to explain a God-created, God-given gift like humor. We all realize that our conscience comes from God, our desire for fellowship comes from God, our five senses come from God. So from where else could a wholesome and joyous longing for laughter come, if not our Heavenly Father?

I AM

Let’s begin our look at God’s amazing sense of humor. Something as simple as God’s name invokes awe, reverence, holiness, power, and just a touch of humor.

Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

There are well over 100 different names for God in the bible such as Jehovah-Jireh and Prince of Peace, yet when Moses asks God what name shall I tell the people, He tells Moses to tell the people I AM sent me! The first time I ever read that as a child, I thought Popeye had said it first. Can you just imagine the scene? Moses is being told to free the children of Israel from the powerful nation of Egypt. No small task. Moses probably doesn’t believe he can do it. The children of Israel don’t believe he can do it. Pharaoh certainly doesn’t believe Moses can do it. But at least Moses will have the name of God to tell the people, THAT will certainly do the trick! And what does Moses have to go tell the people when they ask what is His name? He has to tell them, I AM sent me!

Now the natural reaction from any normal person who is told that the name of God is I AM would be to ask I AM?! I AM what?! Stop and think about what a perfect name that is. What other name could possibly be so all-consuming, all-encompassing as I AM? God didn’t call himself Thunder, which is powerful, but very limiting. He didn’t call Himself Super Pharaoh to place Himself just slightly above an earthly ruler. He didn’t call Himself Friend or Freedom or Luxury or Mountain. Any other name would limit Him within time or space or substance. He wasn’t even I WAS or I WILL BE. Just….I AM. Was, is, and is to come. Without beginning, without end, without limitation. A perpetual state of the present.

It is easy to see the power in the name, but is their humor as well? I believe there is. Just let anyone else ever try to pull off using that name to describe themselves. What a joke that would be! I love my Lord and have a deep and sincere reverence for His name, but oh, what a smile I get when I think of the amazing simplicity yet absolute complexity of those two words: I AM.

Isaac

The story of Isaac is a fascinating tale. I