The Bible’s Sense of Humor

Comedy, much of it subtle, is frequently employed by both the Jewish and Christian Bibles, argues Robin Gallaher Branch. She describes one of her first awakenings to biblical humor:

I remember one day resolving to do arduous work on 2Chronicles. Studiously plowing through the reigns of Solomon through Jehoshaphat, I came to 2Chronicles 21:20. . . . The text reads, “Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings” (emphasis added). . . . Evidently Jehoram was not well liked. The editorial statement provides a light touch . . . to the Chronicler’s usually routine kingship formula. . . .

What’s more, argues Branch, the Bible seems to have something of a theology of humor:

Let’s start with [the most important] verse, Ecclesiastes 3:4: “A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” . . . [Next] let’s look at God’s laughter, for instance, in Psalms 37:12-13: “The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He sees that their day is coming.” Laughter here shows the impotence of the wicked and the futility of their plots and gnashings against the righteous. Why? Because, as the psalm answers, those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land and the Lord knows the wicked face a reckoning.

God directs the same kind of laughter toward earthly hotshots who think their power exceeds His. Psalm 2:2-4 declares that when “the kings of the earth take their stand,” marshalling themselves “against the Lord . . . and against His anointed one,” then “the One enthroned in heaven laughs.”

Read more at Bible History Daily

More about: Hebrew Bible, Jewish humor, New Testament, Religion & Holidays

To Stop Attacks from Yemen, Cut It Off from Iran

On March 6, Yemen’s Houthi rebels managed to kill three sailors and force the remainder to abandon ship when they attacked another vessel. Not long thereafter, top Houthi and Hamas figures met to coordinate their efforts. Then, on Friday, the Houthis fired a missile at a commercial vessel, which was damaged but able to continue its journey. American forces also shot down one of the group’s drones yesterday.

Seth Cropsey argues that Washington needs a new approach, focused directly on the Houthis’ sponsors in Tehran:

Houthi disruption to maritime traffic in the region has continued nearly unabated for months, despite multiple rounds of U.S. and allied strikes to degrade Houthi capacity. The result should be a shift in policy from the Biden administration to one of blockade that cuts off the Houthis from their Iranian masters, and thereby erodes the threat. This would impose costs on both Iran and its proxy, neither of which will stand down once the war in Gaza ends.

Yet this would demand a coherent alliance-management policy vis-a-vis the Middle East, the first step of which would be a shift from focus on the Gaza War to the totality of the threat from Iran.

Read more at RealClear Defense

More about: Gaza War 2023, Iran, U.S. Foreign policy, Yemen