“I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered— a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!

• Job 12:4

It laughs at the commotion in the town; it does not hear a driver’s shout.

• Job 39:7

A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.

• Job 41:29

But you laugh at them, Lord; you scoff at all those nations.

• Psalm 59:8

I hope from the word in bold in each of the above Scriptures, you know that the questions relate to verses containing the word “LAUGH.”  It could be “laugh, laughed, laughs, laughing, laughter, or laughingstock.”

I put this quiz together just for the laughs.

The Questions:

#	Question	Bible Reference	Answer(s)
1	Who laughed and then denied it when someone prophesied about her?
2	Who was unable to be found, leading Judah to say that she could keep what she already had, not wanting to be a laughingstock?
3	Who is the first friend to speak to Job, and among what he says, he says, “You will laugh at destruction and famine.”
4	Who is God laughing at in this verse?  “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.”
5	Why is frustration better than laughter?
6	Who is God talking about in this verse?  ”But while they are aroused, I will set out a feast for them and make them drunk, so that they shout with laughter— then sleep forever and not awake,” declares the Lord.”
7	Who is the “her” in this second half of this verse?  “When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction.”
8	They laughed at Jesus when he said that the girl was not dead, just asleep.  Who was “just asleep?”
9	Why change laughter to mourning?
10	If you have gotten this far, and you were expecting a ten-question quiz and you know that there are half the verses containing “laugh” in the NIV left, do one thing.  Laugh.  And give yourself credit for the right answer for this question.

They say that laughter is the best medicine.  That is not in the Bible, but they say that.

We are to be Joyful, even in times of great trial.  So, in a moment between one trial and the next, laugh.

I put together a comedy sketch, with a lot of acting, about explaining what happened when my mother saw an episode of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.  It looked like she was in pain.  She had difficulty breathing, gasping for air.  She clutched her heart.  Her eyes were crossed.  Her face was contorted.  She looked to be in horrible pain.  She was unresponsive when I asked her questions.  I thought she was having a heart attack.  I ran to the phone to call for an ambulance, long before 911.  As I started to dial the number, she recovered enough to yell, “Put the phone down, Idiot!  I was just laughing.”

How was I to know?!  I had never seen her do that before.  I was sixteen years old.

Don’t waste the good years.  Laugh now!

Bible References:

#	Question	Bible Reference	Answer(s)
1	Who laughed and then denied it when someone prophesied about her?	Genesis 18:12-15
2	Who was unable to be found, leading Judah to say that she could keep what she already had?	Genesis 38:20-26
3	Who is the first friend to speak to Job, and among what he says, he says, “You will laugh at destruction and famine.”	Job 5:22, answer in Job 4
4	Who is God laughing at in this verse?  “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.”	Psalm 2:4
5	Why is frustration better than laughter?	Ecclesiastes 7:3
6	Who is God talking about in this verse?  ”But while they are aroused, I will set out a feast for them and make them drunk, so that they shout with laughter— then sleep forever and not awake,” declares the Lord.”	Jeremiah 51:37-39
7	Who is the “her” in this second half of this verse?  “When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction.”	Lamentation 1:7
8	They laughed at Jesus when he said that the girl was not dead, just asleep.  Who was “just asleep?”	Matthew 9:24
9	Why change laughter to mourning?	James 4:7-10
10	If you have gotten this far, and you were expecting a ten-question quiz and you know that there are half the verses containing “laugh” in the NIV left, do one thing.  Laugh.  And give yourself credit for the right answer for this question.

And to teach us a little bit about telling the truth, and not lying, here is Jerry Clower:

A visit to Mr. Duvall Scott’s old store in Liberty, Mississippi, brought back a lot of fond memories. Right after the Depression when ice trucks first started running out in the county, you could buy a block of ice if you had you a few pennies. Well, Mr. Duvall Scott made a wooden icebox and started selling frying-size chickens. I have carried many a frying-size chicken to Mr. Duvall Scott and swapped that chicken for a jar of anti-pain oil or a bottle of vanilla extract. Mr. Duvall Scott would then pick the chicken, dress it, and put it in the icebox with the little chipped-up ice.
“One day I was sitting in the store and a lady walked in. ‘I would like to buy a chicken,’ she said.
“Duvall didn’t have but one in that whole refrigerator icebox, so he reached down in there, swished it around in the water with those few little blocks of ice, brought it out and slung the water off it, put it on the scales, and said, ‘It weighs two-and-a-half pounds.’
“She said, ‘I want one just a little bit bigger than that.’
“He took that one chicken, rammed it back down in there and started stirring the ice again, stirring it good, brought up the chicken again, put it on the scales: ‘Three pounds.’
“ ‘Fine,’ she said. ‘I’ll take both of them.’ ”

“Newgene Ledbetter would climb a tree to get to tell a lie when he could stand on the ground and tell you the truth. I mean it got bad. The deacons and the pastor of his church decided to do something about it.
“ ‘Newgene’s a great fella,’ they said, ‘but he just feels like he’s got to lie all the time.’
“The preacher said, ‘Listen, let’s go over to his house. Let’s sit down and tell him the most bodacious, outlandish, damnable lie that’s ever been told in the history of the world. We’ll keep a straight face and tell it for the truth, and he’ll see how ridiculous it is for good people to lie and maybe he’ll stop lying.’
“The deacons said, ‘All right, preacher, who’s going to be the spokesman?’
“Preacher said, ‘I am.’
“They knocked on the door of Newgene’s house and Newgene let them in.
“ ‘Glad to see you. Set down.’
:Preacher said, ‘Newgene, would you believe that last Lord’s Day while I was preaching, the spirit of the Lord was moving the back door of the church open, and down the aisle of the church came a huge, vicious brindle-colored grizzly bear and right behind him, chasing him was a little old bitty black and white dog. That bear squatted right by the Lord ’s supper table, right in front of the pulpit and that little bitty dog jumped on him and they commenced to fighting. They wallowed down the first eight rows of pews in the church. Women were fainting. Hair was flying. You ain’t never seen or heard such a terrible fight. When the fur quit flying, that little old dog had completely whupped that vicious, brindle-colored grizzly bear and not only whupped him but consumed him. Now, Newgene, do you believe that?’
“Newgene said, ‘Heck, yeah, I believe that. That was my dog.’ ”

Folks ask me about Newgene Ledbetter. Newgene was the mean one. The older he got, though, the better he got. He joined the 4-H Club and the 4-H agent taught him some sense.
“I remember one year Newgene Ledbetter went off on a big 4-H Club Roundup in Chicago. Before he left he told his papa, Uncle Versie, he had to take things to swap with the other boys coming in from all over the United States.
“Now at the convention some of those Yankee 4-H Club boys made fun of the Southern farm boys, but Newgene had a good time and came back with $387, all in one-dollar bills.
“Uncle Versie got a dried brush broom. ‘Newgene, you done robbed a bank.’
“ ‘I ain’t done no such, Papa. I ain’t done nothing wrong. I just took advantage of some ignorant people; I can’t help it if they are crazy.’
“ ‘Well, Newgene, how did you get this money?’
“ ‘Papa, I took a big sack of cockleburs with me, and I sold them to those Yankee boys at a dollar apiece as porcupine eggs.’ ”

• Jerry Clower, Life Ever Laughter

For those not familiar with cockleburs, they are seed pods of a weed with spikes all over the outside of the pods, egg-shaped, and they are usually found stuck to your clothing until they dig into your skin if you are not careful.  As I remember, they love socks.

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The Answers:

#	Question	Bible Reference	Answer(s)
1	Who laughed and then denied it when someone prophesied about her?	Genesis 18:12-15	Sarah
2	Who was unable to be found, leading Judah to say that she could keep what she already had?	Genesis 38:20-26	Tamar
3	Who is the first friend to speak to Job, and among what he says, he says, “You will laugh at destruction and famine.”	Job 5:22, answer in Job 4	Eliphaz
4	Who is God laughing at in this verse?  “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.”	Psalm 2:4	Anyone who conspires against God – or something along those lines
5	Why is frustration better than laughter?	Ecclesiastes 7:3	A sad face is good for the heart.
6	Who is God talking about in this verse?  ”But while they are aroused, I will set out a feast for them and make them drunk, so that they shout with laughter— then sleep forever and not awake,” declares the Lord.”	Jeremiah 51:37-39	Babylon
7	Who is the “her” in this second half of this verse?  “When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction.”	Lamentation 1:7	Jerusalem
8	They laughed at Jesus when he said that the girl was not dead, just asleep.  Who was “just asleep?”	Matthew 9:24	A synagogue leader (Jairus)
9	Why change laughter to mourning?	James 4:7-10	Come close to God, and He comes close to you.
10	If you have gotten this far, and you were expecting a ten-question quiz and you know that there are half the verses containing “laugh” in the NIV left, do one thing.  Laugh.  And give yourself credit for the right answer for this question.

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, I hope you laughed.  If not, here is a video when Tim Lovelace joined the Gaither Homecoming crew.  Tim becomes the “fifth” man, joining Jake Hess, Rex Nelon, George Younce, and Willie Wynn singing  The Fourth Man.  Okay, Tim tries to sing it.

Tim Lovelace said he could sing that song forwards and backwards.  He then had a very scary airplane flight and his bragging made him realize he should not lie.  Maybe he was like Newgene Ledbetter for a moment, but he fixed the problem with, Away Fly I’ll.

If I practiced enough, I could do it.  I managed to learn I Don’t Care If I Go Crazy when I was a scout leader.  It is to the tune of Reuben, Reuben.  You place your right hand against your right cheek and rest your right elbow in your left hand.  The first half of the words are:

I don’t care if I go crazy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, switch

At switch, you reverse your hands, left hand to the left cheek left elbow resting on your right hand.

Crazy go I if care don’t I, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, switch

At that point you switch hands back and sing the verse again faster, then faster the next time, then even faster.  After a while, the boys will settle down their usual craziness and watch you, wondering if you really have gone crazy.  If the boys are hyper, you may want to start the first verse sloooooow.

And here is Tim Lovelace telling a story that could happen in just about anyone’s church, Don’t Sit in my Pew.

To do something a little different, and explain this entire quiz, here is Mark Lowry and the Martins singing Jesus Laughing.

If you like these Saturday morning Bible quizzes, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Saturday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.